CAIRO: A government-sponsored project has put the number of street children in Cairo at 5,500 and voiced concerns that certain NGOs are inflating the figures in order to get more funds. Somaya Al Alfi, the director of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood's (NCCM) street children division, told Daily News Egypt that although 100 percent accurate figures are difficult to obtain, the counts carried out by the NCCM, which include a survey carried out in the governorate of Cairo in 2008, are the most reliable to date. "In partnership with the World Bank and the Arab Council, we conducted research focusing on the areas in Cairo where street children tend to hang around and live. We went to the streets, and made sure we covered all the areas, said Al Alfi. She added that she disagreed with the significantly higher estimates offered by several NGOs operating within Egypt. "Some say there are 300,000, some say there are 2 million. I don't know why they want to make it out into a bigger issue, it's not good. When asked whether, in her opinion, some NGOs were deliberately promoting higher figures in order to generate more funding, Al Alfi said that that she felt that it could be a contributing factor. Child poverty experts have also highlighted that long running, widespread disagreement over the correct definition of the term "street child has contributed to the discrepancy. The NCCM defines street children as any boy or girl under the age of 18 who spend little or no time with their families and spend most of their time on the streets. The NCCM has taken steps to counter the government's institutionalized criminalization of street children. The council spearheaded the amendment of the 1996 Child Law in 2008 to place street children under the umbrella definition of "juvenile delinquents. This new approach has not put a stop to the wrangling over numbers. In 2001 the UN published a Rapid Situation Assessment that suggested incorporating "working children (young people who work, formally or informally for small and micro-enterprises or as house-servants) into the definition, a formula that inflated the figures to in excess of 1 million. Numbers Such an attention-grabbing figure has proved popular fodder with many NGOs and campaigners in Egypt. However, it has led to much confusion as NGOs have started to use the 1 million figure indiscriminately. Organizations, including UNICEF, have published the figure on their websites, without the immediate clarification that it is based on a much more general interpretation of the term "'street child . According to Magdy Garas, who fronts the street children project at the leading NGO, CARITAS, "there is subsequently now much confusion in the field over whether a working child also constitutes a street child. Garas told Daily News Egypt that he was not in favor of the widening of criteria when it came to street children. "There are important differences in the circumstances of child labor and street children, although it is true that they face very similar troubles. These differences should be taken into account. My personal estimate is that there are 15,000 street children living in Egypt. Ragaa Habachi, the general secretary for projects at CARITAS, also suggested that even if there was agreement about who constituted a street child, undertaking an accurate count would be daunting, if not impossible task. "These children move around from one city to the other, depending on where they think they can find work or beg, Habachi said. "One day a boy is in Cairo. The next day he will be on a train to Alexandria. These children are mobile. They are impossible to count, she added. Habachi also suggested that a lack of trust on the part of the children adds further complications. "They rarely give their real names. In many cases they have been subjected to beating, violence and exploitation all their lives. They don't trust anybody. Finding solutions Despite the confusion in determining the number of street children, there is a growing consensus among both government and NGOs that solutions must address the roots of poverty problems and free Egyptian families from crippling economic, social and psychological strain. Experts, both inside and outside the government, agree that the answer lies in abating the undercurrent of family poverty which pulls many vulnerable Egyptian youths into a quagmire of hunger, exploitation and violence. The NCCM is excited about its current blueprint, which it says is more wholesome than previous efforts, multi-pronged, and seeks to get to the heart of Egypt's wider poverty issues. "For us the answer is to address the bigger poverty issues the country has. Behind all of these social problems you will always find poverty. Both as a preventative measure and to reintegrate these young people into their families, we are starting up vocational and educational initiatives and working to set up micro-finance projects to eliminate poverty all over the country, said the NCCM's project leader. Garas says that First Lady Suzanne Mubarak's intervention was a watershed for progress in the area. "Mubarak has done good work to help alter the mentalities of government officials working in this field. Looking back over the 15 years I have worked in this area, I have seen a real change, he stated. "What we need now is better organization and planning. We need to set up more shelters; help integrate these youths into schools; help them find jobs; and offer help to the families who are neglecting their children because of their impoverishment. It is only when we have got to grips with these problems that we will ever find a solution.
