CAIRO, Egypt, June 5, 2005 - Springboard - Educating the Future, a U.S. nonprofit organization, today announced ambitious plans to build 200 girls' schools in Egypt by the end of 2006 to support the Girls' Education Initiative.

Springboard recently completed six girl-friendly schools in the Fayoum governorate and is preparing to break ground at 25 additional sites - all funded by private donations.

Building on the momentum of the May 23 visit to a girl-friendly school near Cairo by U.S. and Egyptian first ladies Laura Bush and Suzanne Mubarak, Springboard will raise funds for the schools, which will be handed to Egypt's National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) for continued operation, said Rodney J. Eichler, president of Springboard and executive vice president and general manager of Apache Corporation, a U.S.-based oil and gas exploration and production company and the largest U.S. investor in Egypt.

Egypt's Sawiris Foundation for Social Development also is participating in the project.

If the goal of 200 schools is met by the end of 2006, Springboard will consider expanding the program to 1,000 schools, Eichler said. NCCM has identified locations where schools are needed, secured pledges to donate land in the communities, and developed lists of girls ages 6 to 14 years old who want to go to school, said Ambassador Moushira Khattab, NCCM secretary general. "We will not fail to meet the 2006 goal for building 200 schools and we will continue building 800 more," she said.

Mrs. Bush and Mrs. Mubarak visited the girls' school in Abu Sir during the U.S. first lady’s Middle East tour. The school was built as a prototype by Apache that provides a user-friendly environment for the modern educational techniques employed by NCCM.

Mrs. Mubarak is leading Egypt's program to increase educational opportunities for girls. In many rural communities, girls have been excluded from the traditional educational system for a number of economic, social and cultural factors.

"The school at Abu Sir provides girls with a wonderful opportunity to attend a new, beautifully designed school, to learn to read and write, to learn responsibility, and to gain self-respect and self-reliance," Eichler said.

"The two first ladies gave us a great lift by visiting the Abu Sir school," said Ambassador Khattab. "The two first ladies spent quality time with the girls, listening and interacting with them. I could tell that Mrs. Bush was impressed by the girls and the quality of the transformation that is occurring."

Each school costs $15,000 to build and provides a learning opportunity for 35 girls led by two teachers trained in modern educational techniques. The first six Springboard schools were funded by Apache employees, directors and other contributors.

Springboard was established in 2004 to fulfill the vision of Raymond Plank, chairman and founder of Apache Corporation, to provide educational opportunities to underserved populations as part of his larger commitment to education as the essential first step up the social and economic ladder. Springboard is governed by a volunteer board of directors. Contributions to Springboard are deductible for U.S. taxpayers under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Plank also founded Fund for Teachers, which provides grants to pre-kindergarten to 12th grade teachers in the United States to pursue summer enrichment programs of their own design.