August 1st, 2005
Dear Supporters of CDOT,
Humans around the world have been shocked to hear about the terror attack and its consequences in Sharm El Sheik on July 23rd. The WFOT Executive Team sends its sincerest condolences to our friends and colleagues in Egypt. Our thoughts are with you and we hope that all of you, your families and friends are safe.
Most of you who are in the Northern hemisphere and in particular the ones living in Egypt are going through a hot summer. Hopefully you have a chance to take a vacation with family and friends and to collect some energy for the rest of the year.
Within our project of setting up the profession in Egypt there is still a lot of work which needs to be done, even though that we already achieved a lot. As you will see in this newsletter the group of persons involved is growing steadily and we have support from people around the world.
Keep the good work going!
Please,send your next news by October 15th at my usual email address.
E: chmentrup@aol.com
Christiane Mentrup
2nd Vice President
World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT)
CDOT Members
RequestsMid of June 2005 we received the following mail from Céline De Wever, one of our CDOT members:
“I'm a French OT and I've worked a couple of years in Egypt in Cairo and Alexandria with a french non profit organization "Asmae" .
I worked in Seti center in Daher to train the team to take care of disabled children (mainly CP) in link with OT. Together we have set up technical aids and worked on the evaluation. We worked closely with children and families and we did some home stay visits.
I've met a lot of people very interested in OT.
I'm now back in France and I wish the best of luck for the future of OT in Egypt.
Bye, Céline De Wever“
Céline, thank you for your contribution of providing OT services in Egypt and good luck for your future in France.
Visit from Australia
Sue Hartshorne came to Egypt in June to undertake research there. She took the opportunity to meet some of our CDOT members and wrote the following note:
“Having arrived a stranger to Egypt on 18th June, I quickly felt very welcome and supported. Thank you to my colleagues and friends for your generosity and for the opportunities to talk about your work and lives, and to discuss the development of occupational therapy education in Egypt.
I believe this is a very exciting time for the occupational therapy profession, a unique opportunity for occupational therapy education to be developed and contextualised according to Egyptian culture and needs. With limited time, I was most fortunate to visit both Ain Shams University with Dr Ahmed El-Kahky, and 6 October University with Dr Ahmed Hussain and Dr Naiema Hassan, as well as meeting with Mrs Maha Helali of the Learning Resource Centre and The Egyptian Society for Developing Skills of Special Need Children.
I was able to give a presentation at Ain Shams University about occupational therapy, using cerebral palsy and paediatrics to illustrate my points. I sincerely hope I was able to respond to the questions that arose in a way that was helpful. Already much planning, creativity and research has occurred with regard to occupational therapy education, and I was honoured to be informed about future and potential plans for both education and for service delivery. I feel as though I have gained more than I have given and hope I will have the opportunity to be further involved. “
Maha Helali reported that Sue Hartshorne was very kind to bring some brochures and CDs about Autism from Autism Australia. The ADVANCE staff loved them. Maha and Laura took her out for dinner and chatted about OT in Egypt, and working ina different culture, in general.
You can contact Sue under the following address:
Sue Hartshorne
Occupational Therapy Department
School of Health Sciences
University of South Australia
T: +61 – 83 02 2487
E: sue.hartshorne@unisa.edu.au
New OT in town
In July WFOT received the following mail of a colleague who just moved to Cairo:
“My name is Gillian Barrett and I have recently moved to Cairo, Egypt, due to my husband's work. We are intending to live in Cairo for approximately 4 years.
Although I do not intend to seek full time employment during our time in Egypt, I note, with interest, that you have established a committee for the development of OT in Egypt.
I just wanted to let you know I was here and if there is anything I can do to help support OT development in Cairo, please let me know.”
Gillian could see herself doing some volunteer OT work app. 3 mornings a week. Feel free to contact her.
Gillian E.M. Barrett
140 Katameya Heights,
Cairo, Egypt
T(h): (002) 02 7571373
M: (002) 010 4696449
E: gngb2004@yahoo.co.uk
Abbassiya Hospital
Professor Moneim Ashour reports that the nurses and social workers on the psychogeriatric ward at the Abbassiya Hospital continue to provide activities to their clients. But they are in urgent need for a professional OT to support them and to provide some consultations.
Ward 18 is still in a process of developing an integrated Alzheimer care service package, supported by the Ministry of Health and Population and the Rotary Club Cairo. According to Professor Ashour’s vision it will address home as well as hospital care.
ADVANCE & LRC
Maha Helali reports:
The two German OT students finished their five week summer internship at the ADVANCE Center and had done very well indeed. The staff at the center hope that these weeks helped the students to understand more aboutchildren with special needs and that more students will come next summer.
ADVANCE conducted a specialized course about Autism with the NationalResearch Council and it included two lectures concerning OT. One was aboutsensory integration and the other was about fine motor skills.
Dr. Moneim Ashour has referred a psychologist who is specialized in Autism to attend a course run by ADVANCE and NRC.
Ain Shams University
OT Curriculum
A draft of the OT curriculum has been developed by Dr. Ahmed El Kahky and his team and was presented to Dr. Haider Ghaleb, an expert an curriculum development in Egypt.
Alexandria University
OT Programme Planning
We haven’t heard anything from Alexandria University but expect that they keep working on establishing an OT programme.
Cairo University
No news from Cairo University, either. We hope to hear from them again for the next newsletter.
Qatar
Maha Helali was able to establish a contact with a prominent charity person in Qatar who recognised the need for occupational therapy in the country and is very keen to learn more about our project in Egypt to use it as an example.
WFOT
The World Federation of Occupational Therapists had their annual Executive Mangement Team Meeting in Riga / Latvia in June 2005. Itl included a short professional conference for colleagues in the region. The Management Team was impressed with the progress our project is making.
Congress
Cindy Hahn, an American occupational therapist, associate professor of occupational therapy at A. T. Still University in Mesa, Arizona, who is serving WFOT on the IAG for Mental Health and the Elderly will attend the World Congress for the World Federation for Mental Health in September in Cairo. She will arrive in Cairo on September 2nd and will leave for home on the 8th. Anybody interested to meet Cindy could get in contact with her
Cindy Hahn, MOT, OTR/LAssociate Professor and AMOT Program DirectorA. T. Still UniversityMesa, AZ USA
Email: chahn@atsu.edu
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