CAIRO: Samusocial International Egypt celebrated their new medically equipped van at the French Embassy on Thursday – a gift presented through the Rotary Club Le Caire-Champollion that will double the NGO’s inventory in its service for street children across Cairo.
“In the streets, the social animal dear to Jean Jacques Rousseau becomes the savage animal, the French Ambassador to Egypt Felix-Paganon said before a group of financial supporters, Rotary Club members, and the press. “The street children need the support of each and all.
The LE 200,000 project to donate a medically equipped mobile unit has been championed as an innovative form of fund raising for community service. With support from the Rotary Club Le Caire-Champollion as well as from the French embassy, a variety of both local and international companies contributed to purchasing the van.
“It’s the support of the private sector to nongovernmental organizations, Felix-Paganon told Daily News Egypt in an interview. “It’s the new mechanism for social work.
“It’s a little bit like what is called social responsibility of enterprises, he said. “Street children are not their problem, but social stability is everyone’s problem.
Samusocial International Egypt President Laure Baudin said the involvement of local Egyptian companies was especially noteworthy. “It’s nice to see that they can help, she said.
President Daniel Leroux said the Rotary Club chose to support Samusocial because of its unique possibility to make a difference. “They try to come to the aid of these children little by little to create a life, he said.
Samusocial International is a French nongovernmental organization aimed at improving the situation of the urban underprivileged, located in 13 countries around the world. Since 2008, Samusocial International Egypt has operated a single mobile medical unit serving up to 20 different locations within Cairo.
The organization has taken a new approach to medical service for the communities of homeless adults and street children. The three-man team in the medically-equipped van seeks to support and reintegrate the people into society without forcing them out of their own environment.
“The idea is not to bring the children back into institutions, Ambassador Felix-Paganon said. “It’s to try to reach out and establish confidence.
Five days a week, day and night, the van heads for the areas where the street children come out.
Baudin said the new Toyota Hiace van will provide greater flexibility for an exhausting work schedule.
Indeed, the organization hired an additional three-man team back in May, when the van was expected to arrive before financial difficulties delayed the project.
The Rotary Club Le Caire-Campollion took on its largest project to date at a rather inconvenient time. “We had some trouble, Leroux said, describing a point in the midst of the global financial crisis when the purchase seemed impossible.
In a stroke of luck in March, the Rotary Club Le Caire-Champollion found a variety of private companies willing to put up funds for the purchase. “They responded very quickly, Leroux said.
The Rotary Club Le Caire-Champollion is the only francophone chapter in Cairo. Founded in 2003, the club assumes several smaller projects (around LE 50,000) each year.
Although further plans have yet to be set, Ambassador Felix-Paganon said he hoped the Rotary Club Le Caire-Champollion’s project would set a precedent. “We hope there’s going to be a third and a fourth and a fifth car.
