BHA-Egypt has entered into a third Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Masr Bokra for Development (MBD), about cooperation in teaching child laborers in the brick kilns animal welfare issues as part of a non-formal educational curriculum.
Dr. Iman Rifky, Cairo Clinic Manager, and Ms. Salwa Kedis, MBD Executive Director signed the third MOU on January 24. The two organizations signed their first MOU in October 2016, and then last year signed the second. Each project lasts six months only.
The MOU outlines how the two organizations will work together to teach the children who use donkeys and mules in the brick kilns in Helwan, specific animal health and welfare aspects in the light of the Five Freedoms.
The animal welfare curriculum consists of 17 lessons developed by BHA-Egypt in cooperation with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and Roh El Shabab project in the kilns (which later became MBD) who are specialized in non-formal education and Montessori methods and reviewed by development experts in educational sciences from CID Consulting.
The learning content is designed to involve the children in the welfare of the animals through plays, games, open discussions and practical training, reflecting the work they do in the brick kilns.
According to the MOU, BHA-Egypt is responsible for building the capacity of local service providers in the project’s area (Arab Abo Saad), providing the practical training for the stablemen, following up the project implementation and applying the Animal Based Indicators (ABIs) to measure the project’s impact in the targeted kilns. In addition, BHA-Egypt will cover the project equipment costs and staff incentives. Our partner MBD will execute the action plan for the project implementation, provide teachers and measure the knowledge improvement of the children.
In spite of the relatively short period of the previous two phases (12 months), the project has achieved encouraging results in the knowledge and understanding of the young users about animal health and welfare.
