A visit with Margaret Scobey, U.S. Ambassador to Egypt

Today, we visited the U. S. Embassy in Cairo where we were hosted by Margaret Scobey, U.S. Ambassador to Egypt.  Our visit took us to Ambassador Scobey's home at the Embassy.  We were joined by a group of officials from Future University in Egypt (FUE).  There, the official agreement between Temple University and FUE was co-signed by Lisa and FUE's president.  Photos were taken by the Embassy photographer and we will post several once we receive copies that will be emailed to us. 

A few points of interest:

-Ambassador Scobey expressed strong support for the Temple-FUE collaboration and noted that she is eager to help us identify possible State Department funds to facilitate the collaboration -- particularly to support student exchanges

-She has a very cut dog named Winston who kept all of us company during our visit (can you tell Lisa and I are dog lovers?  We miss our dog, Fred, who is currently being pampered in a kennel in NJ).   

Future University in Egypt (FUE)

On August 9th, we visited FUE.  Their motto is "A future based on history."  FUE opened its doors in 2006.  It is a very modern campus -- several buildings of which are still under development.  We toured the University and were warmly hosted by FUE's Chairman of the Board, President, and several senior members of the administration including the Deans and/or Vice Deans of the School of  Dentistry, Engineering, and Pharmacy.  

FUE is a beautiful modern University. Our only regret is that due to the time of year when we visited (summer break at FUE), there were only a handful of students so we didn't get a chance to experience the vibrant "pulse" of the campus.  Posted here are several photos taken in and around FUE.  The first is a photo of Lisa and me with Dr. Magid Abou-Gharbia (Temple University, School of Pharmacy). 

We will visit the U.S. Embassy tomorrow where the official agreement between Temple and FUE will be signed.  This evening, we will visit the site of the pyramids!  What an incredible experience.

   

Cairo!

We arrived in Cairo on August 8th.  Our mission here is to officially sign a collaborative agreement between Temple University and the Future University in Egypt (FUE).  The evening of the day we arrived was so enjoyable.  Dr. Magid Abou- Gharbia, Professor and Senior Associate Dean for Research, School of Pharmacy, at Temple University was already in Cairo to meet us and he arranged for a tour of the City for us.  We  were joined by Dr. Abou- Gharbia's daughter, Navine, her husband Ash, and their three small children, Jasmine, Leila, and Adam.  We were taken to a section of "Old Cairo" where we navigated busy streets filled with cars, people, donkeys, and camels.  On our way, we could easily see  Giza large pyramids in the distance (see photos shown -- look carefully behind Lisa and me and you will see the large-, medium-, and small-sized pyramids in the distance).  It was a hot, hazy evening and we enjoyed every minute of this journey.  We ended the evening by having dinner at a Lebanese restaurant where we were treated to a belly dancer and live band playing traditional music.    

We bid farewell to Dr. Addai and CIMS

We ended our visit with Dr. Addai, his staff and students on August 6th.  The charter class of CIMS honored Lisa and me with two Kente stoles -- each of which had our names weaved into them.  We were so grateful and honored to receive these gifts.  We took a few photos including a group photo showing all of the students with us in front of the temporary CIMS facility (a wood workers training facility). One photo shows us with  Dr. Addai at a local reasturant where we toasted our collaboration before being driven to the airport. From here, we head to Cairo, Egypt to officially launch an affiliation between Temple University andthe new Future University of Egypt. We will keep you posted about our comings and goings in Cairo.  Stay tuned. 

A visit to Dr. Addai's home town - the birthplace of Kente tapestries

We told Dr. Addai that we wanted to visit the nearby town of Bonwire where Kente is made.  Kente is considered one of Ghana's cultural treasures since it is uniquely theirs.  To our surprise, he told us that Bonwire is where he and his family live and that his brother, Kojo, is a Kente maker. Kojo trained for more than 10 years as an Kente apprentice and now owns his own Kente business.  

Shown here are a few photos taken during our visit to Bonwire.  We begin with a photo of Dr. Addai's mother preparing soup for dinner. What a treat it was for us to have met her and several other members of Dr. Addai's family.   Others show how Kente is made using weaving machines powered by feet and the quick-moving hand of the Kente maker.  We understood why it takes so long to learn how to weave Kente -- this is a labor-intensive process.  We purchased several beautiful Kentes to take home as gifts.  

Final days working with Dr. Addai and the College of Integrative Medical Sciences

The week also included a visit to another rural health clinic that Dr. Addai established.  This one was a three-hour drive from CIMS – a drive that took us through many other impoverished rural villages.  Dr. Addai and his staff of three administered to more than 150 people that day.  It was an amazing thing to witness.  They operate in a church that has no electricity or running water. In fact, it is simply a small building with a roof – no windows, no screens, no amenities whatsoever.  They set up shop as follows:

One staff member stationed herself at the entrance of the church to log-in patients as they arrived.  They needed to show their national health insurance card (available to all Ghanaians) and then were asked to wait their turn while sitting on wooden benches.  By 10:30 AM, the church was filled with people (mostly women and children) patiently waiting their turn  to see Dr. Addai or the physician assistant (PA) who works for him.  At the front of the church they set up two tables with chairs for the patients:  one for Dr. Addai and the other for the PA.  At the side of the church, two other staff members (one of whom is a nurse) set up the pharmacy. Each time they set up this clinic (about two times per month),  they must bring all of their supplies including a very limited repertoire of drugs, stethoscopes and blood pressure cuffs.  That’s all.  No other bells or whistles are available to administer to the sick on typical visits to this village.  Occasionally, they bring along a mobile laboratory but this requires much more in the way of personnel and resources – both of which are so limited. 

We have posted several photos of what we observed on this day.  Shown in several are Dr. Addai with some of the patients he saw, the pharmacy (photo with various drug supplies on the floor), some of the people waiting their turn, and the exterior of the church where everything took place.  Our day ended at about 5:00 PM.  We each had some crackers and water to carry us through the day but frankly, when you are so busy, you tend to forget that you have an appetite.     

It's a Small World

What a small world we live in!  Through a series of coincidences, I found out that a former Cornell student, Justin Davis (shown in photo wearing the Survivor T-shirt) was in Ghana for the summer working at the U.S. Embassy.  Justin was the former President of Black Students United (BSU), a student organization at Cornell.  Our daughter, Jennifer, was also an undergraduate student at Cornell at the time and she and Justin too a few classes together.  I (Lisa) got to know Justin when I was Dean at Human Ecology and helped to fund the BSU’s spring break trip to rebuild houses in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Justin just completed his Masters of Public Policy at Georgetown and decided to work in the diplomatic core.  He helped to arrange for President Obama’s recent trip to Ghana.  He got to meet the President and his trip here completely changed his life.  He intends to work in the diplomatic service for the next several years and then attend law school to work in public interest law. If you follow your passion, you never know where your lives may take you!  While in Accra, we got together for dinner at Mama Mia’s Pizzeria with his friend Kojo who studied for two years at Syracuse University and will complete his studies in Ghana where he intends to pursue entrepreneurial ventures.  The pizza was excellent and the conversations with old friends wonderful!!