Hurghada Gives is a prominent, volunteer-run social initiative dedicated to alleviating poverty and increasing the standard of living for vulnerable communities in Upper (Southern) Egypt. Founded on a deep commitment to sustainable change, the charity’s work is characterized by a grassroots methodology that prioritizes direct, individualized support, holistic family aid, and maximum resource utilization.
Operating primarily from the Red Sea region of Hurghada, the organization’s efforts are directed toward the impoverished, rural areas around Luxor, tackling the socio-economic disparities concentrated in this part of the country.
I. Origins, History, and Targeted Geography
Hurghada Gives traces its roots back to the 1990s, when its founder, Zoe Shutler, first engaged in charitable work with the Al Bader charity in Beshlaw, located on the West Bank of Luxor. This initial work, which helped Al Bader establish a charity school, a mosque, and a ladies' room, provided a foundational understanding of the local community needs. During the drives between Hurghada and Beshlaw, the pervasive poverty observed in other villages spurred the decision to expand the scope of assistance.
The initiative formally took shape with the creation of the Hurghada Gives Facebook page in 2014. This digital platform catalyzed an increase in donations, enabling the organization to significantly expand its outreach. Today, Hurghada Gives supports communities in some of the most underserved villages in the region, including Monshaat Al Ammary, Al Bayadia, Al Zeinia Bahary, Quos, Karnak, and the poorer districts of Luxor.
Focus on Upper Egypt
Hurghada Gives strategically directs its entire focus to Upper Egypt, a region identified by official statistics as having the highest concentration of poverty. As the organization itself cites:
- According to the 2015 Multidimensional Poverty Index, 42% of Egyptians living under the poverty line (surviving on US$2 a day) reside in Upper (Southern) Egypt, which encompasses the rural areas around Luxor.
- A 2015 report from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) indicated that a significant portion of the country's nearly 22 million people living in poverty resided in these areas, with the highest rate of child poverty found in rural Upper Egypt.
By concentrating its resources in this demographic, Hurghada Gives aims for maximum, targeted impact, striving to fulfill its vision: To make lives better by reducing the number of people living in poverty in Egypt.
II. Core Programs and Direct Aid Methodology
Hurghada Gives structures its activities around several key programs, all designed to provide aid in a practical, dignified, and need-specific manner, rather than through simple cash handouts.
A. Family Support and Sponsorship
The primary goal of the organization is to help families and individuals who have fallen on hard times—whether due to job loss, illness, or the death of a primary provider—get back on their feet.
- Non-Monetary Aid: A core tenet of their sponsorship model is the provision of essential goods rather than direct money. The organization provides clothing, food, and medical items tailored to the assessed needs of the family. This ensures that every contribution is used for critical necessities and avoids potential misuse.
- Case Assessment: Before any support is delivered, every recipient is rigorously assessed. Outreach workers, who are also volunteers, visit the homes of those in need to understand whether the requirement is short-term (e.g., temporary job loss) or long-term (e.g., chronic illness or familial death). This crucial step ensures that aid is appropriate and effective.
- Sponsorship Opportunities: Donors can sponsor a family or individual, with the option of full contact or complete anonymity. The sponsorship is tracked through tangible outcomes, providing accountability to the sponsor.
B. Educational Empowerment
Recognizing that education is the most effective tool for breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty, Hurghada Gives places a high value on student sponsorship. This program is dedicated to ensuring students, particularly young women, are not forced to drop out due to financial constraints.
- Comprehensive Student Support: Sponsorship covers all costs related to a student’s ability to attend school or college, including tuition fees, food, travel expenses, and uniforms. This holistic approach removes all potential economic barriers.
- Success Story: One notable example involves an anonymous sponsor paying for a young woman's college fees to study nursing. The organization monitors her progress monthly, and her eventual qualification will allow her to become a wage earner and support her family, whose father passed away.
C. In-Kind Donations and Resource Management
Hurghada Gives is renowned for its highly efficient and resourceful management of in-kind donations. They accept virtually anything that can be donated, from the smallest US dollar coin to entire households of furniture, maximizing every item’s value.
- "No Waste" Policy: The organization is meticulous about ensuring everything donated is clean and usable. They practice a stringent recycling policy: even clothes with too many holes to stitch are recycled—either by cutting them up to make blankets or by being repurposed as rags for cleaning floors.
- Cultural Sensitivity: Operating in a diverse cultural environment (serving both Muslim and Coptic communities), the organization is careful to observe local customs. For example, if they receive clothing items that are not culturally appropriate, such as a short ladies’ skirt, they will adapt it by cutting it up to make a blanket. If an item like an electric coffee maker is impractical in the villages that lack reliable electricity, they will sell it and use the proceeds to purchase more appropriate and necessary goods.
- Food Donations: Food donations are handled with care, considering the lack of refrigeration in many recipient villages. They must be mindful of the heat, noting, for instance, that chocolate can only be distributed during the cold winter months.
III. The Volunteer-Centric Model
Hurghada Gives is sustained entirely by the dedication of its volunteers. The organization does not pay anyone a salary, ensuring that 100% of all generous donations go directly to the people in need.
- Volunteer Roles: The volunteer team encompasses a wide range of essential roles: outreach workers who assess need; people who wash and clean donations; logistics personnel who collect and transport items; shoppers; and skilled individuals who knit, crochet, or sew items.
- Operational Structure: The reliance on volunteers requires a high degree of commitment and organizational support. Volunteers are crucial in running the charity day-to-day, though for trips longer than an hour, volunteers are asked to contribute to the high cost of transport to ensure the sustainability of the travel program.
- Partnerships: Recognizing the limits of a purely volunteer operation, Hurghada Gives partners with local businesses, such as ALL4Kids in Esplanada Mall, which serves as a secure donation drop-off point and contributes a percentage of its sales to the charity. They also work with other local charities to maximize impact, such as supporting the construction of a school and a medical center for premature babies in Luxor.
In summary, Hurghada Gives stands as a powerful, localized example of effective, compassion-driven philanthropy. By connecting international generosity with the acute needs of rural communities in Upper Egypt, and by maintaining a strict focus on sustainable, non-monetary aid, the organization is making verifiable strides toward its goal of reducing poverty and fostering long-term resilience.
Contact us on our Egyptian Phone number: +20 1061318200
Leave us a message using our UK Messaging Service: +44 2070960958
Our Facebook page and Hurghada Gives website are written in English but we have volunteers who speak many languages including: Arabic, French, Flemish, Italian and Russian. Please write to us in whatever language you want to!
