On August 25th, Dina Sidhom and Hani Seif, spoke about the GG Women’s Empowerment Project.
On August 25th, Dina Sidhom and Hani Seif, spoke about the GG Women’s Empowerment Project.
Change often begins with people who see a problem and decide to do something about it. At our recent Rotary meeting, Dina Sidhom and Hani Seif shared inspiring updates about the GG Women's Empowerment Project and several other community programs supported through the Rotary Sunrise in Egypt. Their presentation focused on how education, health, and economic opportunity can work together to strengthen communities and the overall quality of life.
Dina Sidhom has been involved with Rotary since 2016. Originally trained in architecture, she later changed careers and moved to journalism. She has served as a Rotary Sunrise club secretary since 2020. Hani Seif specializes in laboratory work and holds a degree in engineering. Together, they brought valuable personal experience and knowledge to the discussion about Rotary's work in Egypt, as well as how they utilized their educational backgrounds to make a greater change and lasting impact in Egypt.
The Rotary Club of Grosse Pointe has partnered with and funded the Club of Cairo Sunrise to support projects focused on education, health, and empowerment. Through their literacy programs, more than 1,150 women have learned how to read and write, helping decrease the rate of illiteracy in Egypt. Other major projects include eliminating Egypt's smoking problem, by targeting areas where most drug dealings occur, and instead providing educational opportunities to help decrease these addictions within children as young as ages 12 to 13 years old. Currently, the club has successfully completed campaigns in 9 different schools, helping children deter from drugs and smoking.
A major recent project is the Women's Empowerment Project, which provides women with medical care, training, and equipment to produce and sell food products. In Egypt, many women are not given the option to learn how to read, write, or support their families financially. So, to combat this, the Club of Cairo Sunrise has worked to eliminate these struggles by helping women in rural areas to increase their income and improve their knowledge and skills on proper nutrition, food processing, and food conservation. Through these opportunities, 33 women were able to receive medical check ups, given access to food production machines (stoves, grinders, mixers, etc.), learning how to sell and package equipment, and also provide sources of clean water.
On the educational aspect, the club has also created programs assisting those who struggle with disabilities. Whether that's helping children overcome psychological, behavioral, social or educational problems, the club has worked to help people feel seen and get the educational support they need to reach their full potential. Some of the clubs support systems include, carpentry workshop for the youth, specific academies for visually impaired, equipped computer centers, and setup Montessori rooms.
Dina and Hani's presentation showed how Rotary's commitment to service can create a meaningful and lasting change. By supporting the importance of education, opportunity, and community support, Rotary is helping people build stronger futures and improve the overall quality of life. We give a special thanks to Dina Sidhom and Hani Seif for taking the time to update the club on how big of a change they were able to make in Egypt!