Cairo, September 22, 2016

Grassroots Assistance

Opening Ceremony of Upgraded Atef Afwa Primary School in Beni Suef under Japan’s Grant Assistance Program

  

On Thursday, September 22nd of 2016, Mr. Takehiro Kagawa, Ambassador of Japan to Egypt attended a ceremony to celebrate the completion of “the Project for Improvement of Primary School in Wasta, Beni Suef”. The project was supported by the Japan’s Grant Assistance for Grass-roots and Human Security Projects ($226,503). Eng. Sherif Habib, Governor of Beni Suef, Mr. Nabawi Mohamed Ali, Undersecretary and Director of Educational Directorate Beni Suef and Dr. Hossam Badrawi, Head of the Board for Takatof Association for Development also attended the ceremony.

The project was implemented to provide students with quality education, which comes from safe, clean and effective educational environment and high quality teachers. The project upgraded the school buildings and school yard which are equipped with effective educational tools including music, sport and IT equipment. The classrooms were redesigned in order to reduce the density, to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of class activities, and to establish comfortable and effective “teachers’ room”. All the 34 school teachers have strengthened knowledge and skills in communication, class management, interactive learning through series of training sessions. The school director and teachers are ready and passionate to start the new school year on next week. They share a common view that education is not only about academic skill enhancement but also for students to acquire life skills and morals through interaction and team activities such as sporting, music and class-based activities, and the teachers’ role is to be their facilitators.

At the ceremony, the Ambassador extended his gratitude to Takatof Association for Development for its implementation of the project and the school community for their commitments and expressed his determination to continue supporting their collective efforts. He mentioned that education is a priority area of cooperation between Japan and Egypt. Japanese-style education is going to be introduced to some public schools in Egypt in the form of technical cooperation. He expressed his wishes that this project will serve as a model case and its effects will spread to all over the country.
The Japan’s Grant Assistance for Grass-roots and Human Security Projects is the scheme which provides support to Non-profitable organizations and NGOs in order to improve Basic Human Needs, such as education, health, social care and environment. This scheme was launched in Egypt in 1994, and around 160 projects have been implemented to date, totaling about US$ 8 million.