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90-100 males over the age of 21. Most of them do not have families/contact with their families. A few
residents do have family contact and see them occasionally.
The facility receives only about 100,000LE (~$17,400) yearly from the government through the National
Foundation for Family and Social Development. This money is meant to cover costs such as food and basic
supplies for the residents, and operational costs of the facility - including employee salaries. It falls far
short. So, although it is a public institution, it relies primarily on the generosity of private supporters. Over
the past couple years, donations have helped fund the clearing of trash and putting in gardens and walkways,
replacement of dirt walkways with cement tiles, renovating the dining hall, and funding of vacations for the
residents. Private funds have also supplemented the very meager salaries of employees and paid for health-
related expenses of the residents. Private donations of food and clothing have also been made. The facility
has started earning money through on-site production of handmade carpets and a very small livestock
business. They are considering other money-making options, but currently do not have the start-up funds
required.
Upon our arrival, we were greeted in the parking lot by officials and several excited residents who recognized
my friend's car. She frequently visits The Mareg, often with treats for the residents. She has been an
advocate for this facility for several years – facilitating numerous on-site renovations, and for the second
year in a row, facilitating a week-long summer vacation for all the residents.
We were led on a tour of the classrooms. There are 5, each similar in size and layout. The residents were
each seated at wooden desks; some were practicing their handwriting – writing the alphabet or numbers,
others were coloring, while a few were playing with wooden blocks. The sparse walls displayed a few posters
or samples of student work. Each room had a teacher and up to 10 students. Teachers showed me notebooks
filled with documentation of student progress on IEP-type goals.
We then toured the rest of the facility: the newly renovated dining hall, the kitchen, sleeping quarters,
indoor and outdoor recreational areas (where residents spend their afternoons watching TV, playing games and
participating in group sports) and the carpet production area where three beautiful hand-woven carpets were
proudly displayed.
I left there feeling somewhat sad because although the place was clean and residents’ basic needs were being
met, not much else was being provided. Many of the residents would be excellent candidates for workshop-
type programs but start-up funds are not available. Next door to The Mareg, there is a large workshop
facility that was opened several years ago with a foreign grant to the Egyptian government. This was meant
to be a place where young unskilled adults could learn a trade. It has leather, wooden furniture and metal-
works buildings as well as a textile building where they do sewing, needlework and crochet. This facility
should have been the perfect spot for some of The Mareg residents! When we visited however, we found the
place and most of the machinery in an extremely deteriorated state from years of neglect. As equipment had
broken down over time, there were no funds to fix or replace – we saw lots of dusty discarded machines
among the few that were still working. The place was mostly deserted except for the furniture and shoe-
making areas which seemed to be the main income-generators.
