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Celebration for Newlyweds in El Minya Marks the Start
of a
Family Health Campaign
150
couples join in launch of “Sahatek, Sarwetek” (Your Health, Your
Wealth)
El Minya, September 9, 2004
 Over 150 newlywed couples and close to 5000
of their guests celebrated together at a group wedding party
held at El Minya stadium on the evening of September 9, 2004.
The celebration served as a large-scale publicity event
launching the national family health campaign with the slogan
“Sahatek, Sarwatek” (Your Health, Your Wealth). Held under the
auspices of H.E. General Hassan Hemaida, the governor of El
Minya, and the Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) with the
support of the Ministry of Information and the State Information
Services, the event was spearheaded by the Communication for
Healthy Living (CHL) project, a collaborative effort between the
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and
the Government of Egypt.
All of Minya watched while hundreds of
brides in shimmering white seated next to their beaming grooms
made their way along the parade route in horse-drawn carriages
bedecked with garlands. A zafa ensemble led by Ahmed Deshouki
headed the parade, and tractor-drawn carriages, “tuf-tufs”
filled with celebrating couples and children brought up the
rear. At the stadium, celebrity TV host Tarek El Allam served as
MC, congratulating couples and awarding prizes donated by
sponsors from the private sector. Actress Karima Mukhtar,
affectionately called “Doctora Karima” for her two-decades long
support to family health campaigns, congratulated the couples
and wished them enduring health and happiness. Later, popular
singers Essam Karika and Gawahar took the stage, surrounded by a
crowd of dancing couples and their friends. A highlight of the
show was the cutting of what was probably El Minya’s largest
wedding cake ever, a six-tiered feat of engineering, decorated
with fresh flowers and ignited sparklers.
While the atmosphere was festive, it also
provided a backdrop to deliver important messages about family
health to an audience of thousands, bolstered by live TV
coverage provided by Upper Egypt’s Channel 7. Media
representatives from Youth and Sports Radio, and from the press,
El Gomhoriya, El Hawaa, Al Ahram, El Akhbar, Akher-Sa’a, and Nos
El Dunya, provided additional coverage. “This is a time for
reflection about the kind of future you want for yourselves and
your children,” said Jane Nandy, associate director for USAID,
in her address to the audience.
 Nandy’s remarks referred to the overall
theme of the campaign, which is to encourage people to take a
more active role in protecting their health. “NewlyWeds are a
special target of the campaign because it is at this stage that
they make many health and behavior decisions that affect the
rest of their lives,” explained Dr. Tawhida Khalil, a consultant
to the CHL project. The campaign is aimed at providing
individuals and families with the information they need to
empower them to take responsibility for their health by adopting
healthy behaviors. Particular emphasis is placed on the
importance of communication, safe pregnancy and delivery, proper
post-partum, neo-natal and infant care, and family planning and
birth spacing. Couples received copies of the Mabrouk book, a
guide produced by the CHL project containing health information
for new couples that they can use to build the foundation of a
healthy family. The booklet was packaged in an elegant frame,
and delivered to the couples along with their along with their
formal wedding portrait taken at the event. The Mabrouk book
will be distributed to newlywed couples throughout the country
by health outreach workers, maazouns (marriage registrars) and
priests. |
