Trip To Egypt Finally Cancelled

Hello everyone.  We finally made contact with our friends in Cairo last night.  We talked to Neil for about twenty minutes.  Here is the content of a note Cynthia wrote to friends here who are also concerned about Neil and Mary-Jean in Cairo.

“Hi Everyone,

We just got off the phone after talking to Neil. They are fine. The school is closed for the next few days and then things will be reviewed. MJ is hopefully leaving on a flight tomorrow (Mon,)for Toronto. She has a friend with connections in Air Canada and they will leave early for the airport and probably wait all day at the airport to get their flight. Their taxi driver knows the area well and will skirt any trouble spots but must be back home before the curfew is called.

Neil sounds upbeat and says that people on the street during the day are as usual. There is no shortage of food or drink or any necessities at present. If the situation deteriorates and the school deems it necessary to evacuate they will get them out at no cost. Quite a few of the school families are leaving and they may not have many students when and if they reconvene.

If I hear anything else I will update you. Blessings Cynthia”

So, that was the good news from Neil and Mary-Jean last night.  Today, we will take steps to cancel our re-scheduled flight to Egypt.  We hope to be able to get a credit from KLM which we might use at a later date within the Sky Team Alliance in which KLM is a partner.

 

Failing that, we will simply cancel the flight and then apply for reimbursement from our travel insurance company.  They have already told us we will receive complete coverage for the flight as it was booked so many months ago.

Sad though we are that a visit to Egypt will have to wait, we are so glad our friends are safe.  Thanks to those of you who have written to us concerning our safety and the safety of our pals in Cairo.  We appreciate your notes very much.  ’Til the next time, goodbye and God bless.

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Good Soles For Young Souls

Earlier in 2010, I wrote a post called The Found School.

In it I wrote about some friends of ours, Mary-Jean and Neil, who live in Cairo.  Neil works at an International School there, and Mary-Jean helps to run a school for Sudanese refugee children.  It is called The Found School, for the children once were lost but are now found…in the sense that someone cares for them.

On January 31, Cynthia and I plan to visit Mary-Jean and Neil as this will be their last year in Cairo.  Neil’s contract expires in June.  We plan to see the sights/sites of Egypt for sure, thanks to some careful planning by Mary-Jean and Neil.  We also intend to spend some time at the Found School, doing whatever we can to help, in whatever time is given to us.  When we asked Mary-Jean if there were things we could take from here, for the children at the school, Mary-Jean told us to bring running shoes…as many pairs as we could for children of school age.  The children go barefoot to school.  The streets of Cairo are not in the best repair apparently, so many cuts and abrasions occur.  Often, these wounds lead to further infections and sicknesses.  Hence the request for shoes.

Cynthia and I plan to take a very big suitcase full of running shoes from the Salvation army, from the children of friends and any sources we can find. I approached KLM (with whom we fly) to see if they would transport the shoes free of charge.  They told me my request had to be within 90 days of the flight…I was too late for this flight.  However, they at least took the time to reply very politely, and left me with hope that something might be arranged in the future.  I plan to persist in this.

If you have any bright ideas for getting more shoes than we can carry, to Egypt, I would love to hear from you.  I know you are all brimming over with brilliant suggestions and many heads are better than mine, that’s for sure, when it comes to generating ideas.

To end this post, I leave you with a small slide show of Christmas present giving at the Found school.  The pictures are courtesy of Mary-Jean and Neil.

Love and peace to all who read this.  God bless.  Martin

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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More Travel Plans

KLM carries us.

Well folks, the travel plans keep on building.  Today Cynthia and I booked flights to Cairo for travel there in February of 2011. We fly KLM to Cairo via Amsterdam and fly Air France on the way back, but all under the auspices of KLM.

There are a few definite reasons for traveling to Egypt.  We want to see our friends, Neil and Mary-Jean Crouch in their current setting in Cairo.  Neil is teaching in the international school there and Mary-Jean is helping to run a school for Sudanese children, orphaned by the war going on in their country.  (See previous post”  The Found School).  Neil’s teaching contract expires in June (?) of 2011, so it was imperative we got there before that time.  Mary-Jean and Neil have very generously offered to house us during our nights in Cairo, and she has also arranged a 19 day travel itinerary for us.  What an amazing pair they are.

Mary-Jean presents certificates at Found School

Second reason to go and visit the city is to visit the Found School and meet some of the children and those who care for them and teach them.

Young student at Found School

Lastly our final reason for going is obviously to see some of the wonderful historical places this country has to see, and hopefully to meet a few of its citizens in a more informal setting.

Secrets of Egypt

We’ll keep you posted.  Meanwhile, all the best to you out there.