Report from BHW Egypt Partnership Facilitator Following Visit on 12th October

I visited one of the locations of the addict's recovery programme with NB on the 12th of October. We had hoped to visit with John Stanley from Chase Oaks Church, USA, but the Director was away during the time of John’s visit. 

About 50% of the budget for this is invested in the centre in Badr City. N gives some general support and also funds specific individuals to attend. The rest of the funds are used to assist the families of addicts and those who come out of the programme and need help to reintegrate back into their families. Most of them have been rejected but many will take them back conditionally if they agree to attend the rehabilitation centre. Some have debts and others have lost everything because of their addictions. 

Recent Events

Trip to Centre

We arrived around 1 pm and spent about 2 hours there. We had introductions and then I spoke to them via a translator for about 40 minutes. Afterwards they all shared a little of their reaction to what was said and asked some questions following which five of them came to see us for some form of personal counselling and encouragement. They all had sad stories of addiction and loss. Some were in tears and full of regret. Most of them are encountering Jesus in the course. All of them are from Christian backgrounds. 

I did not take any photos while there as it did not seem appropriate. The photo here is one N sent me a few weeks previously that has some of the same people in it. 

The leader of this centre, H, is a long-time friend of N. They met years ago in Jordan at a conference. Since then, H has been trained and worked in several countries in the area of addiction recovery. He has established the centre in Badr City as a faith ministry and gets very little support which is why N helps him. Local churches are not interested in supporting ministry outside their own walls. 

N has a soft heart for addicted people. In every addicted young person, he sees his sons and feels compassion for them. Most of the 13 men in the centre are young men and eerily, one of them is a dead ringer for one of N’s sons. 

The centre has been operating for a few years now and 100% of the men who enter leave clean. There is follow-up and H says that none have fallen back. They are in the place for 6 months and they use a 12-step programme. Some stay on to continue helping, two of the men we met are doing that. 

Personal Stories

M – he is the one that looks like one of N’s sons, and it was obvious that N was moved by his story. M was in the third year of a computer science degree and got in with bad friends who introduced him to heroin. It took over his life and he failed his third year. He used to go out to rural villages to find and buy heroin and it destroyed him. His mother enrolled him in this programme, and he came reluctantly but he is so grateful that he has come and is now able to function again. He has been able to return to university but is very fearful of the future. We explained to him that a relationship with Christ was important and that he get into a church and make good friends. He spoke quite good English and I was able to communicate with him. He is 23 years old. 

AA is full of life and what an interesting story. He is from Yemen and a Muslim background. His father became a believer and because of this the family had to leave the country. He spent time in Djibouti and then Ethiopia where his father is the pastor of a Yemeni church in Addis Ababa. A studied engineering and had a part-time job selling eyeglasses which made him good money. He got an engineering job, but it only paid about 1/3 of what he could earn selling glasses. He gave it up and against his father’s wishes left engineering.  

Eventually he came to Egypt to study at the Tyrannus Bible School run by Streams Ministries. Somehow he found alcohol and it took over his life for two years. His parents were ashamed but never disowned him. He came to the centre to get clean and has done so. He was here for 6 months and has now stayed on for a period to help. He has great English and is a really engaging young man. He is engaged to be married and his parents have come to visit him. It is hard for him to go back to Addis Ababa as people there know about his drinking and will not accept him easily. 

N is a man of 37. He has two children, 15 years and 8 years. Alcohol took over his life along with tablets. They ruined his family and his life. He is hopeful he will be able to resurrect his life again but is not entirely sure. His brother has carried much of the burden of caring for his wife and children. He has two more months to go on the programme. He has nothing. 

He is hopeful that God will see him through, he has placed all his trust in God. N never went to school and cannot read or write. He hopes that by getting cleaned up he will be able again to support his family. 

AB is 29 years old and a likeable young man. He was quite emotional while telling his story. He went to school till grade 9 and has dabbled in drugs since he was 11. He has been on heroin for 12 years and has tried to stop many times but always went back to it. He has been in the centre for 3 months and feels very different now.  

He was rejected by his family and went to live on the streets. He scavenged for food, often in rubbish cans, and did “terrible things” on the streets. He began to question his life and compared himself to others he saw on the streets, especially some Christians. Since coming to the centre his parents have begun to accept him again and he hopes he can make something of his life. His brother still rejects him. He has stolen from many and he hopes he can restore that in the future with God’s help. Despite all this, he sees the hand of God on his life and trusts him. 

AC looked like a troubled man. He is 42 years old, and it appears that drugs have affected his mind. He used to sell electrical items in a store but cannot work now. He tried to stop many times but failed. He asked N if he would give him money to leave the centre for 10 days for some reason, but N would have none of it. He got upset and left. 

K – what an interesting story. K looks different and he is, he is Jordanian. He is from a wealthy family who import Caterpillar machinery into Jordan. He was a lecturer in philosophy and psychology at Beirut University and had a flourishing career. However, 21 years ago he became a Christian and was baptised. He was disowned by his family, lost his career, and had to leave the country and cannot return. His wife became a Christian too. Since then he has lived in several countries; Lebanon, Cyprus, Libya and Tunisia before landing in Egypt. 

His wife recanted her faith because life was too hard, and she went back to Jordan with their 12 year old son who he hasn’t seen for many years. Life is hard for him in Egypt. He feels like he doesn’t belong, struggles to go to church because security is always questioning who he is, and he has no peace. He questions why life is so hard for him and he is very lonely. In many ways he is questioning God. 

He is at the centre because he had a drinking problem but has now been clear for 12½ years. He is currently helping with the counselling alongside H. He is a disturbed man, a sad and lonely man. We felt sorry for him and prayed for him that he would be able to find friends here in Egypt. 

Comments

This is an interesting project. It is a personal one for N and he is very committed to it. He sees addicts and their families at the centre frequently and goes out to Badr City monthly to talk to the people there and encourage them. 

I think we should carry on with this as planned and at the end of the proposed timeframe try to do some form of assessment as to whether we should carry on with it or not.