David and Gillian Maganda are CMS Ireland Mission Partners working with the Diocese of Egypt in Cairo.

David is currently Acting Coordinator with Refuge Egypt but normally works as the Advocacy and Emergency Services Leader. Refuge Egypt is a ministry of the Diocese to Sudanese refugees mainly from southern Sudan but more recently from Darfur.

The advocacy programme encourages newcomers at Refuge Egypt to contact the “Musa’aadin” or “Helpers” centre. This centre provides qualified people from the same community of asylum seekers, having been trained on how to educate and help their fellow asylum seekers in presenting their cases to the UNHCR. This Musa’aadin program, which is a joint endeavour of the few churches involved with refugees in Cairo, has proved valuable and very helpful.

Given the huge numbers of asylum seekers who continue to come to Egypt, it takes an average of six months to two years before an asylum seeker is recognized, as a refugee, by UNHCR. It is during this critical time that asylum seekers are deeply vulnerable and needy. David is responsible for running the emergency programme, which distributes food and clothing to targeted groups of needy people, and in the discipleship programme which ministers to the many spiritual needs of those registered with Refuge Egypt.

Gillian works part-time at Refuge Egypt in an administration and funding role, and is otherwise kept busy running their home and seeing to the needs of their three children, Esther, Beth and Nathan, who all attend school in Cairo.