- EGYPT
- August 20, 2012
- 4 minutes read
Minister of Insurance and Social Affairs: 17 Million Egyptian Pounds for Street Children Care
Dr. Nagwa Khalil, Minister of Insurance and Social Affairs, reviewed social issues pertaining to care of homeless children, in order to develop visions and policies for this age-group in the next phase.
The social affairs minister allocated the amount of 17 million Egyptian Pounds (about US$3mil) for a street-children housing project, spread over 4 pieces of land, with each extending over an area of ??40 acres, on which a self-sufficient city will be built, to accommodate homeless children and provide all necessary services to them.
In a statement she made Sunday, the minister affirmed that the current phase is witnessing concerted efforts, cooperation and coordination between the Ministry and NGOs and specialists working with children, to activate their role in the provision of care services for these homeless children by formulating appropriate programs, bearing in mind that childhood is the most important stage in the formation of the human personality.
The minister seeks to also activate the role of accommodation establishments, to use vacancies they have to house street children, and to implement, on the ground, operational programs for the care of those children.
She stressed the importance of training specialized personnel in psychological, medical and social aspects – who should be capable of dealing with these children, and supporting organizations working in this field with communications systems and methods of follow-up and progress-tracking.
The minister further underscored the importance of a classification system for children within each care institution, according to age-group, with training and vocational programs aimed at social rehabilitation, and reconsideration of the priorities of spending, so as not to waste available resources.
Moreover, the minister stressed that those children should not leave their care institutions except after further-care, job opportunities and stable sources of income have been arranged for them.
"A database should be set up for organizations and institutions working in this field to help identify their needs.
"The causes of the homeless children phenomenon are simply poverty, the slums and widespread unemployment resulting in disintegration of the family and children’s exposure to homelessness – on streets where they are vulnerable to all kinds of crimes and drug addiction
"Of course, this in turn leads to serious social and security consequences for society. I therefore underline the importance of addressing this phenomenon positively and effectively, reducing its effects, and eventually – hopefully very soon – eliminating it altogether from our homeland."