HOME VISITS
The Face of Jesus in the Slums
Home visits are the heart of the ministry of Stephen’s Children. Through these weekly encounters, trained and caring Stephen’s Children workers provide emotional and psychological care, family counseling, emergency assistance, spiritual mentoring, economic assistance, health and hygiene awareness and assistance in the growth and development of children. Workers develop close mentoring relationships with the children, and allow them to personally experience the positive spiritual and emotional impact of a one-on-one relationship with a caring Christian adult – often for the first time in their lives.
COMMUNITY EDUCATION CENTERS
Giving Children a Head Start
Pre-school and Kindergarten education opportunities are rare throughout Egypt and even more limited for children of poverty. Stephen’s Children’s Community Education Centers (CECs) provide strategic opportunities to establish a solid Christian foundation for children when their hearts and minds are perhaps most open and teachable. Curriculum includes: reading and math, personal hygiene and responsibility, Arabic and English language skills, Bible stories and Christian principles, and Scripture memorization.
All of the children who attend the CECs and their families are given access to free medical clinics staffed by local Christian doctors. The centers also host monthly meetings to update mothers about their children’s progress, educate them about nutrition and hygiene, and opportunities for Christian fellowship.
Medical and Dental Clinics
Bringing Healing and Hope to Egypt’s Poorest
Volunteer medical professionals have stepped forward to provide check-ups and encouragement for good health habits for children who attend Stephen’s Children’s three-day sports camps, as well as pre-school and kindergarten programs. For most of the children, it is the first time they have been seen by a doctor or dentist. The check-ups for both general and oral health are free of charge, and it is our prayer that more medical professionals will volunteer to share the love of Christ by investing time, training and resources to improve the quality of life for Egypt’s poorest and most at-risk children.
VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTERS
Skills and Confidence for the Future
Vocational Training Centers provide an alternative for older children not enrolled in primary education. Here they learn trade skills, basic literacy, and the love of Jesus Christ — the critical pillars of a better future. Girls learn the arts of knitting, sewing and embroidery. Boys are trained in shoe making and repair. At these Centers, young men and women are given an opportunity to learn a profession, develop personal responsibility, and gain the confidence to become financially self-reliant. Hope for a better life is born and nurtured.
Mothers’ Morning Out
A Once-a-Month Gathering to Encourage Mothers
This program is designed to offer hope and encouragement to some of Egypt’s most impoverished families. Mothers whose children are enrolled in Stephen’s Children’s Community Education Centers are invited to participate in this monthly gathering. It’s an opportunity for the mothers to discuss the personal development of their children, but also to share personal and family issues in a safe and positive environment. The role of women in Egyptian culture is often minimized or overlooked, but mothers are at the heart of the family structure -- and the gathering at Mothers’ Morning Out provides practical ways for women to be more effective in their homes and in society.
Literacy Single Class Schools
A Path of Enlightenment for Young Women
Stephen’s Children seeks to promote social and economic advancement for all people in Egypt, where nearly half of all young women are classified as illiterate. The Literacy Single Class program is aimed at girls ages 8 to 14 and provides them with instruction in literacy and basic arithmetic and life skills leading to a Certificate of Competency. That enables them to qualify to enter the state school system, opening new doors of hope and opportunity. The long-term goal is to establish Single Class Schools in all 29 of Egypt’s governates, especially in areas teeming with garbage slums and poor villages.
SPORTS CAMPS
Three Days of Love, Listening and Laughter
Stephen’s Children’s life-changing camp programs offer children the opportunity to spend three days away from their home environments and be nurtured by a loving staff. Children participate in games and discussion groups, learn Bible stories, memorize scripture, and discover their own creativity. Campers are encouraged to commit their lives to Jesus Christ and experience a personal relationship with their Creator.
“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”
Proverbs 22:6
Stephen's Children: Reaching Out with Christ's Love to Egypt's Unloved
The ministries of Stephen's Children stand on three pillars:
• Developing loving relationships through one-on-one mentoring and basic humanitarian assistance.
• Providing access to education pre-primary schools as well as vocational training that offer opportunities for a better life.
• Making God's Word available for encouragement, instruction and memorization.
Stephen’s Children offers seven complementary programs that serve ALL people, irrespective of color, sex, race or religion: