Sharabiya Neighbourhood, Cairo, Egypt…

Sharabiya Neighbourhood, Cairo, Egypt

Feriyal's sweet smile radiates an optimism that makes people feel that no matter how difficult life can get, there is always hope for improvement. That is why she is so popular with the co-workers and other beneficiaries of the SOS Children's Villages' family strengthening programme in Cairo, Egypt.

Hope Springs Eternal: Feriyal's sweet smile radiates an optimism that makes people feel that no matter how difficult life can get, there is always hope for improvement. That is why she is so popular with the co-workers and other beneficiaries of the family strengthening programme in Cairo. Yet her optimism is not ungrounded; over the years Feriyal has had more than her share of hardship and has successfully overcome what seemed like insurmountable obstacles.

Several years ago, Feriyal's husband abandoned her and her two children and eventually divorced her. Suddenly Feriyal had to take care of her two children single-handedly. Her parents had passed away years before and when she turned to her siblings for help, they said they could not provide any assistance to her and her children.

After a long time without any contact, she tried to find her ex-husband to demand his share in supporting the children, only to discover that he had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment, unable to care even for himself. Feriyal was on her own.

When SOS Children's Villages Egypt started its family strengthening programme in the Sharbiya district where Feriyal lives (one of the most underprivileged neighbourhoods in Cairo), she was going through such a hard time that she was on the verge of starvation with her children. After conducting a survey in the district, Feriyal was identified as a candidate for the programme, since with her circumstances she was at risk of abandoning her children.

Dr Alia Hafiz, who is responsible for the programme, discussed with Feriyal what possible projects she would like to start in order to work and provide for her family. Feriyal said that her father had left a small kiosk and if she could take a loan and buy goods for it, she would be able to run it and provide for herself and her children.

SOS Children's Villages, in cooperation with a local NGO called Asdiqaa Al-Mawhoubeen provided a micro loan for Feriyal to buy goods for the small kiosk. Feriyal also received school assistance for her children, and now they were able to return to school. Feriyal didn't stop there. Showing what a resourceful woman she is, she started raising poultry at home to help provide meat for her children.

Success, however, also has its disadvantages. When Feriyal's siblings discovered her turn of fortune, they suddenly reappeared in her life and started demanding a share of the profits from the kiosk.

"The amazing thing about Feriyal is her willingness to help even those who wouldn't help her in her time of need," Alia says. Although she did not give them the amount they demanded, Feriyal still helped her siblings when she felt they needed it. In addition, she even started assisting her ex-husband by helping him with the cost of treatment.

"My life has changed dramatically," Feriyal says, "I've changed from someone needy, with no one to depend on to someone in charge of her own life, able to help others and can see a real future for her children."