Under the slogan “Journey After Journey”, Sanad launches its new strategy toward a world in which every orphan shapes their future, 2030, presenting innovative solutions to improve the quality of life of orphans and young people without parental care
Cairo, November 2024
Under the slogan “Journey After Journey”, Sanad Association for Alternative Parental Care, formerly Wataneya Association, launched its new 2030 strategy at a special event held in November 2024 at one of Cairo’s major hotels. The event was attended by an elite group of officials, partners and people interested in alternative care and in the empowerment of young people, women and education. Its aim was to showcase the association’s vision for the future and its commitment to spreading hope and creating a long-term positive impact on the lives of children and young people without parental care.
Azza Abdel Hamid, Founder and Chairperson of Sanad, said: “Launching our new strategy is a step toward building a better future for children and young people and contributing to providing care and support for them. Through this new strategy we seek to develop innovative solutions that help them build a stable and sustainable life.”
She continued: “Since our establishment in 2008, we have worked to achieve a dignified life for every orphan in Egypt by improving care quality standards, intensifying research and development, and providing training and continuous support, with the aim of strengthening the alternative parental care system through several pillars: developing care homes, training workers, strengthening the kafala system for children in families, and preparing young people for the stage of independence. We also contribute to developing legislative frameworks in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Solidarity, and we are keen to increase scientific knowledge in Arabic in this field through studies, research and participation in regional and international conferences.”
Since its establishment, Sanad has achieved a tangible impact on a wide scale: its support has reached 265 care homes in 19 governorates, 4,440 children and young people directly and indirectly, 2,280 care home managers and caregivers, 840 staff from the Ministry of Social Solidarity, 1,700 civil society representatives, and 3,490,500 people whose awareness of the orphans’ cause has been raised through social media and events.
During the event, Sanad’s achievements over the past years were highlighted, along with inspiring success stories from young people who have benefited from the association’s programs and support. These stories show the impact of the Community Leadership Program (Mobader) on the lives and futures of these individuals.
For her part, Yasmin El-Hagary, Executive Director of the association, explained that Sanad’s new strategy is a new milestone in its journey toward maximizing and sustaining impact through new and innovative business models, in cooperation with the private sector and civil society.
El-Hagary continued that Sanad’s strategy has two main pillars. The first is developing and sustaining the quality of alternative care so that it becomes semi-family care, which strengthens the development of children and young people and integrates them into society. This is done by supporting and qualifying kafala families to ensure comprehensive care for children without parental care, and by preparing qualified professionals in the alternative care sector: Sanad launched the first accredited professional certificate in this field in Egypt and trains workers according to the highest quality standards. The second pillar is enabling young care leavers to move successfully to independent life, in cooperation with stakeholders, through programs that equip them with the professional and training skills they need to integrate successfully into working life.
Sanad Association for Alternative Parental Care takes pride in its vital role in empowering young orphans and supporting them to reach their full potential, raising a generation able to achieve success and bring about positive change in its community.
At the ceremony, Sanad honored a number of strategic partners who believed in the cause of orphans outside parental care, foremost among them the Ministry of Social Solidarity, with which it has cooperated on more than one file since 2013. It also honored Drosos Foundation, Sawiris Foundation for Social Development, HSBC and AlexBank, which continued to support Sanad’s projects and programs that prepare young people and integrate them into society.
Over its journey, Sanad has supported many young people’s success stories. Some excelled in sports after being connected with a specialized initiative for preparing athletic champions; one young woman achieved her dream and entered the field of beauty and hairstyling after receiving an opportunity to join a specialized vocational program; and others joined programs that strengthened their identity, so that they now face society with the truth of having grown up in care homes, after having kept it a secret from those closest to them.
These stories reflect the impact of Sanad’s role and its adoption of the principle of partnership and joint efforts among stakeholders such as care homes, the private sector and civil society, in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Solidarity. Together they enable every young man and woman to have the chance to choose their own path and have a hand in shaping their future, away from the path laid out for them and their siblings inside the care home, so that they in turn become a Sanad (a support) for others, in a continuous cycle of giving.
On the sidelines of the celebration, Sanad signed a cooperation protocol with Education For Employment (EFE Egypt) to qualify and train young people, provide employment opportunities, integrate them into the labor market and prepare them for stability after leaving care homes.
Sanad has received many awards and honors in recognition of its efforts to develop the alternative parental care system. They include the Dubai International Award in 2014; the Reverend Samuel Habib Award in 2016, which is given to a civil association or public figure that has played a prominent role in serving society regardless of gender or creed; the Prince Mohammed bin Fahad Award for the Best Charitable Performance in the Arab World in 2017; and the Masr ElKhair Award in 2019, where it won first place in “Quality of Education”. These reflect its commitment to improving the quality of life of children and young people without parental care in Egypt.
Sanad for Alternative Parental Care is a non-profit civil association legally registered with the Ministry of Social Solidarity since 2008, with the aim of creating a world in which every orphan can shape their future.
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