Madame Jehan Sadat, former first lady of Egypt, recently met with the Relief Society general presidency in Salt Lake City, and toured Welfare Square and the Humanitarian Center.
"She is a wonderful woman and has done a great deal of good in the world," Mary Ellen W. Smoot, Relief Society general president, later said of the widow of Anwar Sadat, former president of Egypt. "She has helped the women in her country to become more knowledgable about sanitation and about literacy and about how to be a partner with their husbands in providing for themselves. We admire her so much for her basic philosophy of the importance of the family unit."Sister Smoot and her counselors in the Relief Society general presidency, Virginia U. Jensen and Sheri L. Dew, attended a luncheon for Madame Sadat at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building Oct. 1. Also attending the luncheon was Elder Marion D. Hanks, General Authority emeritus, who is involved with various humanitarian programs throughout the world.
Madame Sadat was in Salt Lake City to speak at a business seminar and took a day from her schedule to visit with Church officials. Church Hosting representatives Robert and Dorothy Killpack escorted her entourage throughout the day.
Speaking of the visit, Sister Smoot said, "She wanted to know more about the women in Utah and women in the Church. She was also very interested in
the literacy program of the ChurchT. I gave her literacy packets produced by the Church Educational System."
Sister Smoot continued: "We talked to her about Church welfare and how we believe in being self-reliant, but that we are our brother's keeper and we need to reach out to one another."
Concerning the visit to the Humanitarian Center and Welfare Square, Sister Killpack later commented about how Madame Sadat was touched by the service provided by the Church. At the Humanitarian Center, she learned how the center could help her own people in Egypt, if necessary, Sister Killpack explained.
Speaking of their day together, Sister Killpack said: "She had good questions. She asked how many times we pray and explained how many times they pray. I said, `Most good LDS families have family prayers.' She just beamed. It touched her heart. Then we explained how many couples serve in the Church."
The former first lady of Egypt worked closely with her husband in a quest for peace. She is also known for her work with the women of her village of Talla. Under her guidance and help, the village women started with 25 sewing machines to produce crafts sold throughout the country to help raise their standard of living. Today, there are 1,000 sewing machines in the village used for that purpose. She also developed the SOS Children's Village in Egypt, which is designed to help orphans lead a normal family life.
Gifts presented to Madame Sadat during her visit at Church headquarters included "The Family: A Proclamation to the World," and a quilt. - Julie A. Dockstader