Rev. Andrea Zaki, head of the Evangelical community in Egypt and head of the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services, participated in the launch of the “Waai initiative for development and a dignified life”, in the presence of Dr. Nevin Al-Kabbaj, Minister of Social Solidarity, and Dr. Shawky Allam, Mufti of the Republic of Egypt, Dr. Muhammad Al-Dhawini, Al-Azhar Undersecretary, His Grace Bishop Julius, Bishop of Social Services in the Coptic Orthodox Church, Dr. Hala Ramadan, Director of the National Center for Social and Criminal Research, Dr. Muhammad Abu Zaid Al-Amir, Vice President of Al-Azhar University, on behalf of Prof. Dr. Muhammad Al-Mahrasawi, President of Al-Azhar University, and Dr. Hisham Abdel Aziz, head of the religious sector at the Ministry of Awqaf.
At the beginning of his speech, the head of the evangelical community said: “I extend to all of you a greeting of love and peace, and I congratulate all of you on the advent of the month of Ramadan. May God bring it back to us all and to our beloved country with all goodness. I also express my sincere appreciation for the important and vital role played by the Ministry of Solidarity, led by Dr. Nevin Al-Kabbaj, in supporting the development process in our dear country, Egypt.”
He added: “”Waai’ initiative aims at building more robust and resilient societies and seeks to promote positive behaviors in the Egyptian family. The Evangelical Church always seeks to educate families about the challenges of contemporary life, and we do not forget the role of the Egyptian state, which has contributed in bringing about a major change in many of the targeted communities, the most important of which is the “Hayat Kareem” initiative“.
Zaki continued: “Throughout its history, the church in Egypt has assumed the responsibility of serving the human, regardless of his religious or ethnic affiliation, and this is because of its belief that it is an integral part of society. The Evangelical Church has also made it a priority to provide education of an advanced professional and educational level in its schools.”
At the end of his speech, Reverend Dr. Andrea Zaki said: “I wish all success for this initiative and fulfilment of its objectives and I trust this to be. We always pray for our country and for all the development efforts that we see and participate in. May God protect Egypt and crown all its steps with success and goodness.”
For her part, the Minister of Solidarity said: “We aim from “Waai initiative for development and a decent life” to unify the basic messages that contribute to building awareness of the Egyptian society, through building religious, community and media leaders, to achieve a unified and integrated “scientific, cultural and religious” discourse, to spread knowledge and develop awareness and social trends in the Egyptian countryside.”
The minister explained, “We are facing two main poles, the crisis of values and awareness, and the movement is taking place through the leaders of religion and thought, and the unification of the basic messages between what is religious and what social and the unification of thought.”
