savings associations in governorates by forming groups of between 15 and 25 women, who are trained in savings strategies and in providing small loans to set up their own projects to improve their living standards. At least 18,000 men and women participated in the project, saving more than 8 million Egyptian pounds and lending to 2,200 members to date. 8) The launch of the Al-Khair Savings and Lending Program in the governorates of Beni Suef, Minya and Assiut, resulting in the implementation of 4,960 projects serving 18,844 beneficiaries to date. 9) Implementation of the ‘Egyptian Cotton Project’, with the aim of bringing about an agricultural renaissance of the renowned staple crop of Egyptian cotton through the implementation of training courses and technical consultations targeting rural leaders in Sharqia, Dakahlia, Kafr El-Sheikh, Gharbia and Beheira governorates to qualify them to raise awareness among women farmers about the proper means of farming and harvesting cotton and how to take care of seeds, and prevent against the occurrence of agricultural diseases. The initiatives listed above reflect Egypt's implementation of the Commission's first recommendation on the previous report on gender equality. B. Children: The state is committed to observing the right of every child to enjoy the rights and freedoms recognized and guaranteed by all international instruments, in particular the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, regardless of race, color, sex, language, religion, political views, national or social origin, property, or birth or any other condition of the child, and to ensuring non-discrimination, among other ideal interests that Egypt has endorsed. 64