At a time of dire economic trouble, Egyptians cling to the charitable tradition of Ramadan, with givers and needy alike pinning their hopes on festive bounty.
Families have buckled under the weight of inflation, which peaked at 32.9 percent in February as Egyptians tried to stock their shelves ahead of the Islamic holy month of daytime fasting and special dinners, known as iftar.
“Last year, we gave out 360 iftar meals every day; this year, I’m not sure we’ll get to 200,” said the founder of a small charity in Cairo’s working-class al-Marg district. .
Yet those meals have never been more vital, said the charity worker, who asked not to be named for privacy concerns.
For many families, Ramadan staple food boxes or daily charity iftar meals, organized en masse across the country, “are their only chance to eat meat or chicken,” he added.
Even before the current economic crisis, made worse by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, which destabilized imports of crucial food, 30 percent of Egyptians lived below the poverty line, and the same number were vulnerable to falling in poverty, according to the World Bank. .
In addition, the rising costs of animal feed have made once-affordable chicken food out of reach for most of Egypt’s nearly 105 million people.
Before Ramadan began, the charities on which tens of millions of Egyptians depend sounded the alarm that they were struggling to meet the needs of more people, at higher costs, with dwindling donations.
– It’s the season –
But a focus on generosity, even and especially in times of trouble, is built into Ramadan, “when most Egyptians give their annual charity, a much-appreciated custom,” said Manal Saleh, who runs the Egyptian Clothing Bank. .
Egyptians donated nearly five billion Egyptian pounds to charity (at the time, about $315 million) over 10 months of recorded donations in 2021, according to state media.
But of that, about “90 percent” was delivered during Ramadan, estimated Saleh, who also helped found one of the country’s largest charities, the Egyptian Food Bank.
Each day of the holy month, a staple of the Egyptian city’s streets at sunset is the sight of mawaed al-rahman, charity tables where strangers come for free breakfast, sometimes hundreds at a time.
Many are organized by anonymous donors like Fouad, a 64-year-old retired engineer, who asked to use a pseudonym because his initiative is not a legally recognized charity.
This year, he and his group of friends who run a local mosque soup kitchen have had to double their budget, pledging to feed more people in their community and “not just the less fortunate.”
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, they have foregone the conventional banquet table for a makeshift take-out cafeteria.
Throughout the month, the kitchen serves meals to the community, including disadvantaged families and, increasingly, shop clerks and other workers who can no longer afford a hot meal mid-shift, saving them £60-70, about two Dollars.
“They know that their family needs that money,” Fouad said.
– ‘People stick together’ –
According to the latest official figures for 2021, the average salary in Egypt is 4,000 pounds a month, or $129.
Meanwhile, the price of a kilogram of the cheapest subsidized local meat has nearly doubled to £220, about a quarter of a week’s wages.
Savings have been slashed as the currency lost half its value in a year, and more and more people are struggling to make ends meet.
With families of all walks of life cutting everything from grocery bills to education, charity budgets might have been the first to go.
“Honestly, I almost despaired a couple of weeks ago when we looked at the numbers and realized that we may not be able to make it this year,” Fouad told AFP.
“But those who could have doubled their donations from last year, because they know how important it is for us to step up at times like this.”
Saleh said that Ramadan charity is a hard habit to break.
“We have seen crises before, and people are sticking together,” Saleh said.
“I think even if people can’t give as much, you’ll see more people lending a hand, volunteering, preparing meals for those around them, even if money is tight.”
