Aug 22, 2016 3 min read

Peters Township resident Mohsen Isaac always considered his friend Hani Gabriel a brother.

When Gabriel, a pain-management doctor and a native of Egypt, died after a five-year battle with colon cancer in 2013 at age 44, Isaac, a radiation oncologist at Monongahela Valley Hospital, wanted to honor Gabriel.

“Hani was a man of faith and a deacon at St. Mary’s Coptic Church in Ambridge,” Isaac said. “While he was terminally ill, he mentioned a few times that if God were to heal him, he would leave behind his full-time job, which he loved, and give his life in service to the poor.”

Isaac and his wife, Nevine, both natives of Egypt, and Gabriel’s widow, Miranda Gabriel, have founded Archangels Michael and Gabriel Coptic Relief Organization to serve older adults in Egypt.

The mission of the nonprofit is to improve the quality of life for Egypt’s seniors by providing for their spiritual, emotional and physical needs with companionship and prayer, food, housing and medical support.

“In Egypt, the elderly are the fastest-growing segment of the population,” Moshen Isaac said. “Twenty-five percent of the elderly experience accidents, injuries or chronic illnesses that interfere with daily living. Thirty-nine percent of the elderly rely on support from their children, and 52 percent of the elderly do not have pensions.”

According to Isaac, during the past 20 years, the average life span in Egypt is 71 years, up from 58. In 2011, 11 percent of the population was 60 or older. And by 2059, there will be 24 million Egyptians in that age range.

Isaac, who travels to Egypt once a year, said the nonprofit works with similar organizations in that country. Already, Archangels Michael and Gabriel Coptic Relief Organization has worked with Egyptian charities to develop housing for seniors. Isaac’s nonprofit will provide food, medical support and even more housing.

“Grandparents are the forgotten ones,” he said. “There is a lot of need there.”

Isaac said there is a well-established Egyptian community in Western Pennsylvania. About 200 Egyptian families belong to St. Mary’s Coptic Church, and the number is growing,

Archangels Michael and Gabriel Coptic Relief Organization will hold a fundraiser from 3 to 7 p.m. Nov. 13 at Cornerstone at Tonidale in North Fayette Township. The event will feature Egyptian food, a jazz singer, comedian and Chinese and silent auctions.

For more information, visit www.copticseniorhope.org.