Heartbroken and disappointed by what she saw in Egypt’s garbage slums, Mama Maggie gave up her wealth and career and dedicated her life to give hope and a better life to underprivileged children.
Born in Cairo, Magda Gobran, also called ‘Mama Maggie’, is an Egyptian woman who gave up her job as a professor to head a department at the American University in Cairo (AUC) and began work as a full-time giver and life-changer to relieve the suffering of those in need.
She was named the “Mother Teresa of Cairo” because of her selfless deeds and her commitment to improving the lives of thousands of impoverished Egyptian children.
In 1989, she established Stephen’s Children, a non-profit charity organization to provide children with food, clothes, free education, and support, with the help of over 2,000 trained volunteers.
According to the organization’s website, its mission is to “help save lives, bring hope, and restore dignity to underprivileged children and young people”. This organization, which has been running for over 25 years, has reached over 33,000 children.
Recently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 2020, and holding at least eight other nominations in recent years, Mama Maggie was also one of the five winners of the Arab Hope Makers Award in 2017. She was the first Egyptian woman to receive the International Woman of Courage Award (IWOC) from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and First Lady Melania Trump, in 2019.
“… Spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.” (Isaiah 58:10). This is a verse written on the organization’s website, reflecting the values followed by Mama Maggie.