Mary Louisa Whately

She spent over 30 years building schools for both girls and boys, ministering to their families and writing books based on her experiences.

Whately was the first to build educational facilities for the lower classes in Cairo, especially Muslim women, and started schooling for all, rather than only for those who could pay for it.

When Mary Louisa Whately moved to Cairo, she hired a native missionary, Mansoor Shakoor, to teach her Arabic.

That winter she cared for the son of a Scottish minister who was terminally ill. Whately's work with him was instrumental in her decision to open a medical mission in 1879.

In the winter of 1862 Whately returned to Cairo and re-opened the school she had started, and shortly afterwards opened one for Muslim boys.

In 1869 the Prince of Wales visited Whately in Cairo, which led to a grant of land to her just outside the city walls for the purpose of building a school.

A Memoir of Mansoor Shaknoor, The Prism... and others covered people who had a significant impact on her life and ministry.