 Good Samaritan cares for Upper Egypt By Parker T. Williamson The Layman Volume 35, Number 3 Posted June 3, 2002 ESNA, Egypt – Packed with people whose poverty allows no alternative, a chain of boxcars traverses the tracks from Aswan to Cairo. Boarding the train at Esna, a tiny village in Upper Egypt, the Rev. Abdel-Malak endures this 12-hour trek each week, thankful that he missed the train that caught fire, killing 300 people. Officials say the fire started in a forward car while, unaware of the inferno that trailed him, the engineer pressed on. Considered an unnecessary accessory for this class of passengers, there was no emergency call system on the train. Malak suffers from hepatitis C, a deadly disease that haunts the villages of Upper Egypt. He sought treatment from the Evangelical Medical Center in Cairo but was told that he must pay 52,000 LE ($10,400 U.S.), a ghastly sum for one whose monthly income is only 150 LE ($30 U.S.). “We would have to sell our children,” says Mrs. Malak, when contemplating the cost of her husband’s treatment in an institution founded by the Presbyterian Church (USA). Malak goes to the government hospital in Cairo, where treatment is free for those who reach the head of the line. But that line is a problem, for Malak’s identity card says he’s Christian, the lowest priority in this Muslim metropolis. PCUSA elder tries to help An ocean away, Dr. John Kaddis is determined to help Malak and his fellow Christians in the villages of Upper Egypt. Kaddis, a Los Angeles physician and elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA), is an Egyptian American whose father was a pastor in Kous, Nag Hamadi and area villages for 50 years. A commissioner to the PCUSA General Assembly in 1995, Kaddis submitted a resolution that would have directed more Presbyterian mission work to the neglected region of Upper Egypt. “I’m not opposed to the support our denomination gives to CEOSS (an essentially secular development agency) and church institutions in Cairo, Alexandria and the wealthy Delta region,” says Kaddis, “but our churches in the southern villages (Upper Egypt) are so needy. Surely we can remember them as well.” Kaddis’ resolution was ruled out of order due to a technicality. Kaddis has made several contacts with Victor Makari, PCUSA coordinator for the Middle East, but has little to show for his efforts. He says Makari urged him to make his own contacts, possibly encouraging his presbytery or synod to take on Upper Egypt as a special project. He did so, and a fact-finding trip from his synod was organized. Although Kaddis requested that he be allowed to join the delegation at his own expense, he was not included. He learned that the trip was under way only after its members arrived in Cairo. “It was strange,” he told The Layman. “I speak the language fluently, and I know many of the people. I could have been a big help on that trip.” Makari says he developed the itinerary with synod officials, but he claims that he had nothing to do with their choice of participants. The itinerary included generous time with CEOSS and selected pastors in Cairo and Alexandria. A Nile River cruise ship ferried them to tourist sites but, for “security reasons,” they did not visit any villages in Upper Egypt. Kaddis trip ‘unofficial’ Kaddis arranged his own trip, taking a handful of U.S. Presbyterians. But when Makari heard of it, he sent a letter ahead, telling Egyptian church officials that Kaddis’ group was not “an official PCUSA delegation.”
Property has been located that would cost 300,000 LE ($60,000 U.S.) and the Al-Derb elders estimate that another 120,000 LE ($24,000 U.S.) would be required for renovation and furnishings. The congregation has raised 150,000 LE toward the purchase price, and it is praying that the Lord will provide additional funds to secure and renovate the structure. Dr. Kaddis and a group of Presbyterians in Southern California have established the Samaritan Medical Foundation to receive tax-deductible gifts for the Al-Derb project. Kaddis says the foundation’s first objective is to raise the needed funds to complete the purchase and renovation. Then they will organize volunteer medical mission teams from Presbyterian churches in the U.S. to conduct health-care projects at the clinic and outlying villages in Upper Egypt. |
||
| Respond
to this article |
||
| Home
· News
· PLC
Publications ·
The
Presbyterian Layman Online Reviews · Archives · History of the Lay Committee · Feedback · Links |
||