Flavia Shaw-Jackson, a mother of 3 young children, has always felt deeply affected by the suffering and distress of the world's children and the hopeless situation of many developing countries.

"There is, in everyone's lifetime, a trigger, something that drives them into action. FACE was born one evening after watching a BBC documentary, "The Dying Rooms", about the atrocious conditions of Chinese orphanages where the children simply awaited death. The unbearable content of this documentary convinced me of the absolute necessity to try and help relieve children's suffering."

During the same period, Flavia and her husband hosted Belgian children with family difficulties in their home, acting as foster parents.  That experience convinced her to become involved in a larger-scale project.

"In 2001, I happened to go to Cairo: I still remember a young mother carrying her child on her shoulders. The child was in a shocking state. In his eyes, I could see the characteristic expression of children that detach themselves from life in order to protect themselves from their suffering and despair."

During seven journeys in 2003, Flavia visited about 25 orphanages and spent a great deal of time in the slums around Cairo, in order to understand the real needs on site but mainly to work out the most practical way she could help:  she studied in-depth the various forms the project might take, contacted and met local authorities, Ministries, the Egyptian embassy in Belgium, the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood in Cairo, as well as experts in the field of young children.  She put together a solid file on the precise situation of each site she visited, summarized the different ways of providing aid in Cairo and drew up a financial plan. In November, she created a non-profit organization in Belgium and embarked upon the laborious procedures to register as an NGO in Egypt.

She quickly reached the logical and above all realistic conclusion that renovating two existing orphanages in Cairo, a Christian one in Zeitoun and a Muslim one in Kalioubeya, would be feasible for FACE in its first phase.

The dramatic situation at these two orphanages shocked her: "Total dilapidation. The newborns that had been found in the streets were plunged, crying, into buckets of cold water. Disposable nappies were wiped and dried in the sun so that they could be reused. The babies never left their beds and never saw the light of day. Some, through total boredom and despair, hit their heads continuously on their mattress, whilst others sat immobile, against the damp walls looking completely detached. I took one baby in my arms and asked why he had so many wounds and scars on his face and body. I was told that he had been abandoned in the street as soon as he was born and had been mauled by dogs and cats. It was a terrible shock and I decided that I would never give up."

FACE was born that day.