Radwa Rostom – Egyptian Civil Engineer

Working as a civil engineer, Radwa Rostom focuses on construction that is sustainable. Previously, she worked for WeForest as a business development manager, helping the organization tackle climate change by planting trees. Before that, she worked at the CSR and training specialist at the Solar Energy  in Egypt working with NGOs, governments, international organizations and donor agencies to do social development projects in many impoverished communities in Cairo.

Rostom is the founder of Hand Over, which is an independent social enterprise that strives to improve housing, education and healthcare in the Cairo slums. Hand Over works with civil engineering and architecture students, graduates and people in the community to design and build affordable and sustainable homes.

The idea all started to come together in 2014, when she was granted a fellowship from The DO School located in Hamburg, Germany. Since she started Hand Over, the organization has been able to rebuild a housing unit in Abu-Qarn with a group of local residents and 27 students. The group used the “rammed earth” technique to make the frame for the houses. In 2016, Radwa Rostom was named one of the 100 most influential young Arabs in the world by Arabian Business.

The feminine name Radwa is a Muslim name that means “mountain in Medina”. It is also the name of a village in Syria found in the Harem District Idlib or Qurania Nahiyah. The name is common in Asian countries. There are a few notable people with the name, like Radwa Ahour an Egyptian novelist.