by Mahmoud Fouly
CAIRO, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of orphan children of different ages looked very excited with smiles on their faces while they were picking up their gifts in the grassy front yard of a villa-like two-floor orphanage on the outskirts of Egypt's Giza province south of the capital Cairo.
The gifts were offered to a branch of Dar al-Orman Charity Association by China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) that is currently building a huge Central Business District (CBD) in Egypt's new capital city including 18 skyscrapers, one of which is expected to be the tallest in Africa.
To celebrate the International Children's Day that falls on June 1 every year, CSCEC brought the children gift boxes in addition to packs of daily necessities such as diapers, powdered milk, eggs, candy, stationery and others. The bags and boxes were arranged side by side in the shape of a large heart in the yard.
"Children are the hope of the future in China and Egypt. We hope that today's activities can plant the seeds of friendship between the two peoples in their hearts," Zhou Jingfeng, deputy general manager of CSCEC Egypt, told Xinhua during the event.
Zhou stressed that caring for children is not only the responsibility of government agencies but also that of corporations, noting that CSCEC holds several charitable events in Egypt every year.
CSCEC has more than 3,000 Egyptian and Chinese employees working in the four-year CBD project that started in May 2018.
"Every year we have a budget for charity and today's event is just one of the charitable activities planned for this year," Zhou said.
Hazem Fathy, a six-year-old boy, seemed so happy when he picked up his gift box from the yard and ran into his colorfully decorated room shared with a couple of other children.
"I am happy here and I love to play in the yard with my friends. I haven't opened the box yet. Maybe there's a toy inside," the little boy said eagerly.
Located in 6th of October city, this branch of Dar al-Orman Charity Association is the biggest, for it is home to 81 orphans between the ages of one week and 18 years old. The orphanage consists of two floors, with about 20 rooms classified according to age groups.
Toys can be seen everywhere in the orphanage, even inside the clinic.
The first floor has around seven rooms; each is decorated with hanging glittering items and balloons with different shapes and colors besides wall decorations.
The visiting Chinese group, accompanied by officials from the orphanage, took a tour in the orphanage, taking a look at the rooms, playing with the children and taking photos together.
The orphanage's manager, Doaa Selim, led the visitors into the clinic where the children receive treatment when necessary, pointing out that all the medicine inside is regularly examined in terms of expiry.
"Our activities are mainly based on cash donations from individuals and companies. We do appreciate the support of such a big Chinese company for charitable activities in Egypt," Selim told Xinhua after the tour.
Selim described the Chinese people as "very friendly, respectful, polite and organized." "I am very happy with CSCEC visit today and with our communication with the Chinese side and we hope it will continue," she added.
The lady said that Egypt and China have many agreements and protocols of cooperation that reflect the close relations and growing understanding between the two sides.
