Under the patronage of Prof. Hala Al-Saeed, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Prof. Ghada Farouk, Acting President of Ain Shams University and Vice President of the University for Community Service and Environmental Development Affairs, and Dr. Jamil Helmy, Assistant Minister of Planning for Follow-up Affairs of the Sustainable Development Plan, the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, Ain Shams University, and the Sawiris Foundation for Community Development launched the “Dar and Salama” project to implement a group of development interventions in the village of “Awlad Yahya” in the center of Dar El Salam, in Sohag Governorate, which focuses on adequate housing and health care, in the presence of Dr. Ahmed Al-Qadi, Deputy Governor of Sohag, Prof. Jihan Ragab, Advisor to the Vice President of Ain Shams University for Community Service and Environmental Development Affairs, and Prof. Hala Sweid, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Medicine for Community Service and Environmental Development at Ain Shams University, Mr. Ahmed Al-Shimi, Deputy Head of the Programs and Performance Unit at the Ministry of Planning, Mr. Ahmed Al-Qassas, Coordinator of the Decent Life Project at the Ministry of Planning, and Mrs. Nahid Yousry, Director of the Social Empowerment Sector, and Mrs. Hanan Khayal, an official in the social empowerment sector at the Sawiris Foundation for Community Development, representatives of the Life Makers Foundation and many representatives of the General Office of Sohag Governorate.

Prof. Hala Al-Saeed, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation with civil society organizations and academic institutions, to benefit from their experiences in developing rural communities within the national project to develop the Egyptian countryside “A Decent Life,” noting that the launch of this project reflects the participatory approach that The Ministry of Planning is keen on this, believing that strengthening the partnership between the so-called golden triangle of development, which includes the government, the private sector and civil society, is the basic guarantee for achieving development goals and programs, and one of the most important basic pillars for achieving Egypt’s Vision 2030, in line with Goal 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, “Forging partnerships to achieve the goals.”

Prof. Ghada Farouk, Acting President of Ain Shams University and Vice President of the University for Community Service and Environmental Development Affairs, emphasized the societal role played by Ain Shams University through the Community Service and Environmental Development Affairs Sector in launching the Dar and Salama project in the village of Awlad Yahya, which comes as a culmination of the intensive efforts during The past period with the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, the University, the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development, the Life Makers Foundation, and Sohag Governorate, and in activation of the cooperation protocol that was signed in March 2023 with the Ministry of Planning, the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development, and Ain Shams University, to develop the neediest villages under the umbrella of the National Project for the Development of the Egyptian Rural "Decent life".

Dr. Jamil Helmy, Assistant Minister of Planning for Sustainable Development Plan Follow-up Affairs, stated that the launch of the “Dar and Salama” project in the village of “Awlad Yahya” comes as a culmination of the intensive coordination efforts during the last period with Sohag Governorate and the partner parties, in order to activate the cooperation protocol signed by the Ministry of Planning with Ain Shams University and the Sawiris Foundation.

Helmy pointed out the coordination with the Social Solidarity Directorate in Sohag Governorate, to update the data of those entitled to decent housing, pointing out that it is targeted to develop and raise the efficiency of 200 homes for families in need of care, while providing drinking water and sanitation connections, at a target cost of up to 53 million pounds. According to a set of standards and controls, stressing the importance of integration with the state’s efforts to enhance protection and social care and provide adequate housing for the neediest groups.

The “Dar and Salama” project was launched in the village of “Awlad Yahya” in Sohag Governorate through a meeting with Dr. Ahmed Al-Qadi, Deputy Governor, General Office of Sohag Governorate, and “A Decent Life” project is considered to be an appreciation of the cooperation with the Ministry of Planning in a number of development initiatives, and in cooperation and coordination with the Ministry of Planning and the Sawiris Foundation to implement the “Dar and Salama” project in the village of “Awlad Yahya.”

The project aims to create a real partnership with realistic outcomes in the village of Awlad Yahya, and the initiative works to provide a set of development and service activities that will ensure a decent life for these groups, by improving the living conditions and daily life of the Egyptian citizen, with a financial value of 53 million pounds. The Decent Life Initiative is unique in its action on a large scale, and within a framework of integration and unification of efforts between national state institutions, private sector institutions, and civil society, for the first time, with the aim of addressing multidimensional poverty and providing a decent life.

The project is based primarily on creating a noticeable qualitative development in the nature of the residential environment in which residents live and supporting a group of urgent health services, through a group of coordinated efforts and programs directed towards basic services (water, housing, health services), to improve the condition of the local community and the individual, within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals of Egypt 2023, and social justice that focuses on the two human dimensions of achieving a decent life, preserving human rights, and achieving equal opportunities.