You can change the lives of people with disabilities and their families in Egypt with your gift today
The “beloved of Jesus” (“Habayeb-Yasou'” in Arabic)! What an amazing name for our friends in Egypt with special needs. In Egypt, a honor and shame culture, the status of those with special needs is not much above animals in terms of how they are seen and the value they are given. But in the last few years, that has begun to change. These people are the beloved of Jesus, and many of them (and their families) are coming to experience that. Novo’s global partner in the Middle East, NEO Leaders, is bringing Jesus to these people in a way that they have never experienced before, offering them acceptance, a place in a big family, and the feeling that they’re a valuable part of God’s creation.
It’s hard to comprehend the full impact of the good news on this community apart from knowing the pain they’ve experienced in their culture. A NEO Leader volunteer shares more details:
“Disability in Egypt is a shame. It brings shame to the whole family. Nobody touches these people; it’s like leprosy in the New Testament. Nobody wants to employ someone with a disabled person in their family. Nobody would ask to marry them because they have a brother or sister who’s disabled. I heard about a family with a downs syndrome boy who’s now almost 15 years old. And what they did with him was put a leash around his neck and put him with the animals. In most cases the disabled people are locked inside. They’re not taken outside at all.”
NEO’s work in this community started with one leader who was given a vision from God to serve the marginalized—specifically those with special needs. This leader tried to recruit a team but nobody would go with him. He went anyway. God has now given him an incredible team, including many people with special needs. This ministry has grown so big that one of the team members with a team of volunteers is overseeing 582 different Discovery Bible Study groups spread out over 14 villages! And that’s just one person’s load!
In total, the Beloved of Jesus’ team serves 16,000+ people with disabilities and their families. Thank you for your partnership as we minister to these incredible children of God.
Novo (formerly Church Resource Ministries /CRM) is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in California.
We are a member of the ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability), which provides accreditation to leading Christian non-profit organizations that demonstrate compliance with established standards.
Subject to IRS rules regarding non-profit organizations, contributions are made with the understanding that Novo and its Board of Directors has complete control and administration over all donated funds.
