Following my Coptic Churches tour, I went to the Recycling Center in Mokattam Hills, an area in greater Cairo where Garbage City is located. The Recycling Center is on the tourist circuit, because it's a section of Garbage City that rakes in monies for various charities in the community that focuses on the poor. In 1984, the Association for the Protection of the Environment (A.P.E.) registered with the Ministry of Social Affairs in Egypt. A.P.E. is a private voluntary organization that promotes environmentally safe waste management by "empowering garbage collectors, particularly women, children, and youths to manage a viable system of household waste including recycling in Egypt through comprehensive development: health, education, social, economic, and cultural programs to become better agents of change for a better environment." In a nutshell this group teaches women, who normally would not be able to support themselves, a craft trade such as weaving, quilting, and sewing so that they can lead independent lives and provide for their families. They create hand crafted items out of remnant materials, not thrown away in the garbage, but from cloth manufacturing factories that donate discarded material. In part, these women hand craft rugs, bags, clothing, wall hangings, and quilts via a small systematic production line. These items are then sold in a back storeroom where tourists and locals can purchase said items, and effectively fund the charities that A.P.E. sponsors. These programs include pre-schools and nurseries for indigent families; literacy programs and after school classes for people who didn't go to school; social activities and summer camps for impoverished children; awareness programs for adolescent girls to reduce the number of early marriages; treatment programs for mother-baby care and Hepatitis C patients; and prevention programs for infant mortality and hygiene care. It was wonderful knowing that the hand crafted kitchen rugs, wall hangings, and quilts I purchased at bargain prices were going to earn revenue for this charitable group, thus overriding any buyer's remorse I may have developed later. Finally! A worthy reason to go shopping!!
