Saturday, November 17, 2007
At the Muhammad Ali Mosque
This is a wonderful photograph I came across in mom's old photo collection. The photograph was taken by Nadir at the Muhammad Ali mosque at Saladin's citadel in Cairo, circa 1985-6. Sarah is not in the picture because Sarah had not yet been born.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Hide the Food!
When mom was confirmed for the grant to study in Egypt in 1976, the university sent her (and, by extension, me, of course) to Tunisia, where she was to study Arabic at Bourgeiba Univeristy. While there, we stayed with the mother and sisters of my mother's good friend Bechir Chourou. Bechir's mother, who I know only as El-Hajjah (the Pilgrim; this is a common honorific for matrons in the Arab world), was a committed socialist: by decree, food and all other resources in the house were to be shared by all. This was fine; this wonderful lady was happy to provide all the food herself, and she was a wonderful, wonderful, cook. The problem was this: Tunisian food is SPICY.
When I was first her guest (there were three such occasions; each time lasted 3-4 months), I was not yet 6, and I was unaccustomed to hot food. My mother, of course, maintained an independent food supply for me but, on the third or fourth time she came into the kitchen to see my food being shared by the members of the household, she decided that she would engage in subterfuge; she decided to hide the food she bought for me! Don't misunderstand—my mother was always a generous soul, and she was quite happy to do what she could to share the burden, but the problem was maintaining a supply of food that I could eat without suffering!
Mercifully, this did not have to last very long. By the end of that trip I was happily gobbling down the wonderful Tunisian bread dipped in the delicious incendiary concoction they call Harissa.
When I was first her guest (there were three such occasions; each time lasted 3-4 months), I was not yet 6, and I was unaccustomed to hot food. My mother, of course, maintained an independent food supply for me but, on the third or fourth time she came into the kitchen to see my food being shared by the members of the household, she decided that she would engage in subterfuge; she decided to hide the food she bought for me! Don't misunderstand—my mother was always a generous soul, and she was quite happy to do what she could to share the burden, but the problem was maintaining a supply of food that I could eat without suffering!
Mercifully, this did not have to last very long. By the end of that trip I was happily gobbling down the wonderful Tunisian bread dipped in the delicious incendiary concoction they call Harissa.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
She Blends Seashells in the Blender
My mother was never very fond of perfume; one important exception was her fondness for khumrah. Khumrah is a perfume that Sudanese women make for themselves out of roasted ground seashells and sandalwood, musk (optional) and a liquid base made, among other things, of a mix of French perfumes, some of which are only available in Sudan.
Although I do not have the recipe that my mother used, I found several variations online. Perhaps Sarah can enlighten us with regards to the specific recipe mom used. For now, here is one recipe I found (the theme seems accurate enough):
Although I do not have the recipe that my mother used, I found several variations online. Perhaps Sarah can enlighten us with regards to the specific recipe mom used. For now, here is one recipe I found (the theme seems accurate enough):
- Clean the seashells from all traces of tissue then boil over a low heat in a sodium bicarbonate solution for ten minutes.
- Soak the shells in henna water for 24 hours.
- Coarsely grind the shells in a blender.
- Mix the shells with sandalwood and roast over a low fire.
- Finely grind the mixture with two cloves.
- Mix with lemon or orange juice and a few drops of French perfume (Rêve d'Or is a favorite, and is still in production since it was introduced to the market in 1889).
- Put the resulting paste in a pot.
- Light charcoal mixed with sandalwood incense in a brazier.
- Place a sieve on top of the fire.
- Upend the pot on the flames, but leave the pot in place.
- Allow the rising smoke to cook the paste for ten minutes. Mix and repeat until the color changes to a deep red.
- Add the powdered mush if you wish, then place the mixture in a bottle. Add more French perfume.
- Firmly seal the bottle.
- Shake the bottle well and allow it to sit for a few days.
The author of another post warns that khumrah is to be used by married women only and even then only when their husbands are around, because it is sure to excite the senses of any males in the vicinity, so be careful. ;)
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Mom's Resume
I recently came across my mother's resume again. She had sent it to me to submit to my employer for possible employment. It struck me that, although we know she was a world traveler with a great deal of experience, how little we know about the scope of her work. So, I thought I would post herresume here. The following is lifted directly from her resume:
Areas of Expertise
Support to development and strengthening of civil society, development of institutional links between community organizations, government agencies and national and international NGOs. Experience in all phases of the project cycle. Long experience with participatory development programs, particularly in the Middle East, Central Asia, East and Central Africa. Sector expertise includes community establishment and maintenance of water supply, sanitation, community primary health, women in development, health/hygiene, and small enterprise development.
Areas of Work Experience
Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Rwanda, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, United States, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, West Bank/Gaza, Yemen, Zimbabwe.
Donor Agencies
Danida, Netherlands Foreign Ministry, USAID, KfW, World Bank, Ford Foundation, Near East Foundation, Population Council, Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
Community and NGO Participation in Development (also a key element in all other sections):
Egypt 2005, America’s Development Foundation. Consultant to national program to strengthen NGOs and community development associations to interface with local government and work jointly on local socioeconomic development issues.
Zimbabwe 2002, Africare. Team leader for evaluation of an appropriate-technology agricultural project in drought-prone communal areas of Zvishavane District.
Rwanda 2001, Africare/USAID. Team leader, mid-term evaluation and development of project extension plan, Local Government Initiative Project, which is supporting decentralization and democratization across 30 of the 57 rural communes of Rwanda. Much of evaluation based on three-governorate survey of citizen participation.
Egypt 1997, POPTECH/USAID. Advisor, evaluation of the potential for NGO participation in expanded family planning programs.
Egypt 1996, CARE International/Danida. Advisor on participatory community awareness campaigns related to environmental hazards, community health, environmental enhancement, and local NGO/community participation in environmental programs in small rural communities. Inter alia, designed and implemented participatory training courses for CARE staff in supporting widened knowledge base and self-determination of communities, with an emphasis on outreach system management by village women.
Egypt 1994, Netherlands and Danish Embassies. Advisor on donor strategy for support to Egyptian NGOs and government agencies to participate in the Fourth World Conference for Women in Beijing, 1995.
Egypt 1993, Danida. Advisor on NGO programs, responsible for evaluation, working with local agencies to develop fundable programs, and providing recommendations to Danida for allocations of funds.
Syria 1989, UNICEF. Needs assessment of Damascus refugee camps, to lay groundwork for programs of community organization, business development, and education for Palestinian refugees.
Health (also see section on water and sanitation):
USA, 2004. Family Health International. Consultant, responsible for evaluation of FHI program of Fellowships in Contraceptive Technology Research.
USA 2002, Orange/Person/Chatham Mental Health. Consultant responsible for study of the clientele and stakeholders of the joint mental health, substance abuse, and developmental disability services sector in a three-county area of North Carolina, to ensure that the points of view of system users are reflected in planning for the system over the next two years under conditions of anticipated sharp decline in state budgets for service provision.
Egypt 1997, John Snow International/USAID. Team leader, qualitative studies of community knowledge, belief and practice regarding maternal and neonatal health care and constraints on improving this care in southern Egypt.
Egypt 1997, POPTECH/USAID. Advisor, evaluation of the potential for NGO participation in expanded family planning programs.
Egypt 1996, CARE International/Danida. Advisor on participatory community awareness campaigns related to environmental hazards, community health, environmental enhancement, and local NGO/community participation in environmental programs in small rural communities. Inter alia, designed and implemented participatory training courses for CARE staff in supporting widened knowledge base and self-determination of communities.
Egypt 1995, Danida. Advisor on participatory social surveys, health education/outreach, NGO/community participation and capacity building, health implications of current practices and existing water and sanitation systems, Edfu District, Aswan Governorate. Village women and girls worked on survey design and implementation.
Ethiopia 1994, BASICS/USAID. Principal investigator, social soundness and gender analysis study for national program of health care service improvement.
Egypt 1994, Danida. Advisor on agency health sector strategic plan.
Egypt 1993, Development Consultants, Danida. Advisor to reappraisal team, community-based primary health care and basic infrastructure program, Aswan Governorate.
Egypt 1992, Integrated Development Consultants/Abt Associates/USAID. Advisor on socioeconomic surveys for Cost Recovery for Health Project.
Egypt 1991, CarlBro/Danida. Member of project formulation team, primary health care program for Edfu District, Aswan Governorate, responsible for assessing health conditions, designing program of community participation and mobilization, information and communication programs, and essential community infrastructure.
Egypt 1991, SPAAC/Egyptian Ministry of Health/USAID. Team leader, six-community study of case management for diarrheal disease, based on observations of families, mostly mothers, handling diarrhea and dehydration in young children.
Egypt 1989-1991, UNICEF. Research coordinator, ethnographic studies of the social and physical environment of high rates of diarrheal disease/dehydration in Upper Egypt.
Egypt 1989, John Snow International/USAID. Advisor for review of ethnographic data base and development for qualitative research plan for national diarrheal diseases project.
Egypt 1987-1989, Save the Children/USAID. Advisor on design and implementation of child survival program in Minia Governorate; subsequently, carried out mid-term evaluation of program.
Egypt 1986, Institute for Cultural Affairs/AfricaNow. Evaluator, primary health care program run by village women in villages of Beni Suef Governorate.
Egypt 1984-86, The Population Council/Ford Foundation. Joint principal investigator, large study of the social and physical context of child health in an urban squatter settlement, and analysis of differentials in child growth and survival in a community lacking in basic municipal services.
Egypt 1985, John Snow International/USAID. Principle investigator, study of the role of the pharmacist as a health care provider in communities at high risk of diarrheal disease.
Egypt 1984, The Population Council/Ford Foundation (MEAWARD). Principal investigator, anthropological study of the social and physical context of child health in an urban squatter settlement.
Egypt 1984-85, John Snow International/USAID. Principle Investigator, ministudies on the impact of mass media messages on family management of diarrhea/dehydration in young children.
CommunityEnvironment, Water Supply, Sanitation, and Health/Hygiene Education, with Emphasis on the Role of Women (by definition):
Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Uzbekistan, 2003, WSAtkins/World Bank. Project manager, State of the Art Sanitation and Hygiene Component, Rural Water Supply and Sanitation. Responsible for preparation of an overall generic strategy for community-based hygiene education and sanitation promotion, appraisal of in-country situations in the three countries, development of a methodology for monitoring and evaluating program effectiveness, preparation of a guidance manual/toolkit for use in World Bank projects, and support of cross-country knowledge generation and exchange.
Palestine, 2001, Environmental Health Project/USAID. Member of design team, for major water supply and sanitation program for a population of 140,000 people in rural areas of the West Bank; responsible for participatory community studies, participatory hygiene education and other social dimensions of the program.
Egypt 2000, CARE. Team leader, design of participatory integrated development program for rural Beni Suef Governorate, focused on community institutional capacity building, development of community-managed development and protection of the physical environment, particularly water and sanitation systems, economic and educational support programs, networking with government sector agencies.
Uzbekistan 1999-2000, AHT International/KFW. Member of design team for drinking water supply and sanitation program for collective farms in Khorezm State (Aral Sea Region), responsible for socioeconomic surveys, participatory design of community management system for standpipe-based water supply, and health-hygiene education for communities and schools.
Sudan 1999, Care International. Responsible for development of a plan for converting potable water supply systems developed under emergency conditions in the refugee camps around Khartoum and Om Durman Cities into financially and technically sustainable systems at the community level.
Egypt 1999, GKW/KfW. Member of feasibility study team, potable water supply program for Qena Governorate, responsible for socioeconomic surveys, health/hygiene education and potential for community participation in system implementation.
Jordan 1998, Hofman Andersen Partners/Danida. Member of appraisal team for wastewater treatment plants in Madaba and Na’ur towns, responsible for assessing the health implications of the current situation, demand for sewerage, ability and willingness to pay for services.
Egypt 1996, CARE International/Danida. Advisor on design and implementation of community-managed awareness programs related environmental hazards, community health, environmental enhancement, and local NGO/community participation in environmental programs in small rural communities (two consultancies). Primary responsibility for community management held by village women.
Viet Nam 1995, Hofman Andersen Partners/Danida. Member of appraisal team, advisor on community participation, community health, water/sanitation project for Buon Ma Thuot City and surrounding rural areas, Daklak Province.
Egypt 1995, Nordic Consult/Danida. Member of appraisal team, Esna Water and Drainage Project, responsible for assessing demand for service, willingness and ability to pay for service, potential for community participation, health implications of current situation, and need for hygiene education.
Egypt 1994, Nordic Consult/Danida. Member of review team, institutional development of public company for water supply in Aswan Governorate.
Egypt 1994, Nordic Consult/Danida. Member of mid-term review team for program of water supply and sanitation in Aswan Governorate, responsible for assessment of implementation of program of community participation in design, and implementation, and congruence of systems with community needs.
Egypt 1990-1993, Dorsch Consult/KfW. Advisor to water and sanitation program, responsible for basic demographic and demand for services studies, assessment of ability and willingness to pay, NGO/community mobilization and participation, and health education, rural areas of Kafr El Sheikh Governorate.
Small Enterprise Development:
Jordan 1998, International Center for Research on Women/USAID. Team leader, design, implementation, analysis for major national study of women’s economic activities in Jordan.
Egypt 1997, World Education/USAID. Advisor on institutional development and community participation for women’s handicraft NGOs.
Jordan 1995, World Education. Technical advisor on small-enterprise development programming.
Egypt 1993, Development Alternatives International/USAID. Team leader, survey of socioeconomic impact of large program of credit to small-scale industrial proprietors.
Yemen 1993, Netherlands Embassy, Yemen. Team leader, project appraisal, women in economic development program in rural Yemen.
Yemen 1993, Netherlands Embassy/Yemeni Ministry of Social Affairs. Advisor, responsible for developing a commercially viable program for women producers.
Egypt 1992, Daqahliyya Association for Small Enterprise Development. Advisor on small enterprise development programming and institutional development.
Yemen 1992, Netherlands Embassy. Team leader, socioeconomic/health survey of squatter settlements of returnees after the Gulf War, development of recommendations regarding potential for community-based economic activities, and the necessary and sufficient conditions for fostering health and economic development.
Egypt 1992, Agricultural Cooperative Development International/USAID. Advisor on development of exports of light industry.
Egypt 1992, Danida. Member of appraisal mission, small-scale industrial development program for Aswan and Qena Governorates.
Yemen 1992, Development Alternatives/USAID. Team leader, design of women’s production project for Productive Families Program of the Ministry of Social Affairs.
Egypt 1992, Chemonics International/IFAD. Member of appraisal team, Livestock Production Intensification Project, responsible for designing a system of agricultural extension to women producers.
Egypt 1991, Integrated Development Consultants/USAID. Team leader, study of the impact of the legal framework for establishment and operation of private voluntary associations on private voluntary activity in Egypt.
Egypt 1991, Carl Bro/Danida. Member of formulation team, small-scale industrial program, responsible for analysis of the existing small-scale industrial sector in Aswan and Qena Governorates, identification of the constraints on growth, development of programs for minimizing constraints.
Egypt 1991, CARE/USAID. Team leader, final evaluation, CARE Village Self-Reliance Project, a community development association-based microcredit program in poor rural areas of four governorates of south Egypt.
West Bank/Gaza 1990, ICCO/Netherlands and Netherlands Foreign Ministry. Advisor on support for development of small enterprise programs in the Occupied Territories.
Middle East Region 1990, Amideast/The Near East Foundation. Consultant for design of a small enterprise support program for the Middle East region.
Egypt 1990, Voluntary Services Overseas. Advisor on agency support to the small enterprise sector, including study comparing social environment of areas in which high levels of small-scale industrial activity are found with those in which small industry is either lacking or depressed.
Egypt 1990-1991, Integrated Development Consultants/USAID. Member of study team, regulatory constraints on industrial productivity.
West Bank/Gaza, 1990-1991, Agricultural Cooperative Development International and National Cooperative Businessmen’s Association/USAID. Consultant, responsible for design of program of support to business development and employment generation activities of Palestinian women.
Egypt 1989-1991, Ford Foundation. Senior investigator, study of indigenous solutions to the problem of working capital in the small-scale industrial sector, research grant from The Ford Foundation.
Egypt 1989-1990, German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ). Consultant responsible for design and monitoring of program for women entrepreneurs.
Jordan 1989, The Near East Foundation. Consultant responsible for design of a national program of support for small enterprise development.
Syria 1989, UNICEF. Evaluation of Palestinian women’s needs for training in small enterprise, health, community participation in Damascus refugee camps.
Egypt 1984-1986, Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Consultant for design and monitoring of rural programs of small enterprise development.
Egypt 1988, Institute of Cultural Affairs/AfricaNow. Evaluator of community microloans program for the poorest of the poor in rural Beni Suef.
Egypt 1988, The Near East Foundation. Author of training manual for NGO small enterprise development programming.
Egypt 1987, Catholic Relief Services. Consultant on strategies for agency support to small-scale enterprise development.
Egypt 1986, Netherlands Embassy. Member of appraisal team, women’s community outreach and small enterprise projects, Fayoum Governorate.
Somalia, 1985, Tams Engineers. Women in development consultant for the Genale-Bulo Marerte Project, a vast agricultural development program of the World Bank in the Southern Shebelle region, responsible for assessing the potential for enhanced economic participation of women farmers and for carrying out a census of farmers in the region.
Egypt 1990-1993, Daqahliyya Businessmen’s Association. Advisor on program for small-scale industrial development.
Community Upgrading:
Jordan 1997, KfW. Member of appraisal team, Community Infrastructure Program, assessing community demand for improved municipal services, ability and willingness to pay, potential for and recommended form of community participation in program implementation and management.
Egypt 1997, German Institute for Development Cooperation/KfW. Member of appraisal team, Primary School Construction Project, establishment of site selection criteria for Fayoum Governorate and evaluation of projects in Beheira and Qena Governorates.
Egypt 1997, Dorsch Consult/KfW. Evaluation of application of site selection criteria, Primary School Construction Project, Qena and Beheira Governorates.
Egypt, 1989, Integrated Development Consultants/USAID. Team leader for evaluation of the Helwan New Community Project, a vast public housing program for low-income factory workers, on eligibility and affordability criteria and their application.
Egypt, 1986, CHF/Ministry of Housing/USAID. Principal investigator, studies of establishment and organization of informal settlements in Greater Cairo.
Egypt, 1984-1985, Environmental Quality International/The World Bank. Director of community programs and studies of the informal housing sector.
Egypt 1981-1986, Environmental Quality International/The World Bank. Director of baseline studies for two major urban upgrading sites in Cairo (Manshiet Nasser garbage collectors’ settlement and Manshiet Nasser Main Settlement), including a general census, an ethnographic study of the home and work environments, assessment of willingness and ability to pay for municipal survey stems of land tenure in these squatter communities, potential for community participation in the upgrading process, health implications of current living conditions (predominantly the lack of water supply and sanitation).
Egypt 1983-1986, Environmental Quality International/USAID. Director of baseline studies for major urban upgrading site in Cairo (Arab Rashad, Helwan), including occupation and income profile of settlement, census of households, study of ability and willingness to pay for municipal services, current patterns of land tenure and barriers to legalizing tenure, potential for community participation in the upgrading process.
Egypt 1984, Environmental Quality International/The World Bank. Director of baseline studies of two urban upgrading areas (Rod El Farag, Sayeda Zeinab) with legal land tenure but with deficient urban services.
Other Professional Experience:
Egypt 1978-1980, Fintecs Consultants. Project officer for agricultural and construction programs in Middle East and East Africa.
Egypt 1976-1977, Visiting lecturer in anthropology and member of social science research team, University of Alexandria.
USA 1974-1975, Researcher at Frank Porter Graham Child Development Research Project, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
USA 1972-1974, Graduate research assistant at Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina.
USA 1967-1969, Undergraduate research assistant for study of interracial marriage in Chicago 1900-1969, Roosevelt University (Chicago).
USA 1964-1965, Research assistant at the Cantometrics Research Project (anthropological-musicological study of song styles worldwide), Bureau of Applied Social Research, Columbia University.
Publications
Belgin Tekce, Linda Oldham and Frederic Shorter, 1994. A Place to Live: Families and Child Health in a Cairo Neighborhood. Cairo: American University Press.
Linda Oldham, Hager El Hadidi, Hussein Tama’a, Michele Suliman Nashed, Sherif El Diwany, Mahmoud Hussein, Mohamed Abel-Aziz, Mohamed Saker, 1994. Measuring Socioeconomic Impact of Credit on SMI: Assessment of the Monitoring System Used by the Alexandria Businessmen’s Association, Egypt, Gemini Technical Report No. 76, Development Alternatives and Integrated Development Consultants.
Linda Oldham, 1991. Sociocultural Factors of Relevance to the Incidence and Prevalence of Diarrheal Disease in Upper Egypt. New York: UNICEF (Arabic and English).
Linda Oldham, Hager El Hadidi and Hussein Tamaa, December 1988. "Toward a Typology of Informal Settlements in Cairo,” Cairo Papers in Social Science, Monograph 4, Volume 10.
Linda Oldham and Hussein Tamaa, 1988. Small Enterprise Programs in Egypt: An Introduction. Cairo: The Near East Foundation.
Mohamed Abdel Salam El Banna, Bothayna El Deeb, Kadry Hefny, Mohamed Amr Hussein, Sobhi Moharram and Linda Oldham, 1988. The State of Egyptian Children. Cairo: CAPMAS and UNICEF.
Linda Oldham, 1984. "Child Nurturance in a Low-Income Settlement of Cairo." Population Council Regional Papers.
Linda Oldham, 1974. $u¢¢e$$: A Phenomenological Analysis of the Amway Corporation. Unpublished M.A. Thesis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Areas of Expertise
Support to development and strengthening of civil society, development of institutional links between community organizations, government agencies and national and international NGOs. Experience in all phases of the project cycle. Long experience with participatory development programs, particularly in the Middle East, Central Asia, East and Central Africa. Sector expertise includes community establishment and maintenance of water supply, sanitation, community primary health, women in development, health/hygiene, and small enterprise development.
Areas of Work Experience
Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Rwanda, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, United States, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, West Bank/Gaza, Yemen, Zimbabwe.
Donor Agencies
Danida, Netherlands Foreign Ministry, USAID, KfW, World Bank, Ford Foundation, Near East Foundation, Population Council, Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
Community and NGO Participation in Development (also a key element in all other sections):
Egypt 2005, America’s Development Foundation. Consultant to national program to strengthen NGOs and community development associations to interface with local government and work jointly on local socioeconomic development issues.
Zimbabwe 2002, Africare. Team leader for evaluation of an appropriate-technology agricultural project in drought-prone communal areas of Zvishavane District.
Rwanda 2001, Africare/USAID. Team leader, mid-term evaluation and development of project extension plan, Local Government Initiative Project, which is supporting decentralization and democratization across 30 of the 57 rural communes of Rwanda. Much of evaluation based on three-governorate survey of citizen participation.
Egypt 1997, POPTECH/USAID. Advisor, evaluation of the potential for NGO participation in expanded family planning programs.
Egypt 1996, CARE International/Danida. Advisor on participatory community awareness campaigns related to environmental hazards, community health, environmental enhancement, and local NGO/community participation in environmental programs in small rural communities. Inter alia, designed and implemented participatory training courses for CARE staff in supporting widened knowledge base and self-determination of communities, with an emphasis on outreach system management by village women.
Egypt 1994, Netherlands and Danish Embassies. Advisor on donor strategy for support to Egyptian NGOs and government agencies to participate in the Fourth World Conference for Women in Beijing, 1995.
Egypt 1993, Danida. Advisor on NGO programs, responsible for evaluation, working with local agencies to develop fundable programs, and providing recommendations to Danida for allocations of funds.
Syria 1989, UNICEF. Needs assessment of Damascus refugee camps, to lay groundwork for programs of community organization, business development, and education for Palestinian refugees.
Health (also see section on water and sanitation):
USA, 2004. Family Health International. Consultant, responsible for evaluation of FHI program of Fellowships in Contraceptive Technology Research.
USA 2002, Orange/Person/Chatham Mental Health. Consultant responsible for study of the clientele and stakeholders of the joint mental health, substance abuse, and developmental disability services sector in a three-county area of North Carolina, to ensure that the points of view of system users are reflected in planning for the system over the next two years under conditions of anticipated sharp decline in state budgets for service provision.
Egypt 1997, John Snow International/USAID. Team leader, qualitative studies of community knowledge, belief and practice regarding maternal and neonatal health care and constraints on improving this care in southern Egypt.
Egypt 1997, POPTECH/USAID. Advisor, evaluation of the potential for NGO participation in expanded family planning programs.
Egypt 1996, CARE International/Danida. Advisor on participatory community awareness campaigns related to environmental hazards, community health, environmental enhancement, and local NGO/community participation in environmental programs in small rural communities. Inter alia, designed and implemented participatory training courses for CARE staff in supporting widened knowledge base and self-determination of communities.
Egypt 1995, Danida. Advisor on participatory social surveys, health education/outreach, NGO/community participation and capacity building, health implications of current practices and existing water and sanitation systems, Edfu District, Aswan Governorate. Village women and girls worked on survey design and implementation.
Ethiopia 1994, BASICS/USAID. Principal investigator, social soundness and gender analysis study for national program of health care service improvement.
Egypt 1994, Danida. Advisor on agency health sector strategic plan.
Egypt 1993, Development Consultants, Danida. Advisor to reappraisal team, community-based primary health care and basic infrastructure program, Aswan Governorate.
Egypt 1992, Integrated Development Consultants/Abt Associates/USAID. Advisor on socioeconomic surveys for Cost Recovery for Health Project.
Egypt 1991, CarlBro/Danida. Member of project formulation team, primary health care program for Edfu District, Aswan Governorate, responsible for assessing health conditions, designing program of community participation and mobilization, information and communication programs, and essential community infrastructure.
Egypt 1991, SPAAC/Egyptian Ministry of Health/USAID. Team leader, six-community study of case management for diarrheal disease, based on observations of families, mostly mothers, handling diarrhea and dehydration in young children.
Egypt 1989-1991, UNICEF. Research coordinator, ethnographic studies of the social and physical environment of high rates of diarrheal disease/dehydration in Upper Egypt.
Egypt 1989, John Snow International/USAID. Advisor for review of ethnographic data base and development for qualitative research plan for national diarrheal diseases project.
Egypt 1987-1989, Save the Children/USAID. Advisor on design and implementation of child survival program in Minia Governorate; subsequently, carried out mid-term evaluation of program.
Egypt 1986, Institute for Cultural Affairs/AfricaNow. Evaluator, primary health care program run by village women in villages of Beni Suef Governorate.
Egypt 1984-86, The Population Council/Ford Foundation. Joint principal investigator, large study of the social and physical context of child health in an urban squatter settlement, and analysis of differentials in child growth and survival in a community lacking in basic municipal services.
Egypt 1985, John Snow International/USAID. Principle investigator, study of the role of the pharmacist as a health care provider in communities at high risk of diarrheal disease.
Egypt 1984, The Population Council/Ford Foundation (MEAWARD). Principal investigator, anthropological study of the social and physical context of child health in an urban squatter settlement.
Egypt 1984-85, John Snow International/USAID. Principle Investigator, ministudies on the impact of mass media messages on family management of diarrhea/dehydration in young children.
CommunityEnvironment, Water Supply, Sanitation, and Health/Hygiene Education, with Emphasis on the Role of Women (by definition):
Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Uzbekistan, 2003, WSAtkins/World Bank. Project manager, State of the Art Sanitation and Hygiene Component, Rural Water Supply and Sanitation. Responsible for preparation of an overall generic strategy for community-based hygiene education and sanitation promotion, appraisal of in-country situations in the three countries, development of a methodology for monitoring and evaluating program effectiveness, preparation of a guidance manual/toolkit for use in World Bank projects, and support of cross-country knowledge generation and exchange.
Palestine, 2001, Environmental Health Project/USAID. Member of design team, for major water supply and sanitation program for a population of 140,000 people in rural areas of the West Bank; responsible for participatory community studies, participatory hygiene education and other social dimensions of the program.
Egypt 2000, CARE. Team leader, design of participatory integrated development program for rural Beni Suef Governorate, focused on community institutional capacity building, development of community-managed development and protection of the physical environment, particularly water and sanitation systems, economic and educational support programs, networking with government sector agencies.
Uzbekistan 1999-2000, AHT International/KFW. Member of design team for drinking water supply and sanitation program for collective farms in Khorezm State (Aral Sea Region), responsible for socioeconomic surveys, participatory design of community management system for standpipe-based water supply, and health-hygiene education for communities and schools.
Sudan 1999, Care International. Responsible for development of a plan for converting potable water supply systems developed under emergency conditions in the refugee camps around Khartoum and Om Durman Cities into financially and technically sustainable systems at the community level.
Egypt 1999, GKW/KfW. Member of feasibility study team, potable water supply program for Qena Governorate, responsible for socioeconomic surveys, health/hygiene education and potential for community participation in system implementation.
Jordan 1998, Hofman Andersen Partners/Danida. Member of appraisal team for wastewater treatment plants in Madaba and Na’ur towns, responsible for assessing the health implications of the current situation, demand for sewerage, ability and willingness to pay for services.
Egypt 1996, CARE International/Danida. Advisor on design and implementation of community-managed awareness programs related environmental hazards, community health, environmental enhancement, and local NGO/community participation in environmental programs in small rural communities (two consultancies). Primary responsibility for community management held by village women.
Viet Nam 1995, Hofman Andersen Partners/Danida. Member of appraisal team, advisor on community participation, community health, water/sanitation project for Buon Ma Thuot City and surrounding rural areas, Daklak Province.
Egypt 1995, Nordic Consult/Danida. Member of appraisal team, Esna Water and Drainage Project, responsible for assessing demand for service, willingness and ability to pay for service, potential for community participation, health implications of current situation, and need for hygiene education.
Egypt 1994, Nordic Consult/Danida. Member of review team, institutional development of public company for water supply in Aswan Governorate.
Egypt 1994, Nordic Consult/Danida. Member of mid-term review team for program of water supply and sanitation in Aswan Governorate, responsible for assessment of implementation of program of community participation in design, and implementation, and congruence of systems with community needs.
Egypt 1990-1993, Dorsch Consult/KfW. Advisor to water and sanitation program, responsible for basic demographic and demand for services studies, assessment of ability and willingness to pay, NGO/community mobilization and participation, and health education, rural areas of Kafr El Sheikh Governorate.
Small Enterprise Development:
Jordan 1998, International Center for Research on Women/USAID. Team leader, design, implementation, analysis for major national study of women’s economic activities in Jordan.
Egypt 1997, World Education/USAID. Advisor on institutional development and community participation for women’s handicraft NGOs.
Jordan 1995, World Education. Technical advisor on small-enterprise development programming.
Egypt 1993, Development Alternatives International/USAID. Team leader, survey of socioeconomic impact of large program of credit to small-scale industrial proprietors.
Yemen 1993, Netherlands Embassy, Yemen. Team leader, project appraisal, women in economic development program in rural Yemen.
Yemen 1993, Netherlands Embassy/Yemeni Ministry of Social Affairs. Advisor, responsible for developing a commercially viable program for women producers.
Egypt 1992, Daqahliyya Association for Small Enterprise Development. Advisor on small enterprise development programming and institutional development.
Yemen 1992, Netherlands Embassy. Team leader, socioeconomic/health survey of squatter settlements of returnees after the Gulf War, development of recommendations regarding potential for community-based economic activities, and the necessary and sufficient conditions for fostering health and economic development.
Egypt 1992, Agricultural Cooperative Development International/USAID. Advisor on development of exports of light industry.
Egypt 1992, Danida. Member of appraisal mission, small-scale industrial development program for Aswan and Qena Governorates.
Yemen 1992, Development Alternatives/USAID. Team leader, design of women’s production project for Productive Families Program of the Ministry of Social Affairs.
Egypt 1992, Chemonics International/IFAD. Member of appraisal team, Livestock Production Intensification Project, responsible for designing a system of agricultural extension to women producers.
Egypt 1991, Integrated Development Consultants/USAID. Team leader, study of the impact of the legal framework for establishment and operation of private voluntary associations on private voluntary activity in Egypt.
Egypt 1991, Carl Bro/Danida. Member of formulation team, small-scale industrial program, responsible for analysis of the existing small-scale industrial sector in Aswan and Qena Governorates, identification of the constraints on growth, development of programs for minimizing constraints.
Egypt 1991, CARE/USAID. Team leader, final evaluation, CARE Village Self-Reliance Project, a community development association-based microcredit program in poor rural areas of four governorates of south Egypt.
West Bank/Gaza 1990, ICCO/Netherlands and Netherlands Foreign Ministry. Advisor on support for development of small enterprise programs in the Occupied Territories.
Middle East Region 1990, Amideast/The Near East Foundation. Consultant for design of a small enterprise support program for the Middle East region.
Egypt 1990, Voluntary Services Overseas. Advisor on agency support to the small enterprise sector, including study comparing social environment of areas in which high levels of small-scale industrial activity are found with those in which small industry is either lacking or depressed.
Egypt 1990-1991, Integrated Development Consultants/USAID. Member of study team, regulatory constraints on industrial productivity.
West Bank/Gaza, 1990-1991, Agricultural Cooperative Development International and National Cooperative Businessmen’s Association/USAID. Consultant, responsible for design of program of support to business development and employment generation activities of Palestinian women.
Egypt 1989-1991, Ford Foundation. Senior investigator, study of indigenous solutions to the problem of working capital in the small-scale industrial sector, research grant from The Ford Foundation.
Egypt 1989-1990, German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ). Consultant responsible for design and monitoring of program for women entrepreneurs.
Jordan 1989, The Near East Foundation. Consultant responsible for design of a national program of support for small enterprise development.
Syria 1989, UNICEF. Evaluation of Palestinian women’s needs for training in small enterprise, health, community participation in Damascus refugee camps.
Egypt 1984-1986, Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Consultant for design and monitoring of rural programs of small enterprise development.
Egypt 1988, Institute of Cultural Affairs/AfricaNow. Evaluator of community microloans program for the poorest of the poor in rural Beni Suef.
Egypt 1988, The Near East Foundation. Author of training manual for NGO small enterprise development programming.
Egypt 1987, Catholic Relief Services. Consultant on strategies for agency support to small-scale enterprise development.
Egypt 1986, Netherlands Embassy. Member of appraisal team, women’s community outreach and small enterprise projects, Fayoum Governorate.
Somalia, 1985, Tams Engineers. Women in development consultant for the Genale-Bulo Marerte Project, a vast agricultural development program of the World Bank in the Southern Shebelle region, responsible for assessing the potential for enhanced economic participation of women farmers and for carrying out a census of farmers in the region.
Egypt 1990-1993, Daqahliyya Businessmen’s Association. Advisor on program for small-scale industrial development.
Community Upgrading:
Jordan 1997, KfW. Member of appraisal team, Community Infrastructure Program, assessing community demand for improved municipal services, ability and willingness to pay, potential for and recommended form of community participation in program implementation and management.
Egypt 1997, German Institute for Development Cooperation/KfW. Member of appraisal team, Primary School Construction Project, establishment of site selection criteria for Fayoum Governorate and evaluation of projects in Beheira and Qena Governorates.
Egypt 1997, Dorsch Consult/KfW. Evaluation of application of site selection criteria, Primary School Construction Project, Qena and Beheira Governorates.
Egypt, 1989, Integrated Development Consultants/USAID. Team leader for evaluation of the Helwan New Community Project, a vast public housing program for low-income factory workers, on eligibility and affordability criteria and their application.
Egypt, 1986, CHF/Ministry of Housing/USAID. Principal investigator, studies of establishment and organization of informal settlements in Greater Cairo.
Egypt, 1984-1985, Environmental Quality International/The World Bank. Director of community programs and studies of the informal housing sector.
Egypt 1981-1986, Environmental Quality International/The World Bank. Director of baseline studies for two major urban upgrading sites in Cairo (Manshiet Nasser garbage collectors’ settlement and Manshiet Nasser Main Settlement), including a general census, an ethnographic study of the home and work environments, assessment of willingness and ability to pay for municipal survey stems of land tenure in these squatter communities, potential for community participation in the upgrading process, health implications of current living conditions (predominantly the lack of water supply and sanitation).
Egypt 1983-1986, Environmental Quality International/USAID. Director of baseline studies for major urban upgrading site in Cairo (Arab Rashad, Helwan), including occupation and income profile of settlement, census of households, study of ability and willingness to pay for municipal services, current patterns of land tenure and barriers to legalizing tenure, potential for community participation in the upgrading process.
Egypt 1984, Environmental Quality International/The World Bank. Director of baseline studies of two urban upgrading areas (Rod El Farag, Sayeda Zeinab) with legal land tenure but with deficient urban services.
Other Professional Experience:
Egypt 1978-1980, Fintecs Consultants. Project officer for agricultural and construction programs in Middle East and East Africa.
Egypt 1976-1977, Visiting lecturer in anthropology and member of social science research team, University of Alexandria.
USA 1974-1975, Researcher at Frank Porter Graham Child Development Research Project, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
USA 1972-1974, Graduate research assistant at Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina.
USA 1967-1969, Undergraduate research assistant for study of interracial marriage in Chicago 1900-1969, Roosevelt University (Chicago).
USA 1964-1965, Research assistant at the Cantometrics Research Project (anthropological-musicological study of song styles worldwide), Bureau of Applied Social Research, Columbia University.
Publications
Belgin Tekce, Linda Oldham and Frederic Shorter, 1994. A Place to Live: Families and Child Health in a Cairo Neighborhood. Cairo: American University Press.
Linda Oldham, Hager El Hadidi, Hussein Tama’a, Michele Suliman Nashed, Sherif El Diwany, Mahmoud Hussein, Mohamed Abel-Aziz, Mohamed Saker, 1994. Measuring Socioeconomic Impact of Credit on SMI: Assessment of the Monitoring System Used by the Alexandria Businessmen’s Association, Egypt, Gemini Technical Report No. 76, Development Alternatives and Integrated Development Consultants.
Linda Oldham, 1991. Sociocultural Factors of Relevance to the Incidence and Prevalence of Diarrheal Disease in Upper Egypt. New York: UNICEF (Arabic and English).
Linda Oldham, Hager El Hadidi and Hussein Tamaa, December 1988. "Toward a Typology of Informal Settlements in Cairo,” Cairo Papers in Social Science, Monograph 4, Volume 10.
Linda Oldham and Hussein Tamaa, 1988. Small Enterprise Programs in Egypt: An Introduction. Cairo: The Near East Foundation.
Mohamed Abdel Salam El Banna, Bothayna El Deeb, Kadry Hefny, Mohamed Amr Hussein, Sobhi Moharram and Linda Oldham, 1988. The State of Egyptian Children. Cairo: CAPMAS and UNICEF.
Linda Oldham, 1984. "Child Nurturance in a Low-Income Settlement of Cairo." Population Council Regional Papers.
Linda Oldham, 1974. $u¢¢e$$: A Phenomenological Analysis of the Amway Corporation. Unpublished M.A. Thesis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Memories of Alexandria, 1976
This is a terribly abused photograph of my mother and me in Alexandria in 1976. It was taken by either my grandmother Helen, or her sister Esther. I will be working on restoring it in the coming weeks, but I felt that the condition it is in is by no means insignificant. Photographs are memories made solid, and the condition of this photograph resembles the condition of my memories of this period: vague, tattered, full of gaps, and utterly irreplaceable.
That's why I am making this website, folks: to arrest the deterioration of memories of my mother, and to restore what I can.
I appreciate the help some of you have given me, and I hope the rest will contribute.
That's why I am making this website, folks: to arrest the deterioration of memories of my mother, and to restore what I can.
I appreciate the help some of you have given me, and I hope the rest will contribute.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Manshiet Nasser
The last time I spoke to her, three days before she died, mom told me that one of her greatest wishes was to visit Manshiet Nasser once more, but was afraid that her health would prohibit her from going up the steep hill to the squatter community near the garbage collector's area in Cairo. I promised her that I would carry her up the mountain, if I had to, the next time I was in Cairo.
Manshiet Nasser is, as I mentioned, a squatter (or "informal") community in Cairo. My mother co-authored A Place to Live with Belgin Tekce and Frederick Shorter about the neighborhood.
One of my mother's favorite people lived in Manshiet Nasser: her friend Fawzia. Fawzia owned a tiny little grocery store on a sloping street in the area. Although poor, she raised her kids very well. The last time mom was in Manshiet Nasser, Fawzia's son Osama, whose mother had died several years earlier, asked mom whether he should run for parliament.
I am currently looking for more information about Fawzia and the rest of her family and mom's other friends there. I intend to keep my promise to my mother as fully as I can; I, at least, will go up that hill and convey to mom's many friends there that she had dearly wanted to visit them.
Manshiet Nasser is, as I mentioned, a squatter (or "informal") community in Cairo. My mother co-authored A Place to Live with Belgin Tekce and Frederick Shorter about the neighborhood.
One of my mother's favorite people lived in Manshiet Nasser: her friend Fawzia. Fawzia owned a tiny little grocery store on a sloping street in the area. Although poor, she raised her kids very well. The last time mom was in Manshiet Nasser, Fawzia's son Osama, whose mother had died several years earlier, asked mom whether he should run for parliament.
I am currently looking for more information about Fawzia and the rest of her family and mom's other friends there. I intend to keep my promise to my mother as fully as I can; I, at least, will go up that hill and convey to mom's many friends there that she had dearly wanted to visit them.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
A Tale of "Good" and "Evil"
One of my first lessons about social conservatism and liberalism was given to me, quite inadvertently, by my mother. Soon after we arrived in Egypt in 1976, both my mother and I came down with hepatitis A. Because I was not quite six years old at the time, I was hit harder than she was. I woke up one night with an extremely high fever—so high, in fact, that I was delerious. I was screaming at the top of my lungs for my mother, who was right there, holding me.
This must have terrified mom, who could not, at that time, speak any Arabic. It did not help that it was after midnight in a town where she knew next to nothing. Deciding that a doctor was desperately needed, she did the sensible thing; she ran downstairs to ask for help at the only open place of business in the vicinity, which happened to be the night club in the building next door.
The neighbors, who had apparently heard my screams, watched her run frantically down the stairs to seek help. They did this quite surreptitiously, so as not to be seen themselves. They saw her run into the night club, where she was received with genuine concern.
The neighbors, who hid so that they would not have to give help, condemned my mother for entering such a den of iniquity. The night club folk got her a doctor.
At the time, I was too young to understand just what had happened, although I actually remember the events. Years later, the memory made me look back and go "Hmmmm..."
And it still does.
This must have terrified mom, who could not, at that time, speak any Arabic. It did not help that it was after midnight in a town where she knew next to nothing. Deciding that a doctor was desperately needed, she did the sensible thing; she ran downstairs to ask for help at the only open place of business in the vicinity, which happened to be the night club in the building next door.
The neighbors, who had apparently heard my screams, watched her run frantically down the stairs to seek help. They did this quite surreptitiously, so as not to be seen themselves. They saw her run into the night club, where she was received with genuine concern.
The neighbors, who hid so that they would not have to give help, condemned my mother for entering such a den of iniquity. The night club folk got her a doctor.
At the time, I was too young to understand just what had happened, although I actually remember the events. Years later, the memory made me look back and go "Hmmmm..."
And it still does.
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