"Mamma Maggie" Gobram of Cairo

God calls an amazing woman, who also comes to visit Canberra

"When I look upon the faces of these destitute children in the rubbish dumps of Cairo, I see Jesus," said Mamma Maggie Gobram. As this extraordinary youngish woman, in her softly-modulated voice, told of her experiences amongst the abandoned waifs scraping a living in the garbage dumps of Cairo, the Great Hall of Parliament became hushed. One could hear a pin drop. We leaned forward in our seats so as not to miss a word. Finally, many of us must have stopped breathing. Mamma Maggie, as she has become affectionately known, was guest speaker to a capacity gathering at the Australian National Prayer Breakfast conducted annually in the Great Hall of Parliament.

A Coptic Christian, steeped in the Bible and in stories of the heroic saints, church fathers, and martyrs, she lead a comfortable life — until she was confronted by Christ in the slums.

Though the Coptic Christians are known to endure harassment from the majority Muslim population, she and her husband (a prominent business man) were largely shielded from the mischief of the imams and sheiks. Mamma Maggie herself was a highly-regarded lecturer in computer science at the University of Cairo, with the wealthiest and most talented students.

By chance, a friend took her to a world she did not know existed — that of the slum children living amongst the garbage dumps of Cairo. "When I went back to bed that night, I couldn't sleep, for the eyes of the children, peering through the dumps were pleading with me — 'Come and help us. Touch us. We need you,'" Maggie continued.

"For days I struggled with the call from God: 'I want to promote you. Leave what you are doing, and go to the poorest of these poor children. They don't want your gifts — they need you.' And then when I opened my Bible, these words from Isaiah 61:1‑6 were shining in my eyes: 'The spirit of the Lord is anointing me to send me to bring the good news to the poor'." She wrestled with this call for days — after all, she had a husband and children of her own, and esteemed colleagues from the University. How to explain this heavenly call to them?

Now, with the support of her own family and the approbation of her colleagues, she spends her days with her dear children in the garbage dumps of Cairo. She has gathered and inspired others, numbering some 1500 in all, to work with her in taking practical steps to mitigate the grinding poverty: establishing schools teaching literacy and the Bible, vocational workshops, and health clinics. And her organisation? It is known as Stephen's Children, named after the first Christian martyr.

As I listened to Mamma Maggie, this latter-day saint, I was reminded of the devotion of the women who gathered around the Cross during Jesus' last hours.

An excellent 5 minute video presentation from Stephen's Children is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7qdqfMH5PU although their own website is not yet available.

GARBAGE CITY - City within a city. Home to over 1,000,000 men, women, and children

STEPHEN'S CHILDREN ACHIEVED:
1500 staff 20% grew up in garbage dump;
5 Vocational Training Centres
65 schools
65 clinics/doctors
83 camp houses
12,000 students
13,000 campers each year
27,000 families visited by staff each week

Owen Tassicker