A Word from Tarek Ben Halim

Dear Friends,

Welcome to our second Newsletter.

2006 was our second full year of operation. We continue to develop our work in Egypt where we have made excellent progress. Our aim remains to expand our work into a second Arab country in 2007. Some of our main achievements to date are:

• We have sourced and funded a total of six projects in Egypt.
• In addition, we have funded the second stage of three of those projects.
• We have, at last, become a registered NGO in Egypt.
• We have received our US tax exempt status as a 501(c)(3) public charity - no mean feat for an organisation supporting grass roots projects in the Arab world. Thank you Jeff Hurwit and Dan Hershy.
• We began fund raising and achieved some notable successes and incurred a few disappointments. However, in spite of some of the challenges posed by fund raising, we raised money both from individuals as well as from institutions.
• We received a significant donation from Shell EP International Limited.
• We joined the European Venture Philanthropy Association www.evpa.eu.com as a full member, to learn from others who also work in venture philanthropy.
• We hired staff that will work with Nada in Cairo, and support her with Administration.
• Finally, and after much deliberation, we changed our name to Alfanar which in Arabic means ‘beacon’ or ‘lighthouse’. Arab Learning Initiative gave the impression our primary focus is on education, which is misleading. Our new website is www.alfanar.org.uk

We have learnt a lot in 2006. I am very proud of the calculated risks Alfanar is willing to take in its selected projects. For example, we were willing to pilot a project to test the hypothesis that quarry owners in Minia would take a small loan to improve the health and safety standards of their workers. This project has been a great success. Currently, the NGO has a waiting list of over 20 quarry owners for credit. Most satisfying however, is the plummeting accident rate in the participating quarries which has dropped to zero. Read more…

We also took a calculated risk in funding two start-up projects: Establishment of the Information and Research Centre and Al Nafeza Paper-Making Centre. Both of these are now in phase 2 of funding, undergoing the shift from start-up to institutionalisation and doing very well. Click here for more information on these and our other projects.

We have begun forging partnerships with institutions and individuals who are helping our partner NGOs develop their business capacity and improve their financial sustainability. Pharos Capital, a private equity firm in Egypt is a good example of this cooperation. They have contributed significant time to work with the Wadi el Nil Association for the Protection of Quarry Workers to help develop the second phase of the project that we have funded. That is one example of the strategic partnerships we are developing that complement our work. To them and others, we and our NGO partners are extremely grateful. Read more…

Please spend some time looking at our website for further details on Alfanar and our projects. Should you like to contribute please find information on how to do so by clicking here. All and any contributions are important to the work we do. There is a full list of donors on our website.

Thank you.

Tarek M. Ben Halim
Trustee and founder of Alfanar

Project Updates

Establishment of Information and Research Centre

In March 2006, Alfanar supported the creation of the Information Technology Support organisation whose main purpose is to facilitate access to information by NGOs, academia and civil society about current issues of public interest. The web-based initiative www.id3m.com was launched in November 2006. It has already attracted over one million visitors. The website provides a daily update of over 40 Egyptian publications. Topics are sorted according to a ‘rights’ classification with particular emphasis on current issues of public interest and debate. Consensus on this model was reached through a participatory approach, whereby several focus group discussions and individual needs assessment meetings were held with representative from civil society during the design phase of the project.

Since the launch of the website, the organisation has been approached to provide similar services by institutions such as the CEDEJ (Centre d’Etudes et de Documentation Economiques, Juridiques et Sociales) to sort, digitize and publish on the web its archive of the past 20 years of Egyptian publications. The delivery of such services against fees will provide the basis for the organisation’s financial sustainability.

MOVE Training for Cerebral Palsy Health Workers

This training programme has had a very encouraging start. Demand for the training was very high. Over 40 health workers received training in the first 6 months. The popularity of the programme created an unexpected difficulty. It was discovered that the training manual and programme had been illegally copied by some who had not completed the course and had not been certified. Fortunately, MOVE discovered this early enough and has been able to resolve the issue ensuring the continued integrity and quality of the programme.

The centre is expanding and reaching more people. It has added 4 qualified trainers to its staff allowing it to run at full capacity. An additional specialised CP centre is also being negotiated which allows for a wider reach for the positive impact of the programme.

Training and Credit Programme for Children Working in the Quarry Sector and their Families

This project has started its second phase. The project’s aim is to provide quarry owners with the incentive to improve the harsh working conditions in the limestone quarries. The first phase which was a credit programme provided to upgrade working conditions in the quarries is still ongoing. Twelve of the medium-sized loans were provided in the first year of implementation, with an 85% success rate, while another 20 potential recipients are on a waiting list for loans in the next year.

Quarries employ over 3000 children below the age of 18. Alfanar has supported a project that commenced in January 2007 which addresses the issue through the provision of vocational training and micro loans to children and their families, enabling them to generate income through means which are less hazardous than sending their children to work in the quarries.

Al Nafeza Paper-Making Centre

The paper making centre is also in its second phase. In the first phase, the paper-making learning centre was established. It has trained 8 women, who are now able to produce good quality paper from recycled agricultural by-products. The second phase of the project will focus on increased production, innovation, quality, marketing and sales. Selling these products on the market will begin to generate an income for the women and the centre. This will allow the centre to train more women, giving them opportunities to generate income through a skill which contributes positively to the environment.

Institutional Support for Bashayer Women’s Project

Alfanar will be making a grant to the Helwan Association for Community Development, also known as Bashayer. The Association’s activities, predominantly focused on women, provide a number of services such as a ‘listening programme’ for women victims of violence, literacy classes, a day care centre for the children of working mothers, and an income-generating opportunity through the tricot production unit in a cooperative and empowering space for women.

While the production unit currently serves up to 300 women, generates an income for them and for the centre, and markets its products in a number of outlets in Cairo, the gradual growth of the organisation has not been coupled with an equal measure of quality of services provided. This project will therefore boost the activities of the centre through specialised training for producers and management, support the provision of its various services as well as develop the production and marketing potential of its tricot unit. Alfanar’s grant is also complemented by linking the Association with an expert in marketing and an advertising agency which will be providing services/marketing tools at cost.

Partnerships

Alfanar’s emphasis on financial sustainability of projects and organisations is in many cases asking NGOs to venture into areas in which they lack exposure and expertise. Alfanar therefore continues to believe in the great value added brought by institutions and individuals outside the NGO sector to NGO strategies and projects. Not only do they volunteer their time, effort and skills, but in many cases, they bring a fresh perspective to NGO work and assist NGOs in thinking about the viability of their ideas for financial sustainability.

Our partnership with Pharos Capital, a financial services and private equity company, is a very good example of the kind of business acumen that can greatly benefit NGOs. Alfanar is very appreciative of the amount of time spent and genuine availability that Elwy Teymour and Nadia El Lozy from Pharos Capital demonstrated. Much of the preparatory phase for the Wadi El Nil Association for the Protection of Quarry Workers second project was carried out in close cooperation with Pharos Capital and resulted in the final form of the project which started in January 2007.

Individually, Karim Khalifa carried out a feasibility study and developed a business plan for a project we were considering for funding in Assiut, Upper Egypt, and Heba El Gabaly helped develop a marketing plan for the Bashayer Women’s Project and will connect the NGO with an advertising company which will provide services at cost.

Alfanar has received many other offers of support from both institutions and individuals and hopes to be able to draw on their skills when they can be matched with NGO needs as they arise.

Alfanar has also developed a strong cooperative relationship with the Development Support Centre (DSC), a company which provides consulting services and capacity building for NGOs. The DSC recommends organisations for Alfanar funding, provides advisory services, as well as capacity building and training to approved project partners, particularly aimed at institutional strengthening of recently established organisations.