When thoughts turn to children in Africa in need of child sponsorship, Egypt is probably one of the least likely countries to spring to mind. Yet, in what is a relatively prosperous country by African standards, there are an indeterminate number of street children in Egypt. Some put the figure in the tens of thousands, others put the figure at over a million.

One of the reasons for this vast discrepancy is that, until recently, these have been forgotten children and no records have been kept as to their number.

Police records shed some insight into the numbers with 42,505 children being arrested on the streets in 2001 with 10,958 of them being charged with being 'vulnerable to delinquency', that is they have committed a crime by having no responsible adult to care for them. The average age of those arrested was thirteen years old.

Most of these children try and support themselves by shining shoes, selling trinkets, begging and cleaning. However for many life is more than harsh with most doing whatever is needed to survive. Most report that they have been subjected to violence and have also been subjected to some form of rape.

Many of these children end up on the streets to find work or escape violence at home. One thirteen year old describes life after he ran away from home aged just nine.  “When I see other children on their way to school, I wish I could be like them. Here on the streets, I have no future.”