Laura Bush Visits Girls' School in Egypt Built By Apache Corporation as Part of 100-School Program

CAIRO, Egypt, May 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- As part of her Middle East tour, U.S. first lady Laura Bush today visited a one-room school funded by Apache Corporation to provide the first opportunity for education for young Egyptian girls in the village of Abu Sir.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050523/DAM070 )

The girl-friendly school is one of 100 planned by U.S. nonprofit Springboard - Educating the Future, which was launched by Apache to improve educational opportunities for Egyptian girls.

Apache is a large U.S. independent oil and gas company and the largest U.S. investor in Egypt.

The Apache-funded school is operated by the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood as part of Egypt's Girls' Education Initiative, which was launched in 2003 by Egyptian first lady Suzanne Mubarak.

Mrs. Mubarak joined Mrs. Bush at the school on Monday.

Apache funded the $15,000 cost to build and furnish the Abu Sir school. The school is designed to provide a user-friendly, safe environment for modern educational techniques. Built to use prevailing winds for cooling, windows and high ceilings for optimal natural lighting, and sun breaks to prevent overheating, the design will be replicated in other villages.

Based on the success of the prototype school and fundraising support from Apache employees, directors and other families, Springboard is nearing completion on six schools and is preparing to break ground on 10 more, all in the Fayoum governorate southwest of Cairo.

"As part of Apache's commitment to global citizenship, we seek to extend our values and contribute toward improving the communities and nations in which we operate," said Apache Founder and Chairman Raymond Plank, speaking from Houston. "Building schools for young girls in Egypt is a natural extension of Apache's longtime commitment to education."

In addition to Springboard, Plank and Apache founded and continue to support Fund for Teachers, which provides grants to pre-kindergarten through 12th grade teachers across the United States to pursue self-designed summer professional development experiences. Apache also founded and supports the Ucross Foundation, a 22,000-acre ranch in Wyoming whose mission is to support the development of human potential through artist residencies and the hosting of small groups that are working on the challenges of our time.

Apache Corporation is headquartered in Houston and has core operations in the United States, Canada, Egypt, the United Kingdom North Sea and Australia.

On the Web: * http://www.apachecorp.com/ * http://www.schoolsforegyptsgirls.com/