Mohamed Ashmawi, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of “Ataa” Charitable Investment Fund to Support the Disabled, and Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Nasser Social Bank, signed a cooperation protocol with CEOSS, represented by Mumtaz Beshai, Vice President of CEOSS, aiming at making campus facilities available within two universities of Zagazig and Menoufia in order to facilitate the movement and the educational process of students with motor and visual disabilities in the universities, in the presence of a high-ranking delegation of the leaders of “Ataa” Charitable Investment Fund and of CEOSS.
Ashmawy stated, “The signing of the protocol comes as a continuation of “Ataa” Fund ‘s completion of Ain Shams University campus adaptations at the highest level and the completion of its goal in providing the spatial accessibility requirements and standards in the rest of the universities in Egypt, where “Ataa” Fund aims to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities and enable them to have their full rights and equal opportunities to be able to live independently, and that is by financing and supporting targeted projects submitted by NGOs and institutions with expertise in the field of disability in Egypt.
He also confirmed that “under this protocol, the main campus will be equipped and made available, focusing on 7 faculties within the Universities of Zagazig and Menoufia, by adapting the entrances and exits of the buildings and the floors of the study, adding approximately 115 metal ramps to facilitate the movement of students with motor disabilities, providing handrails for college buildings, external entrances, corridors, stairs and bathrooms and other accommodations, walkers for visually impaired people (blind people), and ensuring their accessibility from the main entrance to the lecture halls in the faculties to help them move around the university independently.”
For his part, Dr. Andre Zaki, president of the Protestant Church in Egypt, expressed his great proudness in cooperating with “Ataa” Charitable Investment Fund to support the disabled, saying, “People with disabilities are one of our most important priorities, for the main concern of the CEOSS is the human being and the human dignity. We work on one land with those we serve, and we belong to it, because we believe that we are part of this community, and we are happy to play this national role.”
Ashmawi pointed out that “a special elevator for people with disabilities will be installed at the Faculty of Science in Zagazig University, toilets will be developed and made available for students, and an orientation board in Braille will be implemented on the campus displaying offices and services locations, and consultants in the field of disability will raise awareness for faculty members, employees, and students without disabilities in Egyptian universities, about the disabled rights to education.
