Northeast Africa
The northeastern African nations of Egypt, Eritrea and Ethiopia face formidable challenges — economic, environmental, political and social.
Poverty, fear of the coronavirus, drought and other forms of climatic change are taking serious tolls on the most vulnerable. Ethnic strife and religious intolerance threaten to unravel the delicate fabric of functioning societies. Hunger is a daily fact of life for many. And yet, it is an area anxious for miracles, hungry for hope.
CNEWA’s primary partners in the region, the Coptic, Eritrean and Ethiopian Catholic churches respectively, share in the Christian heritage that has been present there since the first century. While small communities of faith, each church plays a disproportionate role in helping to heal, teach and lift those most in need. From its beginnings, CNEWA has been there to accompany these churches, walking with them as they live the Gospel.
Students attend a lecture inside the Coptic Catholic seminary in the Maadi neighborhood of Cairo. (photo: Roger Anis) 
An Eritrean novice plays a kebero, a drum traditional to the Horn of Africa. (photo: John E. Kozar) 
Students learn trades such as hairdressing in the salon at the Kidist Mariam Center in Meki, operated by the Community of St. Paul. (photo: Petterik Wiggers) 
Children at pre-school class. Kidane Merhet Children’s home, Addis Ababa, run by Franciscan Sisters of the Heart of Jesus
