By Caroline Lai, Program Assistant with Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A.

I returned to Cairo in mid-February to visit the USAID-funded Head Start! for Youth Entrepreneurship and Employment program where I met with a diverse range of people involved in the program. When I previously visited in November, I spent most of my time working with the program staff to develop our work plan for next year. During my most recent visit, I was able to see in action the activities we had discussed and spend a considerable amount of time interacting with the beneficiaries we promised we would reach.

Despite challenges, Head Start! remains a fascinating and beneficial program. The program provides opportunities that were previously unavailable and unthinkable, such as access to finance for young entrepreneurs; carpentry training provided by experts in the field; and short-term job opportunities through infrastructure sub-grants to local civil society organizations. The heart of the program lies with the beneficiaries it reaches and the difference it makes to individuals in some of Cairo’s poorest neighborhoods.

I got to spend nearly an entire day visiting the Community Development Company (CDC) Carpentry workshop, which trains young carpenters in Darb al-Ahmar. During that visit, I sat in on an Arab Carpentry training class, and spoke with some of the carpenters being trained. Many of them do not have a formal education and have followed their fathers and uncles into the carpentry profession. When I spoke with a few of the carpenters participating in the Aga Khan Foundation, Egypt and CDC-led trainings about what motivated them to join the program, they all mentioned that these trainings under Head Start! are the first of their kind offered to residents of neighborhood.

One of the people I spent time with was Waleed Mossad, a 33-year old carpenter born and raised in Darb al-Ahmar. Growing up in a family of carpenters, he began learning the trade when he was 10. While skilled at what he does, prior to Head Start!, he was never able to master Arab Carpentry due to its complexity and unwillingness of those skilled in Arab Carpentry to teach others. From the training, Waleed learned secrets of the trade, visited historic sites, and gained access to professional tools and equipment. After successfully completing the 10-week training course, he created a stool, which has been showcased in a carpentry exhibition in Cairo, and gained confidence in his skills. Due to the training and access to experts in the field, Waleed no longer feels that he is not as talented or marketable as those specialized in Arab Carpentry. One day, he hopes to start his own workshop that will compete with the elite carpentry workshops in Darb al-Ahmar.

Waleed is just one of many people that the Head Start! program strives to reach. The program provides hope and opportunities to those who are typically overlooked or left out. As the program grows, the Aga Khan Development Network will continue to make a difference in people’s lives in Cairo, just as the program has already made a difference in Waleed’s life.