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Press
Releases
28 Jan 2004 - 'Alam Simsim'
Outreach Program Celebrates Successful Pilot
Phase
Offshoot of TV show trains more than
10,000 Egyptian women in health,
nutrition
Beni Suef, Egypt, January
28, 2004 -- Egyptian officials and community
groups are celebrating the successful completion
of the pilot phase of the "Alam Simsim Parent
Outreach Program," which uses themes and
characters from the successful children's
television show to teach parents and caregivers
how to improve the health and nutrition of
Egyptian families.
 The Alam Simsim television
series is co-produced by Al Karma Edutainment and
the nonprofit Sesame Workshop, creators of "Sesame
Street," with funding and assistance from the U.S.
Agency for International Development in Egypt
(USAID/Egypt), in cooperation with Egypt's
Ministries of Education and Information, and with
the support of Egypt's First Lady, Suzanne
Mubarak. Alam Simsim now airs in 22 countries in
the region.
The success of the TV show
inspired the Alam Simsim Parent Outreach Program,
administered by Karma and funded and supported by
USAID/Egypt.
During its pilot phase the
program has provided training to 10,600 parents,
teachers, and other caregivers in Minya, Beni Suef
and Cairo governorates.
Additional funding
from USAID/Egypt will expand the training to a
total of 37,000 beneficiaries in Minya, Beni Suef,
Fayoum, Qena, Cairo, Alexandria, and Aswan
governorates.
Communities in Beni Suef
Governorate hosted the final graduation ceremonies
of the pilot phase this week. The Governor of Beni
Suef, Engineer Said Ali Al-Naggar, sent a
representative to Wednesday's graduation ceremony
in Manshiyet Nasr, El Fashn district, praising the
120 women who completed training provided locally
by the Community Development Association of
Manshiyet Nasr.
Ceremonies the previous
week recognized hundreds of women in Cairo's
Boulaq al-Daqroor neighborhood and the Beni Suef
communities of Ezbet Ahmed Taher, Gaafar, and Beni
Suef city, with a final ceremony on
Friday.
"This comes as the final stop in
our pilot phase as we begin to plan the next
phases. It has been a testament to the success of
the outreach project and its impact within the
underprivileged communities in Egypt," said Akram
Habib, Manager of the Outreach Program at Al-Karma
Edutainment. "As we begin to plan the next phase,
this success has allowed us to include more
governerates and communities in Egypt. This will
spread the positive impact and empowerment over a
larger group of beneficiaries."
 Community support
for the program is strong, with a waiting list of
thousands. Graduates said the program empowered
them to improve health and nutrition practices in
their families and communities. Many participants
said the program increased their understanding of
the importance of getting children vaccinated on
schedule, adding that they are interested in
receiving more education on first aid, safety, and
child development.
Egypt's Minister of
Education, Dr. Hussein Kamel Bahaa El-Din,
launched the outreach program in January 2002 by
announcing 20 grants to nongovernmental
organizations that carry out the training
locally.
View
photos from Alam Simsim Outreach Training
Program
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| This document was last
updated in Monday, August 23, 2004
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