The first day of Mohamed's new life was a difficult one. Although his suffering in the street was over, he was entering a new world full of rules and orders and people acting in a different way. Mohamed, aged 15, had a dark complexion. It wasn't his natural colour and it soon changed when he had a good wash. The miserable fact is that most street children have parents, but they choose to live in the street rather than being humiliated, terrified and punished by them. Mohamed was full of aggression at first, according to the volunteer who welcomed him into Rasala, a charitable association that is trying to reduce the number of street children. It's a very professional association, as it is supported by a psychiatric clinic that gives the volunteers advice on dealing with street children's problems. The problems often start when a man marries a wicked woman after the death of his first wife, the mother of his children, whom the new wife treats badly. “The volunteers have been engaging in public campaigns, attracting street children by offering them food or coloured pencils and paper for them to draw with,” Marwa Maqasud, the media coordinator for the ‘Children Who Can Survive' project, affiliated to a charitable association, told the Egyptian Mail. “We help street children and those who are exposed to immoral behaviour by using religious, entertainment and educational methods,” she added. As a result of the campaign, street children aged from five to 15 years old have been received at the association's reception centre. The public campaign was followed by three more stages: day accommodation for the children at the centre; a temporary stay for them; and finally permanent accommodation. Throughout these stages, the idea is for children to upgrade their behaviour and skills. Newcomers (street children) to the association just need a little care and education. They also need to be made to feel that they have a family and home, in order to help lessen their aggression, oppression and hatred of others. “In the case of Mohamed, the association discovered that he didn't like living in the street at all; he loved acting and singing and recently starred in a short documentary film,” Rodayna Tolan, 21, a volunteer and a student in the Faculty of Media, told this newspaper. After passing through the first three stages, children either stay in the accommodation centre (if their families' circumstances are not suitable to take them) or go back home after becoming ordinary children and behaving much better than before. In general, the longer a child has been living on the streets, the longer it will take for him to pass through the first three stages. “In some cases, children quit the new life and return to the streets. Meanwhile, it's very sad that some parents simply don't care if their children come back or not, having left home. “Poverty is not the only reason for the street children problem, because most of them run away from home as their parents are so cruel,” added Rodayna. “The father of a street boy could be a wealthy businessman who doesn't give his son any attention, while a poor mother is often very caring, working live a slave to try and provide for her children.” Last year, there were an estimated 1 million street children in Egypt, mostly in Cairo. Most of the nation's criminals are graduates of the street, research shows. Despite the efforts of the Government and NGOs, the numbers are on the increase, as divorce, adultery and child abuse are also on the increase, according to the General Authority for Child Protection. “My first meeting with street children was when I was training them to take part in a play. I didn't find it difficult and, if I did run into any problems, I could always ask one of the association's psychiatrists to help,” stressed Rodayna. Children have a lot of potential. If it's wrongly exploited, they often end up causing chaos in public places, sleeping around and taking drugs. One way to prevent this is to get children interested in suitable hobbies. “Children in the fourth stage are still not ready for ordinary life; they need to concentrate on drawing, sports, fun games and education,” Rodayna stressed.
