Accueil > International > Egypt
Egypt
Médecins du Monde is training the social and health care workers of six Egyptian NGOs in order for them to provide better health care to Children in Street Situation.
Egypt is characterized by the extreme density of its population: 80 million inhabitants are living on 6% of the country’s territory. Cairo is the largest metropolis in Africa and the Middle East, with about 20 million inhabitants. Population is growing rapidly and tends therefore to be young: one third of the population is aged 0 to 14 years. Rapid migrations from rural to urban areas are increasing the pressure on Egyptian cities such as Cairo. These trends, together with a persistent poverty, contribute to the street children’s phenomenon, which remains endemic in the Egyptian capital. Since 2004, MdM is working with this vulnerable population, implementing a programme to promote access to health for Children in Street Situation.
HEALTH RIGHTS PROMOTION FOR CHILDREN IN STREET SITUATION
Great Cairo – Long-term program
November 2011
Putting child protection at the heart of MdM»s activities with children: MdM-Egypt»s Child Protection Policy
Since 2005, MdM-France has been working with children in street situation (CSS) in Cairo, Egypt to improve their access to health care. As a result of its direct regular contact with this vulnerable group, the MdM Egypt mission realized the need for a protection approach in its work with children. «Child protection is everyone»s responsibility» has become the core principle around which the MdM team in Egypt built its own Child Protection Policy (CPP) and committed itself to the protection of children in all its activities.
Creating a tool suitable to Médecins du Monde activities
The creation of the MdM-Egypt CPP followed a period of training on child protection policies undertaken by the MdM Egypt team with Terre des Hommes. This training gave the MdM staff concepts and tools in this area and, above all, the incentive to work on their own CPP.
«This training gave us the chance to learn the tools ourselves and to apply the new concepts to our own field work», explains Marika Macco, General Coordinator of MdM Egypt»s mission.
The result is a policy based on MdM»s activities in the field, which is designed to support these activities and improve the way they are conducted. A set of definitions and principles helps identify what child protection is and, a precise code of conduct has been outlined, determining the things that should, and should not be, done. It covers children»s rights to privacy, information, and participation in any decision-making concerning them. The CPP also provides effective tools to implement these different guidelines. It contains a clear step-by-step mechanism of referral in the case of suspected child abuse, involving either an MdM staff member or a partner of MdM. Child protection is also now part of MdM-Egypt»s recruitment procedures, as every new employee must commit to the CPP before he starts working.
A reference mechanism for Médecins du Monde field work
MdM-Egypt»s CPP is first intended for the MdM team, as both an incentive to be constantly vigilant and as a clear way to respond to potential abuse. The CPP preamble states that «signing up to the CPP will commit the whole team to be constantly alert in terms of observing and identifying any possibly dangerous situations for the children[and]providing them with the tools to report child abuse, and the right skills to take adequate action».
The CPP has already had a significant impact since its implementation earlier this year. Members of the MdM team heard about a case of alleged child abuse in one of MdM»s partner NGOs. After investigation by MdM and management from the NGO, the team followed the step-by-step mechanism described in the CPP, and eventually the abuse was not confirmed. For the MdM Information, Education and Communication Officer dealing with children and partner NGOs on a daily basis, «without the CPP, we wouldn»t have had the legitimacy to deal with this case».
For Dr Nermeen Moharam, Mental Health Officer of the MdM team, this example shows that CPP can be«a tool to change behavior». At the same time, she says the CPP is providing added protection to the staff working with children:«Under the CPP, we are supervised and there are clear rules that we can follow, so there is also less risk to us becoming victims of false accusations».
A basis for awareness raising and exchange
Based on the experience of building and implementing a CPP, MdM-Egypt is now conducting awareness training sessions on child protection for health care centers, emphasizing children»s right to health care. The concepts and ideas surrounding child protection seem to be completely new to the health workers, but «the staff were very curious and eager to start to apply these new ideas» concludes Marika Macco as an assessment of the trainings.
Sessions with the local NGOs MdM is working with (many of which already have their own CPP), provided interesting exchanges on field experiences, and an opportunity to brainstorm solutions for difficult cases. The objective was to work together on the application of CPPs when in the field, which is often a sensitive issue for NGOs. «This is what we expect to do with the CPP, not to lecture anyone or impose anything, but to help to provide knowledge as well as to exchange solutions.» explains Marika Macco. The adoption of such principles by a growing number of organisations could even help«enforce the implementation of the Egyptian child law», according to Dr Ahmed Hisham, Medical Officer of the MdM team.
The implementation of the CPP is also an occasion to remind children of their basic rights. Children should be aware that they can report any abuse that they have suffered, and that they will be listened to and protected. In order for children to understand this idea, MdM included child protection in the messages transmitted to children during Information, Education and Communication sessions, along with nutrition, smoking and addiction prevention. During the IEC event which took place at the end of October 2011, activities around child protection were also proposed to the 70 children who participated in.
Last but not least, MdM-Egypt»s CPP, as a «good practice» mechanism, serves as a useful example to other MdM programmes working with children. It is a tool that both French and international missions could adapt and implement for their own projects.
|
PROMOTING CHILD PROTECTION IN EGYPT - Arab version |
PROMOTING CHILD PROTECTION IN EGYPT - English version |
CHILD PROTECTION POLICY 2011
Cécile Génot, Programmes and Communications Assistant for the Middle East, Amman, Jordan
February 2012
Theater activities and health education for street children in Cairo.
Novembre Early on the morning of October 27th, in an isolated area of greenness and calmness in the middle of Cairo, the silence quickly filled up with the voices, laughter and noise of children playing games. Accompanied by their social workers, around 70 Children in Street Situation (CSS) soon began to gather around the tables laid out in the garden.
At each table, children participated in an activity focusing on a specific health topic such as hygiene, nutrition, self-esteem, children’s rights, addiction or smoking. Using Information, Education and Communication (IEC) techniques such as games, the social workers focused on raising the children’s awareness of various health messages.
Ahmed, a 13-year old, was very enthusiastic about the event: "I liked it because I now know new things. I learned that smoking is harmful to health, that it can bring bad diseases like cancer".
- 196 IEC sessions have been held involving 1218 children
This IEC event organized by the Medecins du Monde team in Cairo was the high point of several months of regular activities around IEC and health, in cooperation with six Egyptian NGOs working with CSS. From March to June 2011, a total of 196 IEC sessions have been held involving 1218 children. Social workers from local NGOs received training from the MdM IEC, Medical and Mental Health officers on how to raise awareness of health messages amongst CSS.
Sali, who has been working for nine years at Caritas, one of MdM’s partner NGOs, is very positive about this collaboration:"I now do the IEC activities for the children myself. MdM gave me a lot of information and helped me in all aspects related to the health field because I’m not a doctor". As a result, the children seem to have integrated some good practices. Khalid, a 12-year-old boy, even "started to teach other children what[he] learned during the IEC activities".
A small theater play brought the IEC event to a close. The play was the result of the work of 18 CSS and six social workers, trained and supported by three theater professionals. All of them participated in a four-day theater workshop organized by MdM in September. During the four days, the children and social workers learned how to deal with space, their bodies and other people on the stage. They were also trained in story-telling and improvisation."I learned not to show my back to the people, not to laugh on the stage", said Ahmad, a 12-year-old participant in the workshop.
For these children, theater skills are new tools to express themselves and, in particular, to explain their specific needs
For these children, theater skills are new tools to express themselves and, in particular, to explain their specific needs. Talking about themselves is often far from easy because of their hard living conditions and the different psychological problems that can result from this environment. Aya, a 14-year-old girl explained:"At the beginning, I was embarrassed but I got rid of this". For children and social workers, preparing the theater piece was also a great opportunity to work as a team. As Hanaa, Executive Director of the NGO Mawa, put it:"we were working together to have a good performance. I liked the integration between social workers from different NGOs, between children, on the stage".
And the final result was a success! "At the beginning, I was afraid because I was thinking that the play was bad and the people won’t like it. But, at the end, it was good and the people were clapping their hands. When I saw the people happy, it made me happy. And I was also happy from the inside" describes Khalid, one of the CSS who was in the play. The play was inspired by the CSS’s own stories. It showed how the children tackle obstacles in their lives, related to family or their living conditions in the streets. The play also expressed their hope to reintegrate into the community through an NGO. Laughs and clapping hands were heard throughout the performance, and the children embraced the health messages in the play. "The information stays in their heads" declared a social worker.
