[Dialogue] Visit to Bayad

[Marge Philbrook]

Irish Boivin told me a story about someone giving our group in El Bayad 
a live chicken or turkey or some kind of bird and no one knew how to 
dress it for cooking, so they kept it live in the house for a while 
rather than admit they didn't know what to do with it. Does anyone 
remember that story?
Marge Philbrook

Wayne Nelson wrote:

> I sent this as a witness to the Earthrise group. I think there are 
> some on this list that are not in that group and I want people to see 
> this. If you’re on both lists, I added a couple things. If there are 
> others who need to see it, pass it on.
>
> September 2006 is ICA MENA’s 30th birthday. We ought to find a way to 
> celebrate it. If you write and send me your favorite Bayad story, I’ll 
> compile them. I don’t know what we’ll do with them, but that can 
> unfold. You probably have other ideas.
>
> W
>
> ------------------------------------------
> In November, I took some time and went back to visit Bayad. We were 
> there at the start up of ICA’s work in Egypt in 1976. For me, it’s 
> been nearly 30 years.
>
> I’ve wanted to do this for some time. I don’t really know what I was 
> looking for. I knew all along it wasn’t an impact study. I didn’t even 
> look at the consult document before I went. That’s not my job – ICA 
> Egypt is doing it’s own impact studies. Was it some kind of validation 
> I was seeking? Maybe – we all like to be affirmed and I certainly do. 
> I decided I wasn’t really sure. I knew I wanted to get there and see 
> people. Not projects – people. I also retraced my steps a little by 
> staying at the Windsor Hotel in Cairo – so cool.
>
> When we were there, Bayad al Arab, the whole local municipality, was a 
> string of villages. Now it is a continuous community. It’s pretty much 
> wall to wall buildings from Al Alma (north of the Bayad community) to 
> Tel Abu Narouz (south of the former ferry docks). The whole area is a 
> few kilometers long. Obviously, the bridge over the Nile – south of 
> the old ferry docks, just north of Tel Abu Narouz village – has made a 
> massive difference. It is busy all the time, it seems. It has created 
> a town that is no longer isolated in the way it was when we began our 
> work.
>
> Have a look on Google Earth – You’ll need download the application. 
> Google “Google Earth” and follow the directions. It has satellite 
> images of most everywhere on the planet. You can see you house from 
> there (if you have either a very large house or a very large 
> imagination).
>
> There’s a “ring road” - very clear on the satellite shot - that skirts 
> the community on the desert side that is about a kilometer east from 
> where the last homes were located in the mid 70’s. Abouna Mattius’ 
> house was on the eastern edge of Bayad – right next to the desert. Now 
> it is more or less in the middle of the community. That whole space 
> between the ring road and the farm land is almost completely filled 
> and is called “New Beni Suef.” Beyond that, further into the desert is 
> the beginnings of a new industrial area. The same thing is happening 
> in Minya and other places..
>
> Electricity and water are everywhere. There are trees in Bayad. 
> Imagine!!!!! Trees – Lots of them. They are everywhere. When we were 
> there there was one lady who was nursing a small tree in her courtyard 
> with water carried from the irrigation canal. The homes I visited were 
> a massive change from the dark little places I became familiar with. 
> What I did not see was children with running noses, open sores and 
> clouds of flies following them around. The quality of life has 
> improved remarkably.
>
> Some of you will remember Dier el Bayad – the monastery where we 
> stayed during our first few months there. Through the work of the late 
> Bishop Athanasious, it has been transformed into a very modern 
> conference centre. New buildings with full amenities etc. I had a hot 
> shower. I made and received long distance phone calls from my room.
>
> The Bayad Conference Centre - - - 
> http://www.meatrc.org/members/bayad_egypt.htm - - - now draws people 
> from all over the country who gather for retreats and conferences. It 
> still has it’s ancient flavour, but it’s a new place. Maleck is still 
> working there – very solid, friendly and still impatient and grumpy 
> with trivial niceties. He just assumes that politeness and dedication 
> is what you’re supposed to do and thank you’s are not necessary. He 
> smiles when you thank him, however.
>
> I noticed that I was not noticed very much. Far different from the 
> days that a walk through the community became a parade. A few children 
> tossed out English greetings. I found that true in Cairo and Minya as 
> well. Extra nationals are part of the fabric of Egyptian life.
>
> I got there mid afternoon and walked the scant kilometer across the 
> fields from the monastery to Bayad. With all the non agricultural 
> space filled in with commercial buildings and homes, the farm strip 
> looks seriously small. Indeed, only about a third of the people in the 
> area earn their living from farming.
>
> I wandered around in the community. Trying to find familiar streets 
> and homes and also trying to get lost enough that I would see the new. 
> I was looking for people I might recognize and half way hoping I could 
> just fly under the radar and pick up my initial impressions without 
> conversation on the first go. I had much better luck with that than 
> JWM did – he was more or less mobbed.
>
> The new (no longer new) mosque is great. The old one has been 
> renovated and really looks good. Standing in the fields, you can see 
> several mosques. I loved hearing the call to prayers – a little 
> reminder 5 times a day is not bad. I miss hearing it.
>
> I wandered through a very familiar area and as I rounded a corner, I 
> met someone I did recognize. “Enta Abd el Khalek, mish kidda ? I 
> asked. “Ya salem!!! Meen enta?” he replied, with that hint of 
> recognition in his eyes. “Anna Wayne” I said and we were all over each 
> other with all the hugs, kisses on both cheek and the long, flowery 
> formal greetings that makes Arabic the beautiful language it is.
>
> We were just around the corner from his house; so we went for tea and 
> conversation. I was quite amazed that I could still manage a 
> relatively meaningful conversation in Arabic. There were obviously big 
> gaps when the conversation got complex, but we long ago we a built a 
> pattern of focusing on communicating basic ideas rather than verbal 
> precision and it worked. I caught up on a lot of people and 
> accomplishments. He’s still a community leader.
>
> He took a few cell phone calls (practically everyone has a cell phone) 
> while we talked. It was election time and ..... you can work out the 
> rest – he’s always been into politics. If fact, the first round of 
> parliamentary elections was the next day and hanging out at the 
> polling station at the new school for girls enabled me to meet a lot 
> of old friends. Too many to tell about. I missed Said Riskallah, who 
> spent some time on our staff. He works for the Beni Suef municipal 
> government. Nadia Ahmed lives in the new area near the bridge.
>
> I met Toma Awad coming out of his field – galabaya hitched up for 
> work. I didn’t recognize this man who has become an elder, but he 
> picked me out right away. Greeting that grizzled old man and kissing 
> his stubbled, old man cheeks was a real joy.
>
> I had a meal with Abd el Hamid Mohammed. That old boatman who spent so 
> much energy developing the Bayad water system still has fire in his 
> belly. He has a convenience store in the same neighbourhood , but 
> instead of 2 rooms built of scavenged, loose, mixed rock, he lives in 
> a very nice house. Seeing him and his family so well and so happy was 
> awesome.
>
> I met and talked with Abouna Mattius, the local Coptic priest. He’s 
> blind now and has some of the problems normally associated with aging, 
> but he’s sharp as a tack. He only does a couple services each week and 
> he finds it a strain, but his commitment has not wavered and he is 
> still very much “in there.” We had a great conversation. His sons Atef 
> and Emir are both priests. As I arrived, one of them was driving out 
> in a very new looking car.
>
> One of the real treats was meeting people who were children and youth 
> when we were there. Ramadan is a driver. Mohammed Gorany, whose father 
> ran the health clinic, now works for ICA there. While I was in ICA’s 
> office, a young guy came in and was introduced to me as Mohammed 
> Hassan. I knew right away he is the son of Hassan Oase. Unmistakable 
> family resemblance. Very active in community activities. I met 
> Gamalette Souliman and Youssef Shehata who were married shortly after 
> we left the community. She was one of the first preschool teachers. 
> Lovely family – obviously very happy. I met Mamdoueh Mohammed Salem 
> who has assumed the natural role of the highly intelligent big land 
> owner and is a community leader.
>
> I also got to meet Nagwa Abd El Moinem – Mohammed Yassin’s wife. They 
> have both moved on from ICA to work with other organizations. Yassin 
> is regional director of development for an NGO and he’s working in 
> Basara, Iraq.
>
> I spent the most time with Farah Hannah, who spent some time on our 
> staff. He truly agonized over staying with ICA and decided he really 
> wanted to get back to the community and work there. He did say he was 
> a quite frustrated with all the ”pressure” we laid on him to stay with 
> ICA, but he made an authentic choice, knows it and is very happy. His 
> wife is director of the local preschool. Their 3 children are very 
> bright and a lot of resources are going into tutoring to boost their 
> educational achievement. I talked with them. They read to me. Farah’s 
> daughter even climbed into my lap after some encouraging.
>
> Farah works for the Municipality and is involved in creating an 
> agricultural and development database. It’s part of a national project 
> to make information of farming methods etc. accessible to everyone. 
> He’s also on the board of the local Community Development Association 
> (CDA) that he, Mahmoud Abd el Rashid, Nabil Migally and I helped 
> start. The Bayad CDA now has 10 full time employees. It has been 
> selected as a pilot for a micro credit scheme to help single mothers 
> launch small business ventures. It is seen as a highly successful, 
> ground up development oriented CDA that works.
>
> I also spent some time with ICA there and in their office in Cairo. I 
> was impressed – deeply impressed – mouth hanging open, stopped in my 
> tracks impressed. Our largest ICA - biggest budget – most employees – 
> 90 people work for ICA in Egypt. They have offices in Cairo, Bayad, 
> Fayoum and Aswan. They work in practically every province. Much of 
> their work is with locally based CDA’s. Beyond their capacity building 
> work with CDA’s , they work with a variety of projects related to 
> economic development, health, education, women’s advancement, etc. 
> They are also getting into urban development in some of Cairo’s real 
> working class neighbourhoods like Mohandaseen. Wouldn’t that be 
> fascinating work?
>
> Those who have worked in Egypt with ICA can know that your expenditure 
> has living meaning. It is appreciated - - and you are personally 
> remembered with real fondness by people there. Beyond that, it has 
> become the foundation for this amazing organization and all of its 
> individual and organizational spin offs. Those who wonder if we ever 
> made any lasting impact at all can take heart. This impact has been 
> deep. Your work has launched a new generation of locally based 
> development that is working and spreading across the country. This is 
> serious stuff.
>
> ICA in Egypt is a very complex and sophisticated organization that has 
> made a genuine impact on the nation. Hala El Kohly is some kind of 
> saint on steroids juggling a bazillion things at a time and making 
> things happen. Their work in helping CDA’s gain the capacity to do 
> their own local development has increased participation and helped 
> ensure that real implementation is happening. It has empowered local 
> people is a way that fits into the national fabric.
>
> At the same time, the push is on to keep improving. A few years ago, 
> Duncan Holmes facilitated a strategic planning process with the staff 
> there. They are following through with it and are on track. Larry 
> Philbrook also spent some very valuable time with them recently.
>
> One of the next steps, they say, is deepening the ability of the staff 
> to use ICA’s ToP methods more effectively. They say they are primarily 
> “doing procedures” and while it mostly works, they are well aware that 
> they need the capacity to use the methods with more flexibility to 
> design and develop new constructs and tailor applications more 
> helpfully for each specific situation.
>
> We’re launching a project to work with about 20 key ICA staff members 
> who will deepen their knowledge, understanding and use of ToP methods 
> and gain the capacity to transfer the methods to others – in and 
> beyond ICA. As luck would have it, one of our ToP trainers, Erwin 
> Allerdings travels to Egypt in his capacity with Ag Canada a couple 
> times a year in connection with an irrigation project. In March, he 
> will do a session with that group on the Focused Conversation method. 
> Erwin’ will extend his stay a few days, do the training on a pro bono 
> basis and BANG, we’ll be well and truly launched. We have yet to 
> develop the full longer term training project that will be needed, but 
> we have some real momentum. You’ll hear more about it as time goes on 
> and we’ll probably ask you for financial support at some point. 
> Traveling and printing manuals and things like that costs. If I were 
> in your shoes, I’d give. In fact, I am and I will. It’s a worthwhile 
> investment.
>
> I honestly had no idea that something of that nature would arise. 
> Maybe that’s why I went – to see what possibilities we might generate 
> for collaboration among ICA’s. Not consciously, but it is deeply 
> exciting to me to be working with this amazing team.
>
> What I did discover was that I connected with my own passion. I loved 
> that place. I felt, perhaps, more alive there than in many of the 
> other places I’ve worked. I felt it again. I now need to figure out 
> how to ride it, but it is unmistakably there in ways it hasn’t been.
>
> As I said, I stayed at the Bayad Monastery. Mohammed Gorany from ICA 
> was planning to give me a lift to the train station; so I could go to 
> on to Minya for a visit with Mahmoud Abd El Rashid. I brought my gear 
> down and was sitting along the Nile in the early morning. There was a 
> special service at the church that day and I got a chance to see more 
> people from the community as they came in. At one point, Farah’s wife 
> and daughter came along and went in. A few minutes later the little 
> girl came running back out. She had this sweet smile on her face and 
> climbed into my lap for a hug. Mohammed Gorany turned up after a few 
> minutes and she slipped away . Her mom probably put her up to it, but 
> I don’t care. It was touching. And affirming – yes, definitely. It was 
> a connection to a family who really cares and, symbolically, a 
> community I care about. Life is definitely good.
>
> Wayne
>
>
> *< > < > < > < > < > < > < > < >
> /Wayne Nelson/* - ICA Associates Inc.
> 655 Queen Street East – Toronto, Ontario M4M 1G4
> 416-691-2316 - http://ica-associates.ca - wnelson at ica-associates.ca
>
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