Report from BHW Egypt Partnership Facilitator Following Visit

A team from BHW visited Cairo and various partnerships in Egypt in November 2025.

On Monday the 3rd of November we went with a team from Barnabas to a large church compound and met with a group of about 50 Sudanese, Christian refugees. After a time of singing, I spoke to them for a few minutes and then they were all given a bag of foodstuffs. These people are in Cairo because of the war in Darfur and are struggling to survive. Very few are registered with the UN and are undocumented. They struggle to live and many do not have their men with them. They have horrific stories to tell of what happened in Sudan and their journey out to safety. 

Then on Monday the 10th of November, we headed off in a van to 5th October City to visit their ministry to refugees there, or as they call them, strangers. For them the word ‘refugee’ is a politically loaded word, and they prefer not to use it. Coming Generation is the name of the NGO. We spent some time there and the leader talked to us about the work, very inspiring. I spoke to a group of about 40 “stranger” women. We were all invited to their place for a meal and to visit them in Sudan when the war is over and they have gone home. We handed out blankets to about 50 people.

Recent Events

Activities

The Barnabas Team continues to support about 100 families through the programme at Coming Generation and two partner churches. 25 of them are regularly supported through Coming Generation and the others through the two churches. 

Each month they run programmes in the churches and visit Coming Generation. There continues to be a lot of refugees coming into Cairo from all around the Middle East. Most recently those from Sudan make up the bulk of them. As well, there are Somali’s, Eritreans, Yemenis and Syrians. 

Personal Stories

We did not get a lot of time with the beneficiaries, but we heard a couple of harrowing escape stories from women from Sudan. One was a little older and spoke good English. She had to leave her husband and children behind; she lost her three children on the journey out of the country. She has not heard any news about them since losing them one at a time. She does not hear from her husband and fears they are all dead. 

Partnership's Influence within the Community

The people at Coming Generation were very happy to see us again and talked a lot about the impact they are having. Several families have come to faith despite them not ‘preaching’ at them. They feel abandoned by everyone, their own people and government, and international agencies and are very thankful for the assistance they are receiving. 

Some of the women at the church were in tears receiving their food packages. Life is very difficult for them. 

The church leaders say that this is a wonderful help as they struggle to serve their own poor without all the others that are arriving. They feel obligated to help and are happy to do so despite it being a burden. The church leaders are very supportive of the programme and have established a church for the Sudanese people. 

Current Issues and Challenges

Many of the refugees are traumatised and cannot get help. This adds to all the other issues they face.

Many of the refugees are not documented and do not qualify for UN assistance.

The war in Sudan and the instability in Syria and the Middle East continues to create more refugees.

The constant rise in the cost of foodstuffs makes life more and more difficult.

Plans for the Future

The plan is to continue helping as many as possible with the resources available. 

They expect to continue working through churches and agencies so that people can get help in the context of ongoing care.

Prayer and Praise Points

1) It is very difficult to be a refugee in a country that does not have the capacity to look after them well
2) The morale of the beneficiaries is lifted because they know that people care for them and move towards them
3) That several families have come to faith at Coming Generation and are being discipled
4) Pray for the Barnabas team as they constantly hear very hard stories and it affects them too

Comments

This is a little like the situation with the Egyptian poor (EGY05). It is a relief situation apart from what is happening at Coming Generation where they are doing more development. 

We should continue with this, what else can we do. These are the poorest people on earth right now, desperate and traumatised. They have suffered and seen unspeakable horrors and are our brothers and sisters.