So, what am I doing in Cairo for the summer?

Besides applying level 55 sunscreen before leaving my flat every morning, I am working with UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund in the Arab States Regional Office (ASRO) on the Youth Team. The original name of UNFPA was the United Nation Fund for Population Activities, so even though the name changed, the acronym stayed - if you were wondering why that did not match up. In fact, 2019 is UNFPA’s 50th anniversary!

"UNFPA is the United Nations reproductive health and rights agency. Our mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled." (UNFPA website)

ASRO supports the work of the 15 country offices throughout the Arab Region made up of 20 states, Algeria, Bahrain,  Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, and Yemen.. In addition to supporting initiatives in each of these offices, ASRO advocates for better reproductive health care, youth programming, and maternal care across the region and implements possible policy interventions.

My official role at UNFPA is the Youth and HIV/AIDS Programme intern and I will be working on a variety of
projects including assisting with the Second Youth Forum in the Arab Region taking place in Tunis, Tunisia at
the end of August, supporting UNFPA’s project Action for Adolescent Girls to be implemented throughout the
Arab Region and the Menstrual Hygiene Management Initiative.

In addition to work I have been able to explore some of Cairo, see the pyramids from a distance (still on my bucket list) and visit the Red Sea during the Eid Holiday Eid is the celebration of the conclusion of Ramadan, the holy month of Islam. I also went to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities and saw so much Egyptian history, such as the treasures from King Tutankhamen tomb, mummies, Egyptian jewelry, and other important burial stones, hieroglyphics, and papyrus scrolls.

I am also teaching myself Arabic (slowly, but surely). Arabic, like many other languages, has different dialects and words for the same thing depending on which country you are in. In schools, they typically teach Modern Standard Arabic, which is what is used on the news or in official documents. While people will understand you, they will think you are speaking very formally.

It has been a great first two weeks in Cairo, and I cannot wait to learn more at work and explore more of this incredible country!

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Arabic Word of the Day:

Thank You - Shukran (shoo-krahhn)

Egyptian Museum of Antiquities

The Red Sea!