|TOP|Biblelands has reported great success in its ‘Building Hope for the Future’ appeal. Thanks to generous supporters, some of “rural Egypt’s poorest inhabitants can look forward to decent living conditions,” tells the Christian charity.

Just three months since the urgent appeal was launched, Biblelands has raised more than £150,000, which is the target the charity had set itself for a three-year period.

More than 50 individuals and groups made single donations of the £1073 to pay for the building of a whole house, while thousands of others contributed to the campaign for the purchase of bricks, floors, roofs, windows and doors.

|AD|The money raised will not be used in partnership with Habitat for Humanity to rebuild and renovate the housing in the Upper Nile villages of El Kom El Akhdar and El Sakakrya.

The regions have been hit by widespread poverty, which has led to a great rise in squalid living conditions and the terrible health problems closely associated with them.

BibleLands’ Head of Fundraising, Tricia Pruden said, “This fantastic response shows how the appeal has captured people’s imaginations and enthused them to help break the cycle of poverty in these Egyptian communities.”

“Every donation, whether it buys one brick or a whole house, helps to build homes, build health and build hope - not just for today, but for generations to come.”

Biblelands will now be sending volunteer teams to Egypt in two waves – October 2006 and March – to work alongside villagers as they rebuild their homes.