Mansheya is one of the poorest neighborhoods of Cairo, the capital city of Egypt. Here, a Comboni Missionary has started a project for the zabbaleen, the people who live out of gathering and recycling garbage. His initiative goes beyond the diversity of religious beliefs. He unites Christians and Muslims.
Entering Mansheya is like descending into hell, the hell of poverty and degradation: in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, it is a neighborhood of garbage recyclers, the zabbaleen. They go to the rest of the city, pick up bags of rubbish and take them home, where they are sorted out. They usually manage to recycle, manually, 90% of the garbage, while garbage companies, with mechanized systems, may succeed to recycle only 60%.
Zabbaleen is derived from the Arab word zibala, which means "garbage". Their neighborhood lies at the feet of the Moquattam hills and near the City of the Dead, the century-old city cemetery, where many homeless people live in its rich mausoleums as if they were custodians of the dead.
The work of the zabbaleen is hard, degrading and dangerous. Germs, gases and toxic substances hide in the rubbish. Even children from six years of age onwards work here. The zabbaleen mostly come from the south of the country, the poorest region of Egypt, trying to escape hunger and misery. Originally, they were almost all Christians, then some Muslim families began to move in and they account for 10% of the total population of the neighborhood.
Fr. Luciano Verdoscia, a Comboni missionary, has chosen to work in this place for the zabbaleen, just as the brave French nun, Sister Emmanuelle, did and as some Sisters of Blessed Mother Teresa are doing today.
Forgotten by the stateThe surrounding environment of Mansheya is appalling. Narrow and uneven alleys are lined with miserable hovels. Sacks of garbage fill the streets and the dwellings. Swarms of flies surround the sacks while rats rummage even in the daylight. A heavy and pungent smell fills the air. These surroundings and the life of the garbage recyclers seem so desperate that any attempt to help them may appear useless. Indeed, the government does practically nothing for them and is not pleased when their plight is reported by the media.
Fr. Luciano, however, did not give up on them. Now 48 years old, his vocation is at its peak when he is in touch with the poor. "My mother was concerned with helping the poor of the village. She has been a great example for me. I joined the Comboni Missionaries when I was 18 and, since then, I too have been concerned with the poor people: in Naples, in the American poor neighborhoods, in Sudan and now here in Egypt."
As a matter of fact, the main work of Fr. Luciano is directing the Department of Islamic Studies and Inter-religious Dialogue of Dar Comboni (Comboni House), now a Pontifical Institute. His teaching work, however, does not prevent him from being active on the streets, with the poor.
To help the childrenLast year, Fr. Luciano launched a project that was meant to improve the conditions of the otherwise desperate zabbaleen. Its immediate aim was to help the children: "It is necessary to break the continuation of those factors that perpetuate this extreme misery from generation to generation. For this reason, we want to help the children to understand that it is possible to live in a more dignified way. To do so, we try first of all to raise the standard of their education."
The realization of this project is entrusted to an association called Abna′ wadi el Nil (The Children of the Nile Valley). This association provides assistance and education to the poorest children among the poor of Mansheya. Nevertheless, it is not easy to see who are the poorest as practically everybody in Mansheya lives in misery: "Everybody here lives an undignified life", points out Fr. Luciano, "but not everybody has the same needs. We visit the homes of the children and see which families are absolutely unable to help their own children. Sometimes, this is a difficult choice. It may happen that we have to refuse help to children whose family are able to pay their education but refuse to do so."
Fr. Luciano did not start a school of his own. What he does is help the poorest children to shoulder the expenses for school fees and offer them a centre where they can receive private tutoring for free. Private tutoring is very common in Egypt and it is actually necessary to compensate for the shortcomings of public education. Private tutoring, however, is quite costly and, therefore, inaccessible to the poor children.
An island of cleanlinessThe association established by Fr. Luciano has, therefore, opened a tutorial centre. It is like an island of calm and cleanliness in the surrounding sea of decay, that is Mansheya. Here, volunteer teachers offer afternoon tutoring to two batches of children. Actually, the centre is just a little more than a shed and the school desks used there are throw-aways from a school. For a child of Mansheya, however, it is a place of relief from the quasi-infernal condition of the neighborhood. Even more, it is a place where they can gather and hope for a better future. "Our objective", explains Fr. Luciano, "is to help the development of the children. We offer them a clean environment and help them make progress in their studies so as to increase their chances for a better job later."
Three or four times a week, a medical doctor or a nurse comes to the centre to treat the sick or injured children. A hot meal is provided to those who are malnourished. A social worker, present everyday, also gives counseling to the children.
The centre helps children of any religious belief. However, the witness to the values of the Gospel is quite evident. For this reason, an association of Coptic Christians, as well as a number of Muslims, helps Fr. Luciano in his work. Service to humankind can really create collaboration among people of different faith.
Father Luciano is convinced: "Helping people of different ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds to stay together promotes tolerance and peace in society. Many Muslims appreciate this project and have helped it to succeed. It is a step forward towards knowing each other better and overcoming atavistic prejudices. As a missionary, this is my way to proclaim the Gospel -- not with words but through the witness of love." Mansheya, too, is a step forward to a dialogue among religions and civilizations.
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