Sacramento State English professor, Linda Buckley, participated in the American Egyptian Master Teacher Program, a teacher exchange effort put together by the US American International Development and Susan Murabak, the Egyptian first lady.

The program was established to raise the low standard of education among women in the rural areas of Egypt. According to Buckley, the plan is aimed at assisting low-income women to break free of the old codes that have oppressed and denied women of a good education.

Buckley feels that this plan will make a difference, which will benefit thousands in the next few years and an infinite number more on the horizon.

Buckley worked in Minya, where the level of education has traditionally been lower than the more westernized urban regions. “The houses looked biblical and people?s lifestyles seemed to be almost unaffected by modern time,” Buckley said.

Laid out over a three-year period, the plan will teach, assist, and evaluate a selected group of Eygptian teachers in the latest methods of American teaching. It is their hope that they can ignite a legacy that will revolutionize the educational system in Egypt.