Tag: 13. November 2012

Beni Hassan

We really had trouble to find gas for  Sr. Juliana’s Toyota Avanca! Between Cairo and Minia on this 300km there was no gas station with gas of 90 or 92 Octan. There maybe were two or three with gasoline and long queues of cars, motorbikes and tractors. So with our last 10l we went from El Berba to Minia searching for gas without success, continued to the pharaonic grave site of Beni Hassan and in the evening returning to Minia with Osamas help we found a totally crowed gas station with the fuel we needed! Beni Hassans caves are not visited very often by tourists. So the Tourist Police was waiting for us and guiding us all the time from one cave to the other. The colour and the variety of the paintings inside are really remarkable!

Kindergarden

There are two Kindergarden in El Berba. One is in the house of the developement center and its Aza who is responsible for it. The other is in the Sisters house and is for children with special needs. There are four young women you work and play with these children in different groups. On top of the house the have a playground under a sunshade. Sr. Juliana initiated this Kindergarden and still is active in keeping it running. As they like music, Barbara gave them twice a music lesson playing with Orff instruments. They enjoyed and we hope the teachers will be able to continue this work.

The village El Berba

El Berba is village at the edge of the western desert about 30km southwest of Minia and northwest of Abu Gurgos / Al Fikria. These towns are at the Nile 300km south of Cairo. The population is still increasing and now maybe at 12.000 persons. Many of the people of Berba live in Cairo and work as concierge in apparent houses. Sometimes the parents live in Cairo and the children in Berba. Or the eldest children look for work in Cairo and support the family at home in Berba. Although people have to look for work outside the village it is still a very agricultural village. There is no starving in Berba but many families have to live from a few pounds (1 EUR = 7,8 EGP) a day which officially means poverty. In Berba today you find 12 mosques but still only one Coptic Catholic Church. As in daily life Christians and Muslims have not the same rights it is a 18 years fight to build a new and larger church. Now after the …