McDonald’s Raises 10 Million EGP For Development of Egyptian Slum

A McDonald’s campaign launched by Manfoods for the development of Ezbet Khairallah, a slum in southern Cairo, has collected 10 million EGP to develop the community's educational system.

"We chose Ezbet Khairallah specifically as it is considered one of the largest slums in Egypt with an estimated population of 650,000, where it lacks the basic services and facilities. As a consequent of these poor circumstances, children who are living there are denied a proper equipped place for education, unlike children in other areas of Egypt," said Alaa Fathy, general manager of Manfoods Egypt.

The campaign has refurbished 20 nurseries and 10 schools, starting with the toilets and electricity and ending with school uniforms and stationary, Fathy said. The company focused on improving the quality of education by training and educating teachers, while awareness sessions were conducted for more than 7,000 mothers on healthcare and motherhood, Fathy added.

"Collecting donations worth 10 million EGP is a living proof of the remarkable achievements that have been achieved in Ezbet Khairallah,” Fathy said.

Fathy thanked participants for making this dream come true and developing Ezbet Khairallah, whether through purchasing happy meals or donating directly. He said the campaign reflects the positive collaboration between all members across different communities.

Donations were collected through two main sources: 3 million EGP were collected through donation boxes at McDonald’s branches across Egypt, while 7 million EGP were collected from the 25 piasters allocated from each Happy Meal sold in the campaign.

McDonald’s also provided the community with permanent job opportunities: for mothers by having them sew the school and nursery uniforms, and for the carpenters and skilled workers who refurbished and worked on developing the schools.