ABOUT

How it all began

In the 1990’s, founder of Hurghada Gives Zoe Shutler, started working with many Organisations, particularly we started with Al Nadir then once they were established we moved on to work with Al Amal association, Al Amal-BinHamza and Rawdat Al Alabib Association for Development and care of special needs.

On the drive from Hurghada to Beshlaw, Zoe saw so much poverty that she decided to explore what other villages she could help.

In 2014, we set up our Facebook page Hurghada Gives and the number of donations increased so we are now able to help people living in the villages of Monshaat Al Ammary, Al Bayadia, Al Zeinia Bahary, Quos, Karnak and the poorer areas of Luxor. Each day we are requested to help a new family that are in need.

In 2015 we started working with another charity in Luxor who are building a school and a medical centre for premature babies. It is applying for its NGO status at the moment.

More about our work

Initially Hurghada Gives found expats and asked people to donate unwanted things instead of throwing them away. We make sure everything is clean and useable and nothing goes to waste – even clothes with holes are recycled to make blankets. Or if there are too many holes to stitch, they are used to clean floors.

Gradually, the amount and variety of donations increased and we can now accept anything especially food and medical items. Our reputation is international and we now receive donations from all over the world.

Our Vision

To make lives better by reducing the number of people living in poverty in Egypt.

Our people, volunteers and partners

The founder of Hurghada Gives is Zoe Shutler. With Zoe’s legal background and the help of many Egyptian friends, she has been able to understand the official regulations of Egypt and is a trustee of the charity, based in Luxor.

Volunteers

No one is paid any money to work for the charity, it is run entirely by a team of hardworking volunteers. These are outreach workers who find us the people in need and carry out an assessment, and people who help wash the donations, collect donations, take us shopping, lend us their premises to hold a pop-up event. Additionally people who knit, crochet or sew items and who attend our pop-up events and buy items from us. We rely on help from our volunteers to run the charity on a day to day basis. Without volunteers the charity cannot function.

Partners

We cannot do all of this work by ourselves so we are lucky enough to have a number of partners.

All4Kids in Esplanada Mall in the Memsha.

The customers of All4Kids donate money from clothes sold in the shop. Items that cannot be sold in the shop after a period of time, are donated to us. They act as a donation point for us.

Retro Pub

Support us

We are funded entirely by your generous donations, and every contribution goes 100% to the people in real need.  There are many ways in which you can support us and make a real difference to the Egyptians that live under the poverty line, in Upper Egypt.

The latest Arab Republic of Egypt Poverty and Equity Brief : October 2025 published by The World Bank Org – Estimates based on the national poverty measurement methodology show that 33.5 percent of the Egyptian population was poor in 2021. In February 2025, the government announced the sixth social mitigation package within the past three years, which includes top-ups to monthly payments for ration (food subsidy) card holders and cash transfer beneficiaries, government-covered medical procedures, and economic inclusion initiatives to finance projects.

Additionally, pensions and government wages are set to increase in FY26, starting in July 2025. Scaling up well-targeted social assistance is crucial to protect the poorest, especially during price increases. With a young and growing population, the increasing need for employment presents further challenges to the labor market, which already faces high informality, a growing share of the working-age population out of the labor force, and low female labor force participation and youth employment. In this challenging environment, there is a need to improve the economy’s ability to create jobs, reduce households’ exposure to risks, and enhance their ability to cope with shocks.

Sponsorship and donations

Hurghada Gives aims to get a family who has fallen on hard times back on its feet, we do not give money directly to the family but provide where we can what they need. Anyone can sponsor a family or an individual. This can be done anonymously or with full contact.

Two examples of sponsorship are:

1. Education – An anonymous sponsor is paying for a girls college fees, food, travel and uniforms so that she can study to be a nurse. The girl is visited every month to check on her progress. Her exam results were excellent this year and she has two more years of study. When she qualifies she will be able to support her family as her father died three years ago.

2. Donation – You can donate anything to Hurghada Gives. Bring an item along to our secure store in Esplanada Residence in the Mamsha, or drop it off at ALL4Kids in Esplanada Mall in the Mamsha (close to the McDonalds) or at Retro Pub on Village Road (Mamsha), opposite of PickAlbatros Blu Spa Hotel.

Give a single monetary donation, it goes a long way:

• 400 Le will buy a basic food pack to help feed a small family for one week
• 2,000 Le will pay for the food for a family of 6 for one month
• 2,500 Le will pay for the rent for a family house for one month
• 20,000 Le will pay for college tutorial fees, books and travel for one year
• 200,000 Le will buy a baby incubator for the medical centre
  

Please contact us if you would like to sponsor anyone. You may have seen a picture of a child or family on Facebook or if you have a specific request, we will help you find someone who is in real need. Email us at info@hurghadagives.org

What we do with your donations

Hurghada Gives accepts anything, the smallest item we have ever been given is one US $. The largest was a whole house full of furniture from an expat who was returning to the UK.

Firstly we check and clean all items (if necessary). There is very little electricity in the villages where the donations end up, so we have to be very careful when accepting food donations, chocolate can only be given in the cold winter!

Also all of the recipients are Egyptians so we have to be very careful we observe their culture and customs, be they Muslims or Coptics. We adapt, for example if we are given a short ladies skirt then we cut it up to make a blanket. If we are given an electric coffee maker we ask permission to sell the item so that something more appropriate can be purchased with the proceeds.

Each of the recipients of a donation has been assessed in their home to understand what their needs are. Sometimes it is a short-term need for example someone has lost their job and needs temporary help. Other times they need long term help, there may be an illness in the family, or a death.

Please do not be afraid of donating anything at all to us, we will show you via our Facebook page (Hurghada Gives) what we do with your donations.

How to volunteer

Anyone is welcome to volunteer, the only thing to remember is that you will not get paid! Our transport costs are high so when we travel for more than one hour we ask that those who come with us contribute to the cost of the transport.

You can volunteer just for one day or forever, it is up to you! We always need more pairs of hands.

Please contact us via our Facebook page, email or phone and tell us what skills you have; what you would like to do and when you are available.

Send us an email on info@hurghadagives.org
Contact us on our Egyptian Phone number: +20 1061318200