Cairo – People in Qena, Luxor, and Beni Suef Governorates harnessed the power of dialogue to improve their daily lives as part of a 6-year project called “Hewar” sponsored by CARE International and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

“When citizens see that they can play a role to change their communities for the better, it builds hope for the future,” said Walter North, Director of the U.S. Agency for International Development.  “I am proud that USAID has been a part of a program that has brought together enthusiastic groups of young Egyptian men and women around one goal:  to serve and develop their local community.”

The project strengthened the abilities of communities to develop collaborative relationships between local government, the private sector, and civil society.  The Hewar project was celebrated at an event here yesterday, that was attended by the Governors of Luxor and Qena, along with representatives from the sponsors, their partner organizations, international institutions, donors, academia and community groups who worked with the project. 

“One of the best achievements of the program was that it spread a culture of transparency among communities,” said Nahed Hassan Mohammed, a former Local Popular Council member in Beni Suef.  “We saw what it really means to implement community dialogue.”

The project worked with 3500 people from local government councils, women’s and youth groups, community organizations, and local media institutions in Ques and Armant districts in Qena and Luxor Governorates, and Ihnasia and El Fashn districts in Beni Suef Governorat.  Over six years, these districts saw real improvements to public services, which increased motivation in the communities to take action to solve local challenges.  Citizens became involved in the local planning process, which resulted in construction of school buildings based on student needs, improvements in clean water supply and utilities to low-income areas, and hospital restructuring to better serve village-level health needs.  The project engaged women in the election process and increased awareness of social services available in the community.