Report from BHW Egypt Partnership Facilitator Following Visit

In the first two weeks of November 2025, I visited the vocational training centre with several others and met several of the people involved. We interviewed NB about the various courses, we talked to John, the manager who reported about the various courses, we spent time with the Bible school students, and we met several groups who came in for training.

Recent Events

N and S’s son, who was helping in a part-time capacity, has recently got a full-time job. He is hoping that in the future he will be able to continue helping, but for the present, while settling into his new role his time is limited. John is now the main organiser of the training programmes. 

Many of the programmes operate in the evenings because of availability. With John on the team, and him being single, it means that they can develop more evening classes. This has taken the pressure off the team and better utilises the facility.

They place a lot of emphasis on the summer programmes. Egypt closes for almost four months across the hot season. They run a lot of courses at this time, mainly to equip young people from churches with skills that will be useful to them in the future. These courses had just wound up when we visited.

Courses 

Here is a table of the subjects, months and number of students with some explanations. It gives a good overview of the year. 

1) Every month NB runs a Bible training course at the Centre. This is for pastors from the Holiness Movement. 25 men come for four days per month, and NB organises speakers to come and talk to them. This is N’s favourite thing to do. Some of those who come stay with relatives, and those who have no accommodation are accommodated in an apartment nearby that was his mother's. He pays for their transport and feeds them each day. He brings in high profile speakers to lift the standard of training these men receive.

2) UCMAS (Universal Concept of Mental Arithmetic System) is a global abacus-based mental math program for kids (ages 4-13) that uses a physical abacus and a unique 6-finger technique to build strong brain power, concentration, memory, and visualization skills, teaching kids to calculate mentally by visualizing the abacus, boosting overall cognitive development beyond just math. 

This is a very sought after programme for kids to attend and because it’s a licensed franchise-based programme, usually only very wealthy families can afford it. Al Hayat offers it at a minimal cost so that Christian kids are able to gain access to it and the benefits. They expect that this will continue to grow in the future. With the number of students, they have 3 or 4 classes per day, 5 days per week. 

3) Learning English is very useful for people who want to succeed. They get mainly young people at college and university levels attending the classes. It is popular during summer when the students aren’t attending classes. 

4) A special class for Christian kids where they use a Christian curriculum for teaching. 

5) French is popular because of the French influence in Egypt. A lot a Egyptians go to France for university study and to emigrate.

6) Computer programming is popular, especially during summer for university and college students. 

7) ICDL (International Certificate of Digital Literacy) is the most widely recognised digital skills certification in the world. An ICDL certificate is a globally recognized qualification proving your practical skills in using common computer applications like Word, Excel, and the internet, validating digital competence for employers, with modular exams taken at accredited test centres worldwide. It demonstrates proficiency, boosts employability, and comes in various levels, with the ICDL CORE being a key credential for essential workplace digital skills. 

Al Hayat is an accredited training centre for ICDL. As you can see, it is mainly Sudanese refugees that attend this training. Al Hayat has good links into the Sudanese community through churches. This is a very helpful tool for them as many are studying and will be repatriated internationally sometime in the future. This gives them some form of international accreditation. 

8) Music is taught if there are students wanting it. 

9) The hairdressing course was taught during April 2025, but they need to get a minimum of 5 students before commencing a course. 

10) The same minimum number applies to the sewing course, and they only did one course in May 2025.

Generally, they have more than 180+ learners in the centre every week - children, teenagers, adults and refugees. 

Emerging Leaders

John joined the team in 2024. We met him last year and were impressed. He is a single man who lives with his mother and brother who has mental health issues. He is very affable, ready to engage and warm. Since we met him last year, he has taken over the organization of the training programme. NB's son helps him in a part-time role. He is a very keen Christian and involved in a church. 

He is a private English instructor to help people find their way to be excellent in English and has more than 7 years’ experience in dealing with kids as a volunteer to tell them stories and teach them ethics. 

Partnership's Influence within the Community

They have good numbers attending their training courses, especially the UCMAS course which has become a major part of the training programme. The parents of the children who attend this are rapt with the outcomes, and it does provide maths tutoring for those who attend. However, it will be a long time before they enter the workforce. It's a long-term investment.

The vocational training centre has a very good reputation with the government education department, and from time to time they get visits from the department.

Ideas for the Future

There is demand for more digital skills course and this is being researched and developed currently. 

Current Issues and Challenges

- The situation around Egypt is causing severe strain, especially with the Sudanese war and the conflict in Gaza which still impacts Egypt 

- That Christian young people will be empowered and able to contribute to society more freely 

- For the staff at Al Hayat, that they will represent Christ well to the majority population  

Prayer and Praise Points

1) Thank God for the impact this is having on so many lives
2) That their reputation with the government will continue
3) For the economic situation in Egypt which is putting a lot of strain on operations
4) That the students that graduate will be able to find employment  

Comments

While it is true that there is a lot of training being delivered, I am concerned that there has been a drift away from vocational training towards education and skills that do not directly help people become self-sustaining. 

NB has a particular love for the pastors working in the Holiness Movement, and a lot of his energy and resources go towards their monthly training at the training centre. I think too high a percentage of the resources we provide is going towards this. I raised this with him but am not sure it really registered.