In pictures: Harpur Nursing School, Egypt
Every June a new cohort of students from Harpur Memorial Nursing School in Menouf, Egypt, finish their second year of study and graduate - adding new highly-trained nurses to Menouf’s medical arsenal. The images below, taken by David Uttley, capture something of their journey towards graduation.
The twelve students are the nursing school’s second graduating class, and have all successfully completed a two-year course of study. The graduation was an important opportunity to celebrate their hard work, together with their families and the school staff. Also in attendance were the hospital’s Medical Director, Dr. Samir, and the new Anglican Archbishop for the Horn of Africa and Egypt, Archbishop Sami Fawzy.
During the ceremony, each graduate had a Harpur Memorial Nursing School pinned to their white nurse’s coat and received a certificate from the hospital and the Anglican diocese. After graduation they all enjoyed a well-earned break until 1 July when they began full-time employment at Harpur Hospital, using their new knowledge and skills to ensure all patients are cared for with compassion and skill.
Graduate Eman Fawzy was elected by the students to speak at the graduation ceremony. In her speech, she urged her fellow classmates to encourage one another, work as a team, and always look at the patient through the lens of Jesus – as mind, body, soul, and spirit.
The work of the nursing school doesn’t conclude with graduation, and so as one class moves on, the staff prepare to welcome a new cohort. In August, another twelve students will begin their studies.
All of the new cohort have been recruited from within the existing hospital team, as many nurses in Egypt have not received formal training before starting work. In this way the hospital is investing in its staff and gradually raising the level of care to be consistent throughout the nursing team.
Please join us in praying for these new students as they embark on their studies, and for the graduates as they apply all they’ve learned on the hospital wards.
Images by David Uttley at Compelling Story
