el Qussia - 2004

 040630 - elQussia

The Diocese of elQussia and Mair number 100,000 people, with 30% being Christian. ElQussia is a district within the governate of Assuit. There are 3 Coptic Orthodox Churches, 1 Coptic Catholic Church, 1 Coptic Evangelical Church and 1 Coptic Brethren Church in the Diocese. 

Among the relics held in their Church is one of St Abraham and his is yet another interesting story:

St Abraham was a very generous man and would help anyone in need, either with money or his time. One day a youth schemed that he would get extra money by asking for enough to be able to bury his friend, who had just died [or so he said]. St Abraham didn't question the youth and just handed over the amount asked for. However, upon his return home, the youth discovered that his friend had indeed died. St Abraham is the Saint of serving the poor. Even today, the women of the village bake extra bread every Saturday, according to their abundance and bring the extra bread to the Church. From there, it is distributed by the teenage boys and young men of the Church to each family who cannot afford to bake their own bread. The boys and young men take it to those homes of Christians in the service of St Abraham. This service is a mobile witness of Christ's love – it is also a good example to the community and teaches each family to give, according to their ability, for God. Often the difference between a family converting to Islam or not is whether they have enough bread for just one more week. For some families, that's all they have to eat all week, is their bread and water.

The bread-baking “dishes” for the families of elQussia are made of cow pats which have been shaped and allowed to cook in their bread ovens. They are stored on the roof of the houses and are used until they disintegrate. The dung is kneaded and worked with straw and baked in the ovens until they become rock hard. From a health perspective, they are perfectly safe as they have been baked at such high temperatures and become like clay. It was also interesting to learn that they store their grain in earthenware jars, just like in Biblical times, even in the times of King David.

Saraaqna

We met with Fr Kerolos, one of the Priests, who shared with us some of the stories of how the Church is working to meet the basic needs of her people. Saraaqna is a village with 93% Christian population, near elQussia. He went on to also inform us that in the village are 3 Priests and 2 Coptic Orthodox Churches, 1 Coptic Evangelical, 1 Coptic Brethren and 1 Mosque [in a corner of the village but outside the old village wall]. The Christians and Muslims mix socially and educationally and treat one another as brothers, respecting each other's beliefs. 

Health Education Project

Fr Kerolos shared with us about some of the primary health care services in which the Church is involved. One of their most successful courses is the one on Primary or basic health care for the family. The “lady of the house” is encouraged to attend these classes for one hour a day for 2 weeks, during which time she is taught how to care for her family, how to cook basic meals, how to keep the flies off food, off the dishes and off the family. In one story which Fr Kerolos shared with us was the story of one lady who had twins but for most days they could not be recognized as to who was who because the flies covered their entire faces and of course the babies were always sick. The project showed her that by covering their faces with a soft cotton fabric, she would also have healthier babies – and she did! The “lady of the house” also learns about “summer” and “winter” diseases, about worms and dehydration. She is the manager or head of the home and yet these basic things are not passed from one generation to the next in this culture. Each “lady of the house” must learn them for herself. The classes were started for the absolute most needy within the village and then will work its way upwards, being changed to suit each class. The mothers are also taught why their children should wear shoes or sandals as a prevention against cuts and diseases which enter through the skin.

Co-operative Project

The Church created a Co-operative Project about 8 years ago and appointed a manager to run it – it continues to be a success and has grown into a very big project with 30 people working for it. The success of the project thus far has given others great encouragement to participate and to make their small contributions or deposits in the enterprise. Initially, the Church guaranteed the money and the Priest was responsible for it but now the people are starting to take control and manage the coop's finances. The co-op has helped over 40 families to own their own cow which then provides milk, butter and cheese for the family but also provides a small income for the family because they can sell what they don’t need themselves. The co-op has a success rate of 57 out of 60 people who join it – these 57 not only repaid the loan but kept their business intact.

Village Life Education

The Church also runs seminars and village conferences on how to live in the complex society of the village and to meet the needs of the people. It is an opportunity for the village people to talk through issues and then try and come up with ways to overcome the problems. The Church instigated these conferences and they have been really successful in keeping the village together and to help one another to understand each other. They also talk about how to raise kids, many kids have lost their self confidence and so there is a big push to build that up. Many of the village people think that God is the judge, that He doesn't love them, doesn't care for them as individuals and these conferences have also been good for the Church to reach out and teach them about the real God. The Church is correcting the thoughts of who God is. They are also starting at the KG level teaching the kids that God loves them. They also teach the parents how to teach their kids – so the Church is teaching all generations at the same time. 

There are 3 aims of the KG:

1. to give a true picture of God;

2. most kids go to school for a while but don't learn to read and write. 33% can't read and write therefore they won't be able to work successfully at many jobs and will leave school by the age of 6 or 7 to work on the family's farm. KG starts at the age of 3. When the program first started 34% of the kids did not go to KG now only 18% do not attend. Hopefully within the next year, all 3 year olds will attend KG; and to

3. raise kids in a good way with self respect, and a confidence that they can do things!

The kids learn to be leaders at KG level day by day the older ones are helping the younger ones by showing them what to do – this builds their self confidence.

How did it all start? 

Fr Kerolos came from Cairo about 15 years ago but spent the first 2-3 years just living, observing and being there for the village people. He had to gain their trust and respect. In 1990 he started his first program, which came about as a solution to a problem in the village. His health education program took another 2 years to get off the ground – he used to visit the villagers in their homes and then eventually trained someone to do it for him. After a while, they realised that they had to run communal classes and so began holding them at the church. After a while a doctor came and saw what they were doing and commented that it was a miracle in action.