Computer science by candlelight
Sherif's story
We received an application for a grant from a student preparing to sit exams in Computer Science at Cairo University. Sherif lives in Ayyat, some 20 miles south of Giza. Sherif told our representative that he lived in a house that did not have clean water nor electricity. He also mentioned that he often studied either in the street opposite his home to make use of the streetlights, illuminating his work for free, or he does his work by candlelight.
Our representative visited the student and confirmed what was so hard to believe, but true nonetheless. We accepted the application so that Sherif may start receiving the monthly grant immediately. And we helped even further, allowing the family to install a clean water line. We also assisted the family to apply for an electricity metre with proper wiring and power connections.
Sherif is graduating this year and doing so well that he might even pursue a postgraduate degree, in which case we will seriously consider continuing assisting him.
It is worth noting that Ayyat and its neighbouring villages continue to witness harsh hostility from Muslim extremists against Christians. In the village of Girzeh, which is predominantly inhabited by Christians, a church has recently been burned down. The Christians have not been able to rebuild the churches that have been burned, although obtaining all of the required permissions. As soon as the building materials arrive, they are either stolen or vandalised in the middle of the night, which leads to violence erupting between the Christian villagers and the Muslim extremists. At any case, these hard to believe but true situations are some of the reasons why St Kyrel Trust has begun serving in Ayyat.
