The Days of our Lives, Recorded!!

On the 2^nd of August 2009, IFMSA-Egypt recorded the launching of the 1^st SCORA –X-Change program in Egypt. The 2009 program was designed to reflect the dimensions of the work on reproductive health in Egypt, whether by the governmental or none governmental organizations. We wanted the participant of our program to get the maximum experience from the leaders of the reproductive health in Egypt, who ever and where ever they were!

The program hosted by 3 LCs in 3 different cities; Cairo, Assuit and Alexandria. And it was of 3 weeks interval, a week at each city. We have received 11 lovely girls participating from 6 different countries!

The 1^st week, Cairo, 2^nd to 8^th August:

The program in Cairo aimed at letting the participant to explore the importance of partnerships in making a better work on reproductive heath awareness. So, we let them explore this through visits to our partners’ offices in Cairo, starting by the Communication for Healthy Living project with the extensive experience of the outreach activities and the FGM awareness. Then, a visit to the Breast Cancer Foundation in Egypt, the leading none governmental organization on the breast cancer awareness, with an interactive sessions on the dimensions of the breast cancer awareness and early detection work. One of the important visits also, was to the National AIDS control Program in Egypt office, to explore the structure of the program and how it adapts to the HIV/AIDS situation in Egypt. The last experience to share in Cairo was through an IFMSA-Egypt / Y-Peer peer educators, by giving the participants training on the theater based peer education methodologies, lasts for 2 days.

The 2^nd week, Assuit, 9^th to 15^th August:

In Assuit, the gate of Upper Egypt, the program was different. We tried to show the work on the reproductive health inside the hospitals. The participants go trainings in 2 main places; the south Egypt cancer institute, and the women’s health center at the faculty of medicine supervised by the gynecology and obstetric department at the faculty.

At the cancer institute, our participants got the chance to know more on the breast cancer from the clinical point of view, and they explored more about it through attending operations done for the treatment of the breast cancer patients.

At the women’s health center, they learned about the antenatal and post natal care provided for the women in our health service system, and for the newborns as well through visiting the out patients and out patients clinics.

The 3^rd week, Alexandria, 16^th to 22^nd August:

At the Great City, Alexandria, the program took another direction; of improving some of the participants’ skills those might help them through our work generally. We organized for them a meting with people living with HIV at the Life Friends’ organization, whom are working on the People Living with HIV health care and rights. Also, they visited the CARITAS – Egypt head quarter in Alexandria, and explored about their activities and specially their HIV/AIDS Voluntary Counseling and Testing center following the NAP system and how they could improved it to be the best.

More skills they got by the sharing experience sessions on the SCORA projects we do in Egypt, also 2 trainings had been given on the communications and the behavior change basics through the awareness work. The finale was by visiting the Suzan Mubarak Regional Center for Women’s Health, they visited the modern clinics there, and they had training on the reproductive health research methodologies.

The program ended at Alex with the certificates distribution and Farewell party! Then the participants departure to Cairo airport back to their homes.

We will not tell you about the social time, but will let the pictures tell you, it was AMAIZINGGG!!

Thanks for our lovely participants for helping us to make this program a great one, and thanks for the LCs hosting teams at SSS, Alex-SSA & Assuit-SSA for the great job done to make it happen! THANK YOU GUYS!

Iman Ewais , the SCORA-X-Change 2009 National Coordinator