Minister of Local Development Mahmoud Shaarawy, Cairo Governor Khaled Abdel Aal witnessed Sunday the signing of a cooperation protocol between the Ministry of Local Development, Sonaa El-Khair Foundation, and Pepsi Cola Company as part of the “Accessible Sidewalks in Cairo for People with Disabilities” initiative, started in Maadi district last year.
After the signing, Shaarawy pointed out that President El-Sisi pays great attention to providing all means of care and support to people with disabilities and providing them with the best services to work on their integration into society.
Shaarawy added that the ministry prioritized the issue of the integration of people with disabilities during the past few years as they established a specialized unit for people with disabilities in coordination with governorates across Egypt to empower and enable them to participate effectively in society activities.
Moreover, Shaarawy said that the ministry followed up over the past few months the implementation of the cooperation protocol signed between the Cairo governorate, Misr El-Khair Foundation, and the Housing and Development Bank to make streets in Maadi district accessible for physically challenged people.
Shaarawy also hailed the pivotal role played by the Deputy Committee of Foreign Relations of Egypt’s Representatives House Sahar El-Baz in implementing the newly signed protocol, pointing out that the ministry is willing to expand the initiative to other districts across Cairo in cooperation with civil society organizations and major companies.
For his part, Cairo Governor Khaled Abdel Aal asserted that the state’s efforts to support physically challenged people and enable them to overcome and face different challenges reflect the political leadership’s interest in supporting and empowering people of determination.
Moreover, Abdel Aal pointed out that the signing of accessible sidewalks for people with disabilities protocol in the Zamalek neighborhood is the second after the one implemented in the Maadi district. He also said that the Cairo governorate takes into consideration the needs of people with disabilities while developing sidewalks to provide means of safety to them.
Abdel Aal added that the executive bodies of the Cairo governorate would provide all necessary permits and approvals and coordinate with relevant authorities to facilitate the needed procedures.
For his part, the Chairman of PepsiCo Egypt, Mohammad Shelbeya, expressed his happiness for cooperating with the Ministry of Local Development and Sonaa El-Khair for Development Foundation in supporting and empowering people of determination. He added that the company participated in the initiative to support the state’s efforts to integrate people of determination into society.
Furthermore, the Executive Manager of Sonaa El-Khair Foundation, Hany Abdel Fattah, expressed his happiness to sign the protocol and continue constructive cooperation with the Ministry of Local Development in several fields. He also pointed out that the initiative would contribute to raising the awareness of different groups of society on how to help integrate people with disabilities into society.
