The Coptic Evangelical Organization and “Ataa” Charitable Investment Fund to Support Persons with Disabilities Witness the Signing of a Cooperation Protocol to Launch the Second Phase of the “Towards Inclusive Egyptian Universities” Project
Rev. Dr. Andrea Zaki, President of the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services:
“We believe that inclusive education is a fundamental right, and that building a just society begins with providing equal opportunities for all.”
“Ataa Fund is a distinguished model as the first charitable investment fund in Egypt dedicated to empowering persons with disabilities.”
Sherif Samy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ataa Fund:
“We aim to achieve a sustainable impact that enhances the inclusion of persons with disabilities within Egyptian universities.”
“Today’s protocol represents the largest funding provided by Ataa Charitable Investment Fund to Support Persons with Disabilities to a civil society organization, namely the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services.”
The Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services witnessed, on Monday, the signing of a cooperation protocol with Ataa Charitable Investment Fund to Support Persons with Disabilities, to launch the second phase of the “Towards Inclusive Egyptian Universities” project. This comes within the framework of supporting equal educational opportunities and enhancing the inclusion of students with disabilities within Egyptian universities.
The protocol was signed in the presence of Rev. Dr. Andrea Zaki, President of the Protestant Churches of Egypt and President of the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services; Sherif Samy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ataa Fund; Momtaz Beshay, Vice President of the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services; Amira El-Refaie, Executive Director of Ataa Fund; and a number of leaders from both parties.
This protocol comes as part of an institutional partnership between the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services, one of the leading civil society organizations registered with the Ministry of Social Solidarity, and Ataa Fund, the first charitable investment fund in Egypt dedicated to supporting and empowering persons with disabilities and licensed by the Financial Regulatory Authority. This reflects a direction toward strengthening the concept of sustainable charitable investment, which aims to achieve long-term developmental impact through financing quality projects that contribute to improving quality of life and enhancing independence for persons with disabilities.
In his remarks during the signing ceremony, Rev. Dr. Andrea Zaki expressed his happiness with this cooperation, affirming that the project comes within the framework of a national vision that seeks to build a more just and inclusive society, based on promoting human dignity and consolidating rights, especially the rights of persons with disabilities.
He explained that the Coptic Evangelical Organization’s development work is grounded in an integrated rights-based vision that places people at the center of attention, as both the purpose and means of development. He stressed that human dignity is translated into policies and programs that ensure equal opportunities and guarantee every person a decent life without discrimination.
Rev. Dr. Andrea Zaki also noted that the organization adopts an approach based on empowering persons with disabilities and working to remove the barriers that hinder their full participation in society, whether physical, intellectual, or institutional. He pointed out that the partnership with Ataa Fund represents a model of integration between development work and sustainable social investment.
He added that Ataa Fund is a distinguished model as the first charitable investment fund in Egypt dedicated to empowering persons with disabilities, as it works to utilize financial resources to generate returns that are reinvested in sustainable development projects.
For his part, Sherif Samy affirmed that Ataa Fund continues to support initiatives that create sustainable impact in the field of empowering persons with disabilities, noting that the project represents an important step toward enhancing accessibility within Egyptian universities and supporting the right to inclusive education.
He explained that the fund operates according to a charitable investment model aimed at achieving sustainability by directing returns to support effective development projects that make a real difference in the lives of beneficiaries. He affirmed that the “Towards Inclusive Egyptian Universities – Phase Two” project is the largest funding the fund has provided to a civil society organization, namely the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services.
He added that cooperation with the Coptic Evangelical Organization reflects a shared belief in the importance of integrating efforts among civil society institutions to empower persons with disabilities and enhance their opportunities in education and a decent life.
The two parties announced the launch of the “Towards Inclusive Egyptian Universities – Phase Two” project, affirming that it represents an extension of the successes achieved in the first phase, which contributed to improving accessibility in a number of Egyptian universities and enhancing the inclusion of students with disabilities within the university environment.
The project aims to promote inclusive university education by developing engineering infrastructure according to accessibility standards, supporting universities’ capacities to provide integrated services, and raising awareness of modern concepts of disability, contributing to a shift in the prevailing culture toward empowerment and equality.
The project will be implemented in a number of Egyptian universities within Ataa Fund’s vision to support the rights of persons with disabilities, foremost among them the right to fair and equal university education. This is considered one of the key pathways toward building a more independent and participatory future by supporting an inclusive educational environment that removes barriers facing students with disabilities and enables them to access knowledge, services, and facilities on an equal basis with their peers, opening wider horizons for learning, rehabilitation, active participation, and a better future.
Building on the accumulated expertise of the Coptic Evangelical Organization in development work over several decades, the organization works to support vulnerable groups without discrimination, particularly persons with disabilities, through integrated programs that include economic and social empowerment, as well as specialized initiatives such as the “Irada” factory for manufacturing and providing assistive devices.
The launch of this phase comes as a continuation of the tangible success achieved in the first phase of the project, funded by Ataa Fund, with its technical support for spatial accessibility works according to the Egyptian engineering code at Zagazig University and Menoufia University. This contributed to improving ease of movement and mobility on campus and enhancing a more supportive and inclusive educational environment for students with disabilities.
The event concluded by affirming that the project represents an advanced step toward achieving a more inclusive and sustainable educational environment within Egyptian universities, enhancing the inclusion of students with disabilities and supporting their right to education without barriers.
