It’s been a busy month! ~ by Barbara Harrison

This last month has been quite a busy one for me with regards to Luxor4care and I’ve loved every minute of it.

At the end of October I was able to help at the second Car Boot Sale Fund Raising Event held by friends in Coventry.  This raised a significant amount of money which made getting up so early worthwhile!   It was also a good opportunity to explain about Luxor4care to many people and also to meet up with supporters who lived in the area.  A huge THANK YOU to all who contributed.

On the 31^st of October I was able to fly out to Luxor for 12 days.  This gave a fairly unique opportunity for all four Trustees to be in Luxor at the same time and to be able to meet and discuss issues face to face instead of having to rely on the unpredictability of the internet.  With Morag living in Luxor and Barry and Fran having moved there in October for a 6 month stay prior to eventually moving there for good I am the only Trustee now permanently based in the UK!

The time in Luxor was also a great time for me to be able to renew old contacts and make new ones.  I was very encouraged by the local business people that showed an active interest in Luxor4care and I was able to arrange for a ‘drop off’ point for visitors taking goods to Luxor for us.

Perhaps one of the biggest joys for me was to be able to go back to some of the children’s projects that I had visited 6months ago and to know from the look in their eyes that many of the children recognised and remembered me, even though they could not speak.

Sadly, my time in Luxor was over all too quickly and, just when I felt I was getting somewhere and doing something useful, I had to come back to a cold and dark UK.

Yesterday, I was able to attend another Fund Raising event and had the opportunity to sell some Egyptian goods which I had brought back to the UK.  It was also a good opportunity to answer questions about Luxor4care and to show some photographs of my recent trip.  Again thanks are due to all concerned for the wonderful donation.

So all in all a busy month, but a very fulfilling one!

News from the Trustees.

During the first two weeks of November the Trustees had the opportunity of spending some time together.  We were able to visit some projects as a group and also had time to be able to sit together and discuss what we have achieved so far and what we hope to achieve in the future.  One of the things we have realised is that setting up a Charity is one thing, but it is only as you start to do things that you realise, whilst your ultimate goal is the same, you may have to adopt different ideas, working practices and timescales.

Working Within The Law.

Luxor4care was registered with the UK Charities Commission in June of this year.  However, to work legally in Luxor a charity is required to apply and get a licence from the Social Services in Egypt.  This can be a very time consuming thing as often the people you need to meet with are not available and also the religious holidays can slow things up too.   Without this licence a Charity cannot open a bank account in Egypt, neither can they organise collections of money, by using collecting boxes or other means in the country. 

The Trustees have been mindful of this and wish to inform our members and supporters that we will always do our best to act within the law of the land and seek local advice if in doubt.

Good Samaritan Home

As mentioned in our last newsletter, the result of the Fund Raising done by our friends in Coventry would purchase a much needed piece of domestic equipment.  We can now inform you that we were able to buy, and have delivered, a large gas oven during the first week of November.  We were all at the home when it arrived and it was met with much gladness by those that had been struggling to provide meals on the broken and antiquated gas one they had been using.

Drop Off Point for Goods

We are always grateful  to our members and supporters that bring goods to Luxor but realise that trying to arrange a convenient time to hand over the goods can be a problem on occasion.  To help alleviate this problem we are pleased to inform you that we now have a drop off point for anyone taking goods to Luxor for us.  It is The Egyptian Cotton Club shop which is located on the Lower Corniche, close to the office of the Tourist Police and before you get to the Metropolitan Café.  The shop is also relatively close to the Ferry which may be helpful to those staying on the West Bank

Dode and his staff will be pleased to accept goods for Luxor4care and then will contact us so that we can pick them up.

Support from Luxor Businesses  

It is encouraging that many of the local businesses have offered their support to Luxor4care.  Many cannot offer financial support, but are happy to put up a poster and tell people about us, others have been able to offer support by providing items for us to sell or by profit sharing.  We are very grateful to all these businesses for their help.

New Project

We have an exciting project in the pipeline but unfortunately can't reveal more until the details have been finalised.  Once underway, the project will change the lives of many of the people Luxor4Care is helping..... So watch this space and keep checking back for more news!!

Membership of Luxor4care is free
     Please fill in a membership form and join us.
Click Here

All images and text © Luxor4care 2007       Contact the Webmaster