In the light of Egypt's celebration of the Orphan Day which falls on the first Friday of April, Egyptian community witnesses a state of confusion over the ways that should be adopted to protect the Egyptian orphans living in public and private shelters from any violations against them. The celebrations this year coincides with a continuous conversation over the video published recently in which an official of Dar Orman Charitable Society forced a child to take a shower with cold water during winter to punish him, while the child was screaming, "I will not repeat what I did." Lack of qualification The incident fueled serious challenges related to the way of dealing this category of the Egyptian children and the repercussions of such violations committed against them on the Egyptian community as whole. Many experts stressed that the matter needs serious actions not only against the violators but also to qualify those people who deal directly with the orphans. Egyptian Head of Social Welfare Somia Al Alfy stressed that there are major problems regarding the performance of orphanages' officials due to the lack of qualified supervisors working in these orphanages in return for huge numbers of children. She added that it is not the first incident of its kind. She added that the government should take serious actions that should not be limited to administrative measures against the violators but to organize training courses to qualify those supervisors for the ways to deal with this sensitive category of children. Major Dilemma The major dilemma is the clear recognition of the Egyptian governmental officials of the violations committed against the child orphans. Egypt's Minister of Social Solidarity Ghada Wali said, in previous press statements, that over 75 percent of Egypt's orphanages should be closed due to the violations committed against the orphans. Chairperson Egyptian Foundation for the Advancement of Children Hany Helal revealed that the orphanages witnessed notable increase in the violations committed against the orphans due to the absence of supervision form Social Solidarity Ministry. Danger of extremism The religious institution of Egypt's Azhar stressed its support for the orphans, saying that its doors are open for the country's orphans. The Islamic institution warned of the repercussions of the bad dealing with the orphans, stressing that it could lead them to extremism during the coming period. On his hand, Azhar's Grand Imam Ahmed Al Tayeb called, during his speech before the International Forum of Muslim-Christian Youth, the government and other Non-Governmental Organizations to support the orphans and to protect them from the groups working to dominate their minds.
