About Us

Mission and Values

Mission Statement 

With love and compassion to nurture, educate, equip and train the poorest of the poor—children, young people and their families…saving lives, instilling hope and restoring dignity…transforming those without a voice into productive members of society, leaders and agents of change within their own communities. 

Goals

Our goal is to build strong character in children and young people—equipping them spiritually, morally, academically, and vocationally to become productive members of society who find meaning and purpose in Christ.

It began with obedience to a dream

Stephen's Children was begun in 1989 as dream after Maggie Gobran saw firsthand the suffering of a people called the Zebbaleen or garbage people.  “When God gives you a dream, stick to it to the end and you will see miracles.” 

She sought those at the very bottom of the social scale – a totally unreached people group. They live in abject poverty: have no hope, few spiritual or moral values, but hunger for acceptance and love. Her insight was to target the entire family through the children.  Using schools as the platform for teaching prayer, Scripture, helping children with homework, and listening to them. Through this avenue, doors were opened for volunteers and staff to serve tens of thousands of families. 

Today Stephen's Children is the largest and most effective Christian Charity in the Middle East and North Africa.  What has happened as a result of, as Mama Maggie puts it, “When we put ourselves in His hands, we become His hands to others.”  When you let God lead and when you follow in obedience real miracles begin to happen. 

Stephen's Children works with over 25,000 families at any given time.  The families are chosen from the poorest of the poor.  Each family is assigned a highly trained Ministry Leader.  The Leader begins with the gospel.  "God so loved you, that he gave His only Son so that you will not perish but have eternal life."   Through a relationship based in love the leader begins to stabilize the family and helps to set the family on a path toward self-determination and self-sufficiency.  Through this process the children are invited attend the Community Educational Centers and Camps.  Stephen's Children operates 103 centers concentrated in and around Cairo but also throughout Egypt. 

Since its beginning is 1989, Stephen's Children has provided 2,964,292 camp experiences, 3,410,735 Mother's Workshop and Worship opportunities and has served 3,408,428 families providing them with 48,293,748 Provision Baskets including 3,370,435 pairs shoes and articles of clothing produced by Stephen's Children's Vocational Schools.

Empowering Egypt’s Children

All of our programming helps children in Egypt’s most impoverished areas defy the odds and build a better future. 

In one year, we have been able to provide:

Creating Faith Filled Lives

FORMATION

Filled With The Holy Spirit

FAITH ABOUNDS

Creating Confidence

SECURITY

Organizational Leadership

Stephen’s Children is governed by a Board of Directors in Egypt with additional Boards in each county where we raise support.

Stephen’s Children USA is a US fundraising 501c3 organization that directly supports Stephen’s Children Ministry in Egypt. Every dollar given to Stephen’s Children Foundation goes directly to the efforts, staff, and programming in Egypt.

Our transparency has earned us high ratings from external organizations.

Board of Directors

International Board of Reference

"God chose the poor to teach us how to love” 

Mama Maggie’s ministry to the poor, what is now called Stephen’s Children, began in earnest in 1989.   

“WHEN ONE HAS NOTHING…God becomes everything.”

Some call her the benevolent “Mother of Cairo.” Others have dubbed her “St. Maggie.” But to thousands of children and their parents living in the fetid garbage and squatter slums of Egypt’s largest city, Maggie Gobran is simply known as “Mama Maggie.” It is a moniker that is well-suited to her mission: This is all I want to be. A mother to them all.

Maggie’s story of devotion, obedience, and love is the hallmark of Stephen’s Children ministry. As the youngest daughter of an upper-middle-class family in Cairo’s Coptic Orthodox Christian community, Maggie grew up shielded from the realities of central Cairo’s squalid slums.

As an adult, Maggie became a successful professional, first on the management team of a marketing firm and later as a university professor of computer science. As she and her husband were raising their own two children, Maggie’s vision of “motherhood” began to grow as she dreamed of reaching out to children in need.

Maggie first experienced Cairo’s garbage slums through an annual Easter outreach aimed at distributing food and clothing to families. Maggie was gripped by the despair she saw and haunted by the children’s hunger for love, acceptance, and value in society.

Her heart pierced by God’s Spirit, Maggie’s vision for Stephen’s Children began with a prayer for other committed Egyptian Christians to join her in meeting both short-term and long-term needs of the impoverished families in Cairo’s slums. Mama Maggie’s humble spirit and loving heart allowed her to build close bonds with children and discover ways to meet their underlying needs. Her sacrificial leadership has now guided Stephen’s Children for over 35 years and helped reach over hundreds of thousands with Christ’s love and compassion.

“Indeed, God has truly blessed and given us more than we have hoped for or imagined; the wonderful opportunity to reach so many destitute children in such a closed part of the world. My prayer is that God will continue to draw us closer to Him through thousands of more children who still need the love of Jesus Christ.”    ~ Mama Maggie

Awards and Achievements

Why Stephen’s Children

In the Book of Acts, Chapters 6 and 7 the disciples were increasing in number, yet complaints came in that widows were being neglected in daily food distribution. The twelve disciples summoned the full number and appointed seven to take on this duty.  Stephen was first among them and was distinguished for his faith – being full of the Holy Spirit, grace, wisdom, and power.  He was entrusted with ministering to the needy widows of the church, and he was given wonders and signs to perform among the people.  Stephen was seized and questioned by the authorities; his bold faith enraged them. They, along with an angry mob, stoned Stephen to death. Before he died, Stephen saw profound vision of the glorified Jesus, welcoming him home.