Homeless children
It might be hard to tell how many children are living on the street in Egypt,
but one thing is clear the number are very large and almost certainly
growing. With the difficulty of quantifying the phenomenon, studies
estimate that there are between 200.000 and 1,000,000 homeless children
in the country, most of them in the cities of Cairo and Alexandria.
These children lead an unhealthy and often dangerous life that leaves them
deprived of their basic needs for protection, guidance, and supervision
and exposes them to different forms of exploitation and abuse. For
many, survival on the street means begging and sexual exploitation by
adults.
World health organization studies show that street children suffer from
health problems ranging from cholera to tuberculosis and anemia, and
that they are exposed to a variety of toxic substances, both in their
food and in the environment around them. They are also at risk of
various kinds of abuse. In a survey in 200.86 percent of street
children identified violence as a major problem in their life. In
another survey, 50 percent stated that they had been exposed in some
manner to rape.
UNICEF is working with NGOs such as hope village society, CARITAS and the
Egyptian association for the protection of children in Alexandria
and Qena to improve the lives of street children and to educate and
empower individual boys and girls. The project is being implemented
through reception centers targeting street children.
The centres, set up to deal specifically with the problems faced by street
children, provide them with meals and the space to rest or engage in
recreational activities.
UNICEF supports the centers by training social workers on the rights of
children and the risks that the children face on the street, and also
by providing training directly to the children themselves through the
social workers. The centres also provide health services ranging from
check-ups to hospital referrals.
A number of the children at the centres are trained to act as "mentors"
to other children living on the street. The children are trained to
understand and deal with the potential health threats of living on the
street, and then pass information on to their peers on the street.
In another initiative implemented by CARITAS and four other NGOs in Cairo and Alexandria,
street children are encouraged to reflect on their lives and to express
their thoughts and hopes about their future. The children to this in a
creative, participatory manner by compiling pictures, drawings, poems
and stories which are to be published in the "white book of our future".
Supporting the work on the ground, and building on the national strategy for the
protection and rehabilitation of street children (launched in early
2003 under the auspices of the first lady, Suzanne Mubarak), the
National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, supported by UNICEF,
began developing a national plan of action for street children
involving all concerned partners. Focus will be on children already
living rough, ensuring that they receive access to the basic services
they are deprived of. The rehabilitation and reintegration of street
children back into society will be the focus, along with changes to the
1996 child law that will street children as victims and at-risk rather
than as deviants and criminals, as is currently the case.
Information about street children – Egypt
Background: The majority of Egypt's 66.4 million inhabitants are concentrated into caused massive migration to CairoAlexandria.
Although the national authorities are committed to tackling poverty,
around 23% of the population still lives below the national poverty
line. Despite free education, 60% of adult females and 36% of adult
males are illiterate because the system remains unable to cope with the
population growth. 93.1% of the population are Moslems, and 6.7% are
Christian. and
Definitions and Statistics: there is a black of consensus on low to define street
children and NGOs, the media and government operate with different
terms. The national council of Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) used the
term "homeless child" instead of "street child', but reflect a similar
understanding as NGOs in referring to them as children whose family
and/or community have been unable to meet their basic needs due to
social and economic problems, and who spend most or all of their time
on the street with minimal or no contact with their family. These
children are lacking in any kind of care and protection, and are
vulnerable to physical and psychological danger and exploitation
violating their basic rights.
The official legal definition has until recently been "juvenile
delinquents', but street children are now labeled 'vulnerable to
delinquency' according to Egypt's child law (law 12 of 1996), which
includes all persons under 18 who beg, sell or perform on the streets
for money, collect rubbish, engage in 'immoral conduct', lack a stable
place of residence, associate with suspected persons, and who lack a
legal source of income or support.
Because of these multiple definitions, there are no official or reliable
statistics on the magnitude of the problem of street children in Egypt.
The high mobility of street children also complicates the validity of
any survey. The closest indicator is therefore the number of children
arrested – of the 42.505 children arrested in 2001, 10.958 of them were
charged with being 'vulnerable to delinquency'.
With regard to the age of children on the streets, random NGO samples
suggest that 13 years is the average. A quarter of the street child
population is believed to be less than 12 years old, with two-thirds
between 13 and 16 years old and only 10% over 17.
Factors pushing children onto the streets: the key factors pushing children onto the streets in Egypt
are family break up (divorce, separation, remarriage, and death), large
family size, child abuse and neglect, low income and educational
levels, unplanned rural- urban migration and children's difficulties in
coping with the formal school system, increasing the rate of drop-out.
Constraints and challenges: legislation is a problem in that it still permits
police to arrest children who are not suspected of crimes but who are
'vulnerable to delinquency'. This hinders the work of NGOs by
preventing children from reaching drop-in centres for rehabilitation.
It is also very hard to obtain legal documents for the children such as
birth certificates to allow them access to governmental facilities such
as healthcare, school or vocational training.
The quality of educational and training for social workers is very low and
work with street children is not respected in society, which makes it
difficult to find qualified or motivated staff. There is very little
understanding of children's needs among actors throughout the system,
including police, judiciary and social workers.
There is a lack of cooperation between NGOs and government agencies, which
has greatly reduced the range and quality of services available to
street children, particularly in terms of alternative rehabilitative
strategies such as fostering, which is still not recognised.
Finally, stigma and violence towards street children also hinders active
community participation and motivation regarding sustainable
rehabilitation programmes.
Achievements: progress has been made in the last decade in terms of legislation for street children, with Egypt signing all the international conventions on child protection. It also
ratified the child law in 1996 which is intended to prevent children
'vulnerable to delinquency' from becoming criminals by holding parents
criminally responsible for their failure to oversee/ensure their child's behavior.
In recent years the attention to the street children phenomenon has also
increased, partly due to declarations from the NCCM under the auspice
of the first lady Susan Mubarak. A 'National Strategy to protect,
integrate and rehabilitate street children' was also launched by the
NNCM in March 2003.
A network 'to confront the street children phenomenon' has been
established between Egyptian NGOs working with this group, and a
capacity building initiative is currently being implemented do train
street children to become 'street Peer health educators'. The 'white
book' project is also working to publish in Arabic and English a tool
for street children to describe their hopes, dreams and reflections
based on their own stories, drawings and poetry.
Lessons learned: the importance of mobilizing community participation to
increase awareness about children living on the streets. Prominent
figures in society (e.g. school headmaster, doctors and journalists)
are well placed to undertake influential advocacy and facilitate close
cooperation between institutions. A successful strategy to reduce
stigma has been to exhibit the talents of street children to the
community through theatre, art and musical concerts. Mixing street
children with other local children through youth clubs and sporting
events has also proved important in this respect.
Applying educational methods at drop-in centers based around the needs of street
children and which do not depend on daily attendance are important. For
example, simple vocational training exercises that within a single day
lead to a final product are important for children to see the results
of their efforts. This seeks to help the child understand the value of
knowledge and to encourage them to approach the learning of practical
skills with more commitment.
Programs should treat street children not as passive recipients of services but
as responsible partners, equipping them with life skills and the
ability to think critically and protect themselves on the streets. This
involves sending street workers to meet and interact with children in
their own natural environment on the street, rather that waiting for
them to come to the centre.
Recommendations:
Conduct comprehensive surveys in cooperation with universities or INGOs to obtain a more complete picture of street children in Egypt.
Study and implement good practices learned from other countries with a longer tradition of dealing with these problems.
Change social perceptions of street children through information workshops for
journalists and other actors responsible for dealing with children's
issues in the mass media.
Implement ongoing upgrading and capacity building for social workers.
Support NGOs in finding and purchasing suitable locations for more drop-in
centers for street children (NGOs are having increasing problems
securing buildings as local communities are not keen to have such shelters in their vicinity).
This report is taken from "A civil society forum for North Africa and the Middle East on promoting and protecting the rights of street children". 3-6 March 2004, Cairo, Egypt.
A full version of the civil society forum report is also available on the CSC website.
Prepared by: mohamed el said ahmed
It might be hard to tell how many children are living on the street in Egypt,
but one thing is clear the number are very large and almost certainly
growing. With the difficulty of quantifying the phenomenon, studies
estimate that there are between 200.000 and 1,000,000 homeless children
in the country, most of them in the cities of Cairo and Alexandria.
These children lead an unhealthy and often dangerous life that leaves them
deprived of their basic needs for protection, guidance, and supervision
and exposes them to different forms of exploitation and abuse. For
many, survival on the street means begging and sexual exploitation by
adults.
World health organization studies show that street children suffer from
health problems ranging from cholera to tuberculosis and anemia, and
that they are exposed to a variety of toxic substances, both in their
food and in the environment around them. They are also at risk of
various kinds of abuse. In a survey in 200.86 percent of street
children identified violence as a major problem in their life. In
another survey, 50 percent stated that they had been exposed in some
manner to rape.
UNICEF is working with NGOs such as hope village society, CARITAS and the
Egyptian association for the protection of children in Alexandria
and Qena to improve the lives of street children and to educate and
empower individual boys and girls. The project is being implemented
through reception centers targeting street children.
The centres, set up to deal specifically with the problems faced by street
children, provide them with meals and the space to rest or engage in
recreational activities.
UNICEF supports the centers by training social workers on the rights of
children and the risks that the children face on the street, and also
by providing training directly to the children themselves through the
social workers. The centres also provide health services ranging from
check-ups to hospital referrals.
A number of the children at the centres are trained to act as "mentors"
to other children living on the street. The children are trained to
understand and deal with the potential health threats of living on the
street, and then pass information on to their peers on the street.
In another initiative implemented by CARITAS and four other NGOs in Cairo and Alexandria,
street children are encouraged to reflect on their lives and to express
their thoughts and hopes about their future. The children to this in a
creative, participatory manner by compiling pictures, drawings, poems
and stories which are to be published in the "white book of our future".
Supporting the work on the ground, and building on the national strategy for the
protection and rehabilitation of street children (launched in early
2003 under the auspices of the first lady, Suzanne Mubarak), the
National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, supported by UNICEF,
began developing a national plan of action for street children
involving all concerned partners. Focus will be on children already
living rough, ensuring that they receive access to the basic services
they are deprived of. The rehabilitation and reintegration of street
children back into society will be the focus, along with changes to the
1996 child law that will street children as victims and at-risk rather
than as deviants and criminals, as is currently the case.
Information about street children – Egypt
Background: The majority of Egypt's 66.4 million inhabitants are concentrated into caused massive migration to CairoAlexandria.
Although the national authorities are committed to tackling poverty,
around 23% of the population still lives below the national poverty
line. Despite free education, 60% of adult females and 36% of adult
males are illiterate because the system remains unable to cope with the
population growth. 93.1% of the population are Moslems, and 6.7% are
Christian. and
Definitions and Statistics: there is a black of consensus on low to define street
children and NGOs, the media and government operate with different
terms. The national council of Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) used the
term "homeless child" instead of "street child', but reflect a similar
understanding as NGOs in referring to them as children whose family
and/or community have been unable to meet their basic needs due to
social and economic problems, and who spend most or all of their time
on the street with minimal or no contact with their family. These
children are lacking in any kind of care and protection, and are
vulnerable to physical and psychological danger and exploitation
violating their basic rights.
The official legal definition has until recently been "juvenile
delinquents', but street children are now labeled 'vulnerable to
delinquency' according to Egypt's child law (law 12 of 1996), which
includes all persons under 18 who beg, sell or perform on the streets
for money, collect rubbish, engage in 'immoral conduct', lack a stable
place of residence, associate with suspected persons, and who lack a
legal source of income or support.
Because of these multiple definitions, there are no official or reliable
statistics on the magnitude of the problem of street children in Egypt.
The high mobility of street children also complicates the validity of
any survey. The closest indicator is therefore the number of children
arrested – of the 42.505 children arrested in 2001, 10.958 of them were
charged with being 'vulnerable to delinquency'.
With regard to the age of children on the streets, random NGO samples
suggest that 13 years is the average. A quarter of the street child
population is believed to be less than 12 years old, with two-thirds
between 13 and 16 years old and only 10% over 17.
Factors pushing children onto the streets: the key factors pushing children onto the streets in Egypt
are family break up (divorce, separation, remarriage, and death), large
family size, child abuse and neglect, low income and educational
levels, unplanned rural- urban migration and children's difficulties in
coping with the formal school system, increasing the rate of drop-out.
Constraints and challenges: legislation is a problem in that it still permits
police to arrest children who are not suspected of crimes but who are
'vulnerable to delinquency'. This hinders the work of NGOs by
preventing children from reaching drop-in centres for rehabilitation.
It is also very hard to obtain legal documents for the children such as
birth certificates to allow them access to governmental facilities such
as healthcare, school or vocational training.
The quality of educational and training for social workers is very low and
work with street children is not respected in society, which makes it
difficult to find qualified or motivated staff. There is very little
understanding of children's needs among actors throughout the system,
including police, judiciary and social workers.
There is a lack of cooperation between NGOs and government agencies, which
has greatly reduced the range and quality of services available to
street children, particularly in terms of alternative rehabilitative
strategies such as fostering, which is still not recognised.
Finally, stigma and violence towards street children also hinders active
community participation and motivation regarding sustainable
rehabilitation programmes.
Achievements: progress has been made in the last decade in terms of legislation for street children, with Egypt signing all the international conventions on child protection. It also
ratified the child law in 1996 which is intended to prevent children
'vulnerable to delinquency' from becoming criminals by holding parents
criminally responsible for their failure to oversee/ensure their child's behavior.
In recent years the attention to the street children phenomenon has also
increased, partly due to declarations from the NCCM under the auspice
of the first lady Susan Mubarak. A 'National Strategy to protect,
integrate and rehabilitate street children' was also launched by the
NNCM in March 2003.
A network 'to confront the street children phenomenon' has been
established between Egyptian NGOs working with this group, and a
capacity building initiative is currently being implemented do train
street children to become 'street Peer health educators'. The 'white
book' project is also working to publish in Arabic and English a tool
for street children to describe their hopes, dreams and reflections
based on their own stories, drawings and poetry.
Lessons learned: the importance of mobilizing community participation to
increase awareness about children living on the streets. Prominent
figures in society (e.g. school headmaster, doctors and journalists)
are well placed to undertake influential advocacy and facilitate close
cooperation between institutions. A successful strategy to reduce
stigma has been to exhibit the talents of street children to the
community through theatre, art and musical concerts. Mixing street
children with other local children through youth clubs and sporting
events has also proved important in this respect.
Applying educational methods at drop-in centers based around the needs of street
children and which do not depend on daily attendance are important. For
example, simple vocational training exercises that within a single day
lead to a final product are important for children to see the results
of their efforts. This seeks to help the child understand the value of
knowledge and to encourage them to approach the learning of practical
skills with more commitment.
Programs should treat street children not as passive recipients of services but
as responsible partners, equipping them with life skills and the
ability to think critically and protect themselves on the streets. This
involves sending street workers to meet and interact with children in
their own natural environment on the street, rather that waiting for
them to come to the centre.
Recommendations:
Conduct comprehensive surveys in cooperation with universities or INGOs to obtain a more complete picture of street children in Egypt.
Study and implement good practices learned from other countries with a longer tradition of dealing with these problems.
Change social perceptions of street children through information workshops for
journalists and other actors responsible for dealing with children's
issues in the mass media.
Implement ongoing upgrading and capacity building for social workers.
Support NGOs in finding and purchasing suitable locations for more drop-in
centers for street children (NGOs are having increasing problems
securing buildings as local communities are not keen to have such shelters in their vicinity).
This report is taken from "A civil society forum for North Africa and the Middle East on promoting and protecting the rights of street children". 3-6 March 2004, Cairo, Egypt.
A full version of the civil society forum report is also available on the CSC website.
Prepared by: mohamed el said ahmed