EGYPT — Throughout the Middle East and North Africa when Christians come to faith they face extreme persecution including losing their jobs. Christian charity Help The Persecuted is empowering many of these persecuted believers in Egypt by providing them with opportunities to start their own businesses. GNA reporter Peter Wooding got to see the impact of this enduring livelihoods initiative in Egypt.

As the Middle East war has intensified, so has the financial crisis in Egypt. But for persecuted Christians there, many had already struggled to find any source of income as no one will hire them, simply because of their faith. In response, Christian Charity helped the persecuted to set up its Enduring Livelihood initiative, empowering many believers to start their own businesses and provide for their families. I had the opportunity to see first hand the impact of these family businesses throughout Egypt.

We’re in one of the poorest parts of Egypt where there is extreme persecution of Christians and as you can see behind me there is real poverty here. I’m here with the charity Help the Persecuted who are helping many of the persecuted Christians in this community start sewing projects. They’ve actually helped 20 women start these businesses and they’ve told us what a difference it has made in their lives.

As well as establishing sewing businesses in that extremely poor community, we also visited a man who had received help to start up his own dry cleaning business.

We’ve just arrived at one of many enduring livelihood projects here in Egypt. This is a remarkable story of our brother here who worked in a factory and yet when he became a Christian he lost his job. And yet help the persecuted helped him to fulfil his dream of starting this dry cleaning business. He’s just told me he was a slave in the factory, but now his soul is free because he found Christ, but also his body is free because he’s fulfilling his dream of starting this business. As well as rescuing and restoring lives, projects like these are rebuilding many lives.

I even had the opportunity to ride in a tuk-tuk with a former Muslim who had a remarkable testimony, but we were unable to show his face due to security reasons.

I’m on a very busy street in Egypt. As you can see going past me are all these Tok Toks. But that’s not very unique here in Egypt. But what is unique is the driver of this Tok Tok was healed of blindness 16 years ago and accepted Christ after having a dream about Jesus. We’re gonna go on the Tok Tok now. As you join me I’ll tell you a bit more about his story.

So the driver of this tok tok, when he came to faith, he lost his inheritance, he lost everything, even his livelihood. But because of help the persecuted having an enduring livelihood project, they helped him to buy this tok tok and he just told me that it has enabled him to provide for his family, his wife and his two children. It has become life changing for him. So in the midst of such an economic crisis here in Egypt and the high price many persecuted Christians pay where many can’t find work, projects like these are vital.

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About Help The Persecuted

Rescue. Restore. Rebuild. Help The Persecuted has been supporting suffering Christians with practical and spiritual help since 2011 and in 2018 was established as standalone charitable organization. We pray our efforts will empower the global Church to flourish not just in Middle East and North Africa, but also in the Western world as we share in their suffering and bear their burdens. Help The Persecuted is a 501(c)3 organization and a member of ECFA, the Evangelical Council of Financial Accountability