SACRED HEART CHURCH'S WORK WITH SUDANESE REFUGEES The Sacred Heart Church is a Roman Catholic Church belonging to the Latin Vicariate of Egypt. It has been serving the Sudanese refugee community in Cairo since 1984. Presently, four Comboni priests minister it. The church is located near the city centre in the district of Abbassiya. Regular worship services in Arabic, English and French, and Christian educational programs for all age groups are available for the Christians of the refugee community to attend. Additionally, the church implements relief, health, educational, income generation, and social and cultural activities that can be accessed by the wider refugee community from all faiths. In order to meet the continuing flow of refugees coming from Sudan to Egypt in recent years, two other Christian communities have been established in Cairo in the last five years; the Holy Family Church in the district of Maadi, and the Salesian Church in the district of Zeitun. A church council, comprising of the Parish Priest and twelve Sudanese congregational members meets twice a month at each of the three church centres to coordinate the work of the communities. The aims of the Sacred Heart Church are to: + Create a welcoming environment for the Sudanese community. + Encourage the spiritual growth of its members. + Help preserve Sudanese cultural heritage. + Provide emergency assistance to the most vulnerable members of the community. + Provide educational and skills training to the community so that upon resettlement or repatriation their opportunities for successful integration will be enhanced. + Empower the community through training, decision making, and community participation in all church activities. The Sacred Heart Church coordinates with the following organizations in order to share ideas, resources, expertise, and lessons learned, and minimize duplication of work: + The Inter-School Committee, which is made up of representatives from four different churches, all of whom run children's educational programs for African refugee children in Cairo. The committee meets once a month to share ideas and experiences, and to plan and implement joint teacher training workshops and educational activities. + The Refugee Inter-Agency Committee, which includes representatives from UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration, the International Committee of the Red Cross, embassies of resettlement, and other refugee serving NGOs. The committee meets bi-monthly and acts as a forum for information sharing on refugee matters and services.

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