Informal associations, neighborhood networks, and community-based organizations (CBOs) that are independent of the state and of non-governmental organizations can be of great importance for the welfare, coping, and survival of low-income and poor households whether in urban or in rural communities in Egypt. The gamʿiyya (pl. gamʿiyyāt , group), a rotating informal savings/credit association, is probably the most relevant example of such organizations as it is all three: an informal association, a CBO, and usually a neighborhood network. It i…