In April 2007, FACE was approached by the NCCM to establish a large project for street children in Cairo. The NCCM has donated a building in El Salem district to be used as a Reception/Residential center for street children.

                                                                    
                                The building in El Salam given by the « National Council of Childhood and Motherhood ».


FACE spent a year renovating the building and putting in place strategies, assessing the situation and needs of children on the streets, recruiting and training staff, as well as exploring facilities and partnerships.



Ground floor: Reception, small clinic, dining hall
1st floor: lounge, classrooms
2nd floor: temporary accommodation and lavatories
3rd floor: permanent accommodation for those unable to return home Rez-de-chaussée : Réception, petite clinique, réfectoire

 

Due to the complexities involved in managing a successful and sustainable street children project, and the various factors involved to ensure this (such as family/social reintegration, education, vocational training, drug rehabilitation and many more), FACE felt it their responsibility to survey the world of similar projects, examining particularly their methods, their strengths and their weaknesses. 

What we were hoping for was to learn from others, to collate the lessons learnt and formulate a strategy that would work in Egypt.  What we found, was a partnership with an organisation that had 15 years experience in the field and has had the highest levels of success in reintegrating children back into society by giving them alternatives to life on the streets. 

FACE, in consulting with these international specialists (Friends International), have formulated a unique and innovative strategy to suit Egypt, whilst using tried and tested methods to guarantee sustainable results (see section 4 General Training).  The hope is to create a prototype, a model project that can, over the long-term, be replicated throughout the country.

Consequently, FACE hired Ms Tara Lewis as Project Manager to oversee the coordination of the Salem Project. Tara has 8 years of experience in the non-profit sector in developing countries, particularly Cambodia, as well Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Tibet, Indonesia, Mongolia and China.