Graduation Project | Part 1

AENG 490 – Senior Project I

EMPOWERING STREET CHILDREN Advisor

Dr. Amr AbdelKawi Teaching Assistant

Salsabeel Amin

Presented by

Ahmed Refaie ChristianneChackal Farida Mahgoub Dina Targam MennaHagrass Rana El Samaa

Contents I.

Abstract......................................................................................................................................................6

II. Problem Identification ............................................................................................................................8 A. Problem Definition...............................................................................................................................9 B.

Reason for being on the street......................................................................................................... 10

C.

Areas where street children congregate..................................................................................... 12

D. Activities of street children:............................................................................................................. 13 III.

Thesis statement ................................................................................................................................ 15

IV.

Methodology ....................................................................................................................................... 16

A. Local systems ...................................................................................................................................... 16 1.

Reception......................................................................................................................................... 17

2.

Rehabilitation................................................................................................................................. 18

3.

Domestication................................................................................................................................ 20

4.

Education........................................................................................................................................ 20

5.

Vocation........................................................................................................................................... 21

6.

Transition ....................................................................................................................................... 22

B.

Gaps in the system............................................................................................................................ 22 1.

Reception........................................................................................................................................ 22

2.

Education.........................................................................................................................................23

3.

Transition........................................................................................................................................ 24

C. A step backward – Cause & Effect ............................................................................................... 26 D. Barriers & resources..........................................................................................................................27 V. General interventions........................................................................................................................... 29 1.

General aim .................................................................................................................................... 29

2.

Program........................................................................................................................................... 29

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VI.

Types of Interventions ..................................................................................................................... 30

A. Governmental Interventions............................................................................................................ 31 1.

Funding Assistance ....................................................................................................................... 31

2.

Awareness Campaigns.................................................................................................................. 31

3.

Environmental Improvements .................................................................................................... 31

B.

Immediate Interventions ...............................................................................................................32

C.

Long Term Interventions............................................................................................................. 34

VII.

Scheme of interventions....................................................................................................................36

A. Casual intervention stage.................................................................................................................37 1.

B.

Attraction: .......................................................................................................................................37 Intermediate interventions stage................................................................................................... 40

1.

Reception:....................................................................................................................................... 40

2.

Medical............................................................................................................................................ 43

C. Formal interventions stage ............................................................................................................. 44 1.

Development .................................................................................................................................. 44

D. Pre-Independence intervention stage ........................................................................................... 47 VIII.

Site analysis.................................................................................................................................... 50

A. Criteria for site selection ................................................................................................................. 50 B.

Alternatives .........................................................................................................................................53

C. old cairo (Fustat) .............................................................................................................................. 54 D. Site plan zoning................................................................................................................................. 58 IX.

Individual interventions .................................................................................................................. 60

A. Reception Center ............................................................................................................................... 61 1.

Zoning and Layout of Structure ................................................................................................ 68

2.

Location on site ............................................................................................................................. 69

2

3.

Design Concept ..............................................................................................................................70

4.

Design Criteria ............................................................................................................................... 71

5.

Activities..........................................................................................................................................72

6.

Space Program Sheet .....................................................................................................................73

B.

Expressive arts hub........................................................................................................................... 74 1.

Level of intervention..................................................................................................................... 74

2.

Problem definition .........................................................................................................................75

3.

Barriers tackled and potential resources ..................................................................................76

4.

Objective of intervention..............................................................................................................77

5.

Statement.........................................................................................................................................77

6.

Methodology...................................................................................................................................78

7.

Contextual background ...............................................................................................................78

8.

Location of intervention on-site ................................................................................................ 80

9.

Case studies..................................................................................................................................... 81

10.

Zoning ......................................................................................................................................... 84

11. Space program ............................................................................................................................... 85 12.

Design criteria ........................................................................................................................... 86

C. VOCATIONAL: Creative skill workshop.................................................................................... 88 1.

Project Statement.......................................................................................................................... 88

2.

Project objective ............................................................................................................................ 89

3.

Site analysis.................................................................................................................................... 89

4.

Level of intervention..................................................................................................................... 89

5.

Workshops...................................................................................................................................... 91

6.

Cases studies.................................................................................................................................. 95

7.

Space Program ............................................................................................................................... 98

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8.

Zoning ............................................................................................................................................. 99

9.

Design Criteria .............................................................................................................................100

D. Critical Education Institution....................................................................................................... 103 1.

Introduction.................................................................................................................................. 103

2.

The stage the street children have reached: ........................................................................... 103

3.

Problem Definition: .....................................................................................................................104

4.

Target users:..................................................................................................................................104

5.

Project aim:....................................................................................................................................104

6.

Relation to thesis statement:.....................................................................................................105

7.

Education status in Ezbet Abu Qarn: ......................................................................................105

8.

Context of project........................................................................................................................106

9.

Location of intervention ............................................................................................................. 107

10.

Methodology............................................................................................................................. 107

11. Approach: ......................................................................................................................................109 12.

Factors Influencing space design ......................................................................................... 114

13.

Case study: .................................................................................................................................118

14.

Zoning ........................................................................................................................................122

15.

Activities and architectural program .................................................................................. 123

E.

Medical Unit & Drug Addiction Treatment Center ................................................................124 1.

Project Scope.................................................................................................................................124

2.

Factors Affecting Homeless Engagement to the Facility: ...................................................125

3.

Types of Treatments:...................................................................................................................126

4.

Project type ...................................................................................................................................129

5.

Objectives and aims.....................................................................................................................129

6.

Barriers tackled ............................................................................................................................ 130

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7.

Case studies................................................................................................................................... 132

8.

Project Relativity to Site............................................................................................................. 136

9.

Plot Relation to Site .................................................................................................................... 137

10.

Program Concept ..................................................................................................................... 138

11. Activities and programs..............................................................................................................140 12.

F.

Space Program and Area Requirements..............................................................................144

Child / Family Engagement Centre ..............................................................................................145 1.

Introduction..................................................................................................................................145

2.

Project Cycle & AIM................................................................................................................... 147

3.

Area of intervention.....................................................................................................................148

4.

Case Studies ...................................................................................................................................151

5.

Problems with the Global systems approach ........................................................................156

6.

Space & architecture................................................................................................................... 157

7.

Design CONCEPT .......................................................................................................................168

8.

Site influences...............................................................................................................................169

9.

Space program .............................................................................................................................. 172

X. Works cited........................................................................................................................................... 176

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I.

Abstract In understanding the project statement we identified the key points to which our

proposal will be based on. “Architecture for the creative development of a new young generation�. To start with, we split the project statement in to two parts. Creative Development: entails consideration of the various media to progress and empower individuals. Meanwhile, referring to a New Young Generation. highlights evolution of conditions as well as expectations as a result of the change the revolution has brought. The youth which compose almost 33.5% (10-25 years old) of the total population in Egypt have raised their expectations of their country and themselves. They have become more determined to make a change to transform into better people and have begun to realize their rights, hopes and dreams.

According to the UN about 40% of Egyptians live at or under $2 per day, indicating a high percentage of poverty in the nation. Therefore, this has led to families searching for other sources of income hence neglecting their children or sending them to work. After which the child is not happy with his conditions and chooses to escape this confusion by going to the street. This caused the street children phenomena. Street children are defined as children who live/work on the streets and have little or no contact with their families. It is currently estimated that they range between 2-4 million children however, it seems that this magnitude may be over simplified and in reality they are much more than this figure.

To further investigate the issue of street children, international case studies and local organizations that deal with the street children phenomena were studied. We conducted field visits to 3 of the 6 organizations in Egypt from which we concluded and analyzed the different stages street children go through to be rehabilitated as the following, Reception, Rehabilitation, Domestication, Education, Vocation, Transition to society we named this as the current system.

From the cumulative of this research we were able to identify the gaps and problems faced and unresolved for street children in its current system. Our main goal became to focus on empowering them by their already-existent potential but making them realize it and develop it.

This intends to make them more productive contributors to society. This will take place by looking at street children from a different perspective, by reducing the filtration process that

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occurs in the reception stage leading to only a limited type of street children being admitted into such facilities. Also, we will make the transition process into society easier for such children by aiding them with careers that will continue throughout their future.

Instead of creating one complex that intends to solve the problem as a whole, we chose to split our project into several small interventions that tackle specific problems hence concentrated to solve a specific gap in the context. Each intervention is mentioned in detail later in this report.

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II.

Problem Identification

We began by breaking down the thesis question, in order to understand how to make an approach.

“Architecture for the creative development of a new young Generation” Creative Development Questioning old types of development to extract new potentials; Critiquing traditional teaching and developing approaches, and finding new ways to deal with problems in the existing system.

New: This project aims to address the “NEW” generation. The unity of last year's revolution has given way to new realities and higher hopes among the youth. The removal of President Mubarak was something no one expected would come to reality. The fact that this came into being, gave Egyptians higher expectations for their country and themselves. People are more determined to make a change to transform into being better people, they believe in themselves because they’ve achieved the impossible.

“The empowerment of underprivileged youth that face barriers through poverty” Poverty

Barriers

Oppressed Potentials

Young Our project focuses on the ‘New Young Generation’ of Egypt 44% of Egyptians make up the youth in Egypt. In order to benefit our country, the problems of youth must be considered. It was conducted that 40% of the youth are under the poverty line. Our research focuses on street children in specific. This target group shares the most difficult problems, created by poverty.

We aim to break these barriers created , and to give those less fortuned a second chance; A chance to be part of society, a chance to fulfill the basic human rights as well as reaching their ultimate potentials.

The problems of youth must be considered closely because their aspirations, participation, energies, imagination, values and ideals will shape the country’s future. Similar to

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the youth in many countries they aim to lead productive lives. They are in fact the next generation of households, communities; they will basically shape this coming nation. We want to give the youth a chance for wider choices, give them a chance to decision making and an opportunity for civic participation.

A.

PROBLEM DEFINITION

Street children in Egypt range from two to four million children. Although this huge number this issue has not yet stimulated the sympathy of many Egyptians. People tend to categorize these children as ‘petty criminals’. These children are categorized according to where live and work and by who they are as people. There has been many disputes on how to define ‘street children’. According to Egypt’s Child Law (Law 12 of 1996) they are categorized as children who beg, sell or perform on streets for money, collect rubbish, engage in ‘immoral conduct’, lack stable place of residence and legal source of income. There has been major discrepancies on a single definition, however these are some of them: Children who live and/or work on the streets; It refers to homeless children who have little or no contact with their families and live on the streets.

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It also refers to a much larger group of children who live with their families but work on the streets.

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Abandoned child who has to earn his/her living from the streets

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The term may also be used to include the children of single or very poor parents whose children are the only sources of income for the family, providing a livelihood by begging or even picking pockets on the streets

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2 million to 3 million the number is rising fast and is not accurate because there are no official source

Magnitude of the problem It is difficult to put an exact figure on the number of children on the street. Table in Figure 1 illustrates the number of children ‘exposed to delinquency’ during 1995-1999, the total number has reached 17,228 cases in 5 years (UNICEF)

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B.

REASON FOR BEING ON THE STREET

The problem of street children in Egypt is a multi-dimensional one. A combination of factors leads to children leaving their homes and ending up on the street.

Escape from children’s institution 6%

Causes of being in the street Shelter 15% Earn money 43%

Escape physical abuse 15% Escape family conflicts 21%

Figure 1: Causes of being on the Street

Most research concludes the main reasons of being on the street are poverty, unemployment, family breakdown, child abuse and neglect, dropping out of schools, child labor, the effect of peers, as well as other social and psychological reasons (UNICEF).

“Egypt are most commonly trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation, with a substantial proportion also trafficked for the purposes of forced begging. Other cases involved children forced into theft and the sale of narcotics. The study identified the child’s lack of agency and his/her need for shelter as vulnerability factor”. (UNICEF)

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55% of the study shows that street children with

sexual experience were rapes and 45 % suffered sexual abuse.

Figure 2: Commonly trafficked purposes.

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This diagram shows that street children are urban phenomena. This is because “Urban communities are not as closely connected as in rural areas, thus explaining the high percentage.�(UNICEF).children seek an urban setting because they search for employment, this makes them more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.

Figure 3: Urban vs Rural

The NSCR study found that most street children in Egypt (68%) are in the six to 11 age brackets.

Figure 4: Age bracket of Street Children

This diagram shows that almost 40% of the street children did not attend school, while 60% acquired minimum education through primary and preparatory education.

Figure 5: Schooling

What forced them onto the streets?

Family Background Illness of the father 11%

Death of the father 10%

Parents divorced and remarried (stepparents) Parents 36% still married (both biologic parents) 22%

Woman as head of the family because of: 21%

Figure 6: Family Background

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C.

AREAS WHERE STREET CHILDREN CONGREGATE

1. Factors Affecting street children mobility A number of external factor affect the mobility of street children, as well as ‘Internal group dynamics’ (UNICEF) External Factors include, police attacks, campaigns against juvenile delinquents in particular area or districts . UNICEF indicates that 88% are weather conditions in the cities in which they reside, and 92% include police attacks. They also state that 88% are due to the nature of commercial and economic activities.

2. Characteristics of where street children reside “In order for street children to survive, they need to reside in areas with a special supportive environment and characteristics that do not conflict with their life-style, nor pose threats against their existence. Unlike the assumption that street children are always moving or “on the run”, research and data collected from NGOs (indirectly and on the basis of discussing rates and frequency of attendance of street children from particular districts to the drop-in centers) indicated that street children tend to “settle down” in areas where they feel secure, protected from violence, and with the possibility of earning a living and having fun. These areas are characterized by” (UNICEF) -

Popular districts where their existence does not upset the local inhabitants, nor draws their attention to the street children

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Popular areas full of shops and workshops where they can informally work and earn a living in doing minor jobs such as cleaning and carryings things

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Areas where children can easily find their basic needs for cheap food, and shelter,

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Markets and commercial areas,

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Free public gardens,

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Areas with special socio-cultural characteristics such as El-Sayda Zeinab or El-Hussein where they can beg people for money,

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Areas with cheap coffee shops and cinemas where they can watch movies and entertain themselves,

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Under bridges and on the flyovers where they sleep and/or beg,

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The cemetery and waste lands where they can sleep and hide, and

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Near train stations, metro stops and bus terminals where they can both travel and beg.

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D.

ACTIVITIES OF STREET CHILDREN:

Figure 7 shows the different activities performed by street children to earn money. The study highlighted the types of income generating activities undertaken by street

Activities Performed to Earn Money Illicit drug trafficking Survival sex Scavenging Stealing 0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Figure 7: Activities Performed To Earn Money This indicates that most street children are working children who could not keep or maintain their jobs for various reasons. Despite the factors that have led to children being on the street, most street children began their street life with an assumption that they could “depend upon themselves and earn a living on their own”. However, they were faced with many complexities they could not endure or deal with.

Below are the percentages of each activity. It could be seen that begging and washing cars are the most popular. (UNICEF) 

Begging (78%),



Washing cars or shop windows (68%),



Selling paper tissues and other items on the streets



(62%),



Working temporarily in shops, workshops, or small factories informally and when jobs are available (48%),



Collecting plastic from wastes to sell to recycling factories (42%),



Fishing (whether from the Nile River or sea in Alexandria) and selling the catch 14%),



Shining shoes (14%),



Carrying luggage and heavy things in the markets for people for money (8%),



Selling newspapers (8%),



Prostitution (2%).

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Even though more than a million Egyptian children spend their lives on the streets, the issue of street children has still not stirred the sympathy of ordinary Egyptians. Most Egyptians often tend to view street children as "petty criminals" and label them by not who they are but by where they work and live. In fact, "sub- human" is how an Egyptian girl describes her feelings (qtd. in Pemberton). There has been variance on how to define street children in Egypt.

Officially they are labeled as children "vulnerable to delinquency" according to Egypt's Child Law (law 12 of 1996), who beg, sell or perform on the streets for money, collect rubbish, engage in 'immoral conduct', lack a stable place of residence and legal source of income or support

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III.

Thesis statement

“Empowering street children: Realizing potentials of the underprivileged as independent contributors to society�

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IV.

Methodology A.

LOCAL SYSTEMS

After gathering an understanding of who are street children, we conducted field research on the existing facilities that deal with this phenomenon. Several Government agencies as well as NGOs that target street children were found.

Considering the government agencies targeting street children, they are mainly comprised of The Ministry of Social Affairs, The General Social Defense Department, Government hostels.

Apart from passing laws and social policies, the government activities also extend to execute interventions to deal with children at risk. Initiatives such as monthly pensions and financial assistance, income-generating projects for the families of vulnerable children, provision of residential alongside service institutions and awareness campaigns are a few of the extents of the governmental system. (UNICEF) However, this government system is not purely crimson. The actions taken towards street children address them through the juvenile delinquent perspective. Hence, the facilities offered imitate correctional detention institutions. The institutional nature of the facilities offered is also feared and impacts the children negatively as they perceive it as a sort of imprisonment not a place to acquire help and assistance. In addition, because government systems appear to lack comprehensive data on the phenomenon of street children, the personnel and resources to effectively manage the issue are insufficiently provided. “The presence of empty beds within the Department’s residential units” (UNICEF) expresses the limited role of the government.

On the other hand, NGOs that deal with street children take a slightly different, more effective approach as evident in the 6 times increase in the number of children they deal with during the period of 1990-2000. Commonly, NGO’s situate Hope Village as a successful model in which they try to adopt its principles in one way or another. Although very donor-based, the NGOs survive on financial contributions by the general public and companies. This has limited the efforts of the NGOs by being either under-staffed, or its workers are under-paid, or lack training.

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As part of field research, we conducted interviews and visits to three of the 6 NGO facilities that target street children. These facilities included Hope Village, Caritas, Banat el Ghad. We targeted these facilities specifically as each was located in a different region of Cairo, so we wanted to get an overview of how each facility deals with the children in its proximate area. Following our visit, repeated stages through which every child passes through were identified and rendered common to the facilities that deal with street children.

1. Reception This is the first stage whose main role is to attract the street children through different mediums.

Reception center This is the initial contact point between street children and those responsible where they can have a variety of psychological, social and recreational services. At first, the child meets with one of the staff members where they converse in an informal way to understand the child’s background and his problems. Furthermore, the institution does more research about this child and his families, in order to know more details and to validate the information stated by the child as well as closely determine the reasons why street children escape to the street. They contact his family to know more about his situation. Inside the reception centers, social workers carry out individual interviews with the children to identify the reasons why they preferred the street to the family houses.

Outreach of Professional A new initiative is to stretch the work further than the centers out into the streets of Cairo and Alexandria. Social workers will head for the areas of Cairo and Alexandria where the majority of street children are known to be located and they will make a contact with the children. This initiative is intended for those children who, for whatever reason, do not want to come to the centers. The social workers bring out the assistance and activities to the children directly into the streets. The children may gather around the social workers under a lamp post where he may: read to them educational stories, play games with them, or let them draw or paint, etc. This has two main advantages: firstly it builds a relationship of trust between the

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children and the social workers that may help in convincing more children to come to the centers; secondly the activities take place in the open, creating awareness in the general public who are able to see with their own eyes that the street children are like all others.

Mobile buses The mobile unit procedure, these are buses designed to prepare the children before they are referred to the reception centers where they can have a full range of services and have their problems solved. Moving according to a specified schedule, the mobile unit goes around greater Cairo for acquainting the children with the places that the centers cannot reach. The

Figure 8: Mobile buses at areas of street children

mobile unit works through an integrated

gatherings.

teamwork of social workers, psychologists, a physician, a nurse and a driver.

In addition, other means of which children become aware and visit reception centers is by way of their parents or relatives sending them to such facilities if the family is very poor and cannot afford to maintain the children or recognize their children at risk of delinquency.

Another service is the hot line through which anyone can report the location of street children in order for the facilities to attempt to reach their area.

2. Rehabilitation At this stage the process of rehabilitation is initiated, develops and continues throughout alongside the other stages.

Day-care/ Drop-in center This stage is the second stage that comes after the reception and is a temporary stage. The main purpose of the temporary shelters is to rehabilitate the children and prepare them to adapt to

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the new, sound lifestyle before they are referred to the permanent shelters where they engage in a family-like life.

The institution tries to bridge the gap between the children and their families through creating the natural environment of which street children were deprived. The street children can find a refuge from the dangers of street life. The center provides them with a warm friendly environment, where the children can freely come and go whenever he wants.

Not all children are willing or capable of living in the shelter as most of them, being accustomed to the absolute freedom and lawlessness of the streets, are not prepared to accept the rules and discipline of an institution such as the shelter.

Street Children have been conditioned to take care of themselves since a young age, so they are suspicious of and do not easily accept any Figure 9: Classes in Day care centers.

authority or control. Hence, they often prefer the street life where they can sleep when they want, eat

what they want, smoke and make use of the drugs to which they are addicted. The child needs to be rehabilitated before he is able to accept rules, thus most of them will only be willing to come to the day care center where they are able to come and go and are still free to do what they want after the closing hour.

The institution also tries to assist both the emotional and physical needs of the children.

Moreover, it tries to solve the parent’s problems such as financial by the micro credit loans which we charge them the amount that they give them. They also try to solve the children problem such as illiteracy and unemployment, etc.

This day center opens approximately from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM during which the children receive 2 meals and join illiteracy classes and basic workshops to show their skills and artistic talents, medical assistance, various recreational activities, clothing, psychological therapy, and many more. Through these activities they hope to give the street children a dignified life and the 19

means to build a better future for them. In addition, reception centers include 4 clinics of internal medicine and dentistry that conduct periodical examinations for the children and provide First Aid services for minor cases. The critical cases, however, are referred to hospitals or the surrounding clinics.

3. Domestication Following, is the permanent shelter stage, which is much more advanced and includes many advantages where children can live permanently in the institution. Unlike the day center, it is open 24 hours a day accommodating children also during the night and giving them a place to sleep. The stage comes after building confidence and trust and solving most of the problems of the children. At first, the shelter is only a transitional phase for the children; it hospitalizes them for a period between 6 and 9 months after which the social workers will gather the child with his family again in his house. If this is not successful, then the child is admitted to this facility permanently until they reach an age of 24 if male or get married, if female, where they are then dismissed but still supported and assisted to start their own life.A significant element of this stage is the respect of the children’s freedom which means that if the child decides to leave the shelter, he/she is free to do so.

During domestication the facilities were seen to also offer education and vocational skills. Upon graduating from the facility, the child then enters a transitional period to society.

4. Education Education is one of the significant areas of focus in such a project. However, we recognized that the due to limited finance, the children at the institutions were sent to public schools. The child is sent to continue their educational studies according to the stage they have reached prior to joining the institution. While for those who are illiterate, join illiteracy eradication courses that are provided by the institutions also.

This approach to governmental educational system in Egypt poses limiting to the child’s capabilities unless if they pursue higher degrees of education. Meanwhile, the kind of education

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that is being provided does not challenge the child to extract his unrevealed potentials. In addition such educational systems are not creative and de-motivating.

Figure 10: Statistics of children receiving education

5. Vocation Vocational activities are widely considered in such organizations but several defects have been spotted throughout conducting the research and visiting the local existing organizations. The available offered vocational trainings are multiple, such as carpentry, leather making, printing, carpets, pottery, farming, welding, cooking, Figure 11: Art Classes in Day care centers.

handcrafts, painting, textile and many others.

The problem found, as stated by officials in such organizations is the lack of sufficient facilities and resources, which is due to the insufficient funds for the project. Also the tools do not cover the whole number of applicants in one field; as a matter of fact some might be forced to learn another skill due to the unavailability of places. Hence, more resources should be offered to the children to give each child the opportunity to efficiently learn a skill that later would help him/her apply for a job that meets what he learned during his years in the institution.

This brings us to the fact that upon graduation, the children must be offered a certificate that states the skill they have learned to guarantee them an opportunity of further develop their skills in much advanced institutions or work. In addition, such institutions must be facilitated with exhibition spaces where students are motivated to display their works. A great advantage of such vocations would be to make use of the created products and sell them in onsite markets

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or outside ones so that children can benefit from what they are learning and in return take the money to spend it on their needs and help in the funding process of the institution.

6. Transition At this stage, the child or young adult graduates from the facility or moves back to live with their family. Several short-term initiatives are taken at this stage. They include provision of financial loans to the families, in order to support their child, or to the young adult, to start his/her life with. Sometimes, finding a suitable accommodation place is also done. However, the efforts of the NGOs extend to that only which is ultimately not always sufficient.

B.

GAPS IN THE SYSTEM

In analyzing the previous stages of the local systems that deal with street children, we concluded several gaps in the system that filter out, undermines their potentials or hinder the success of the processes.

1. Reception During the initial stage, the reception phase, the children are exposed to a large filtration process, so that from the beginning a large category of children are eliminated from get the chance to recover from the street children entrapment.

On average all organizations deal with about 6000 children a year, yet they don’t admit: 

Significant findings have shown that the average age of street children is increasing. In most research done in the mid and late-nineties, the average age was 11, whereas findings from the RSA indicated that the average age of street children reached 13. Such an age variation should have its own impact on the way the problem is dealt with, and means that not only young children should mainly be targeted but also pre-teenage children and youth. This unfortunately is not the case with NGOs as they have limited resources and choose to target street children at early ages and phases in order to reach a faster rehabilitation. For example, Hope village does not accept children above the age of 14”



The Mentally or physically disabled children



In order to use them for begging with, parents injure/amputate their own children

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

Contagious diseases (Tuberculosis, Aids)



Criminal records

Furthermore, the society stereotype street children as inferior hazards in the street who are delinquent and trouble. Therefore, society reacts by not accept street children and treating them in a manner as if they were menace when they are really just victims of the political system in Egypt. Hence, the children fear close contact with societal outreach as they lack faith in the service that will be provided to them and instead perceive such facilities as a deception to cease their freedom.

Nonetheless, the government considers them as criminals, and occasionally arrests them into juvenile delinquency cases that lead to imprisonment in correctional facilities instead of taking them to a specialized institute for them which affects them negatively as they stay together and can get influenced.

Rehabilitated Street children 15%

Street Children 85%

Figure 12: Diagram showing % of rehabilitated street children.

2. Education Understanding that public education system is undergoing a phase of deterioration, its strategy in control and enforcement of knowledge upon the children renders it an inefficient system of learning. In fact, education must tackle new creative approaches in teaching the children so as to bring the utmost from them. This could be done by learning from other

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foundations, international institutions that have dealt with similar cases. For example, CEF "Creative Education Foundation" in Massachusetts, United States, is involved with the creative area in education to make it more interesting to the children. As a matter of fact they focus on developing personal creativity, creative thinking and problem solving through teaching each other’s, effective communication, leadership development and application learning to apply what they learn in their own lives. Their main goal is to provide children with, as stated on their website, "a dynamic, multi-dimensional learning environment brimming with collegiality, playfulness, openness, challenge, spirit, and purpose."

Another successful international example is the CCE "Center for Creative Education" in Palm Beach, Florida that focuses on the entertainment part in education. As a matter of fact, the institution provides entertainment facilities such as art classes where they later display their work in workshops, dance classes where they learn to dance, feel free and relax and Youth Choir training to indulge the children in a therapeutic, interesting and self-motivating environment.

Such institutions may follow Bloom's idea about creative education where he has introduced three main parts to deal with in educational systems which are Cognitive that focuses on the mental skills (Knowledge), Affective, that deals with the growth in feelings or emotional areas (Attitude) and Psychomotor that deals with the manual or physical skills (Skills).

3. Transition At the stage of independency the system lacks the proficient preparation of integration into society socially and professionally due to the insufficient sources.Upon graduation from such institutions, children or young adults at that stage, face problems in dealing with the society and with shaping their future. After visiting the institutions, it was found that children when they graduate are not offered facilities and opportunities to guarantee them a promising future. Moreover, some might not have homes, so they suffer from the problem of having a shelter and as a matter of fat, they may get back to the streets. Most importantly, those suffering from addiction and have been provided with rehabilitation and got cure could relapse, which is a threatening phenomenon.

Hence, they find themselves lost, with no certificate that proves that they have learned any skills inside their institutions. As a matter of fact, such institutions must provide each child 24

with a suitable job upon graduation that meets the skills acquired during his/her stay so that he/she has a guaranteed source of income and thus they can help themselves and their families.

Also, they must deal with each child as a separate case and meet his/her needs which may differ from just offering a job. In addition, girls whom will be young women upon graduation, might need marriage, thus such solution must be considered. Others might be looking to continue their education, thus helping them with applying to universities can be a great opportunity to them.

Throughout their stay in such institutions, children must be exposed to society so as not to face difficulties dealing with people upon graduation.

Therefore, the resulting problems include: 

Relapse



Unclear Future



No dependable jobs.



Family stresses



Shelter problems

Tough Filtration Process Excludes a great number of street children

Imposes a limit to child’s aspirations

Lacks proficient preparation of integration into society

Figure 13: Gaps found in existing systems.

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Figure 14: Specific gaps found in existing systems.

C.

A STEP BACKWARD – CAUSE & EFFECT

In understanding the local systems that deal with street children, we realized that the problem originates from familial issues. Therefore, we investigated the causes that lead the children to go to the street in the first place, which are the root causes for the entire phenomenon to emerge. This way, if those causes are realized, the can be acted upon in order to minimize the problem and start its solution before it even occurs to save the maximum number of children before they become street children.

In the diagram below, the main causes for street children to leave their homes have been categorized into 5 different perspectives.

Figure 15: Causes and effects in each perspective.

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D.

BARRIERS & RESOURCES

Hence, in identifying the main causes for the children to go to the street, the process of a child’s lifecycle was clarified. The development of normal children from home to his independence is more complex for street children as additional levels of between the home and independence become introduced.

Home → Street → Rehabilitation → Independence This phase introduced another dimension which required consideration; the barriers and resources available at each of these levels. Hence, the barriers at each level could be overcome while utilizing and strengthening the resources.

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28 Figure 16: Barriers and Resources in each perspective.

V.

General interventions 1.

General aim

We are aiming to create new settings to reshape the traditional systems of dealing with street children. The proposed system will be integrated at all phases of the process in order to fulfill the gaps found. In order to give all street children the opportunity of breaking the imposed upper ceiling, exceeding the existing expectations and positively contribute in society.

2.

Program

The proposed system will be welcoming street children of different backgrounds and conditions in order to optimally minimize the number of street children and to reduce the negative impact of the street by accepting them at the earliest possible stage for a faster and easier rehabilitation process.

The alternative program will create a different strategy towards rehabilitation-, education- and skills learning techniques that would extract their full potentials and gradually, successfully integrating them into society. By introducing the strategy also introduces a selfsufficient funding system that primarily relies on production and not on donations.

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VI.

Types of Interventions In order to overcome the gaps found in the existing local systems, several interventions

must take place in order to achieve successful programs to deal with street children and the under privileged youth in Egypt. Studying the local systems, it was found that there is a lack in governmental assistance; thud, governmental interventions must be considered when organizing the new program. In addition, there are two other types of interventions for the structure of the program itself which are "Immediate Interventions" and "Long Term Interventions." The difference and the specifications of each kind of intervention will be discussed below.

Figure 17: Types of Interventions.

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A.

GOVERNMENTAL INTERVENTIONS

Governmental interventions obviously means that there must be governmental assistance and funding in the new systems that are being designed. This specific type of intervention is considered to be the only intervention that is put of our scope. That is to say, any organization that aims to take place in Egypt, being an organization that serves the poor, should be funded or assisted by the government to achieve better results.

1. Funding Assistance Most of the organizations in Egypt, such as the previously mentioned, Hope Village, Ana el masry and others, are NGOs, which is why they lack governmental funding and assistance.

They instead rely on foreign assistance and aids, like the UNICEF for example, since they are concerned with charity and services for the poor all around the work. While the Egyptian government scarcely provide facilities for such under privileged people and thus even assisting the existing organizations is not well monitored.

2.Awareness Campaigns Governmental interventions can take place in awareness campaigns also. By increasing the awareness in such poor and un-facilitated areas, people would get informed about the threats they might face due to the harsh conditions they live in. Thus governmental efforts should be directed more towards awareness campaigns, where they help these illiterate people be informed about their health conditions, social relationships, psychological aspects and education importance.

3.Environmental Improvements Most importantly, the government should pay more attention to creating better clean environments in needy areas. Slum areas and squatter settlements, being deprived from their basic infrastructure like water and electricity, suffer from hygiene problems. As a matter of fact, such basic facilities should reach all the districts and buildings of Cairo since they are the basic rights for any citizen. Also, placing more greenery, parks and trees in those polluted areas would ameliorate the environmental conditions.

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Thus, governmental interventions is preferable; however, this intervention is out of our scope but mentioning the gap found in the local systems and preventing in the new ones, would definitely lead to better results and improved facilities.

B.

IMMEDIATE INTERVENTIONS

Immediate interventions are those kinds of interventions that take place instantly. They encompass the types of facilities that should be provided for the needy/poor people in their own districts and neighborhoods. These facilities must be easily accessed, thus should be located next to their own homes and affordable, so that they can either pay minimum amounts to receive the service or even take it for free if possible. The different types of immediate interventions will be discussed below.

1. Medical Services In most of the slum districts in Egypt, the health state of its inhabitants is deteriorating.

People are getting more illnesses and diseases due to the environment they are living in and the bad habits they do like addiction, smoking, bad nutrition, immunization and many other problems. However, the availability of medical centers or health care facilities/hospitals is scarce. Thus immediate, affordable and accessible medical services should be located next to each of these needy districts. Such services would help them get health checkup, receive treatments, take vaccinations and be provided with medicines that are also scarce in their neighborhoods.

2. Vocational Training Vocational trainings are one of the most important facilities that vastly benefit the poor.

By providing such kind of facility, people in such districts would receive training for various skills and eventually get skilled in a certain vacation. This way they would learn a skill professionally and work with it. By this, we would assure that even people who didn't receive their education would have the chance to receive training in a certain skill that could facilitate their job findings and help them be positive contributors to the society.

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3. Community / Awareness Centers Community and awareness centers are very efficient in such neighborhoods. It helps raise the awareness of its inhabitants and improve their relationships with their family members and friends. It further prevents the existence of violence and harsh treatments between the parents and their children.

4. Entertainment, Interactive facilities To create a comprehensive attractive program, the system/program must offer entertainment facilities that people would in their free times to get read of their stresses. These facilities may take place in the form of recreational activities, where social gatherings and interactive activities take place.

5. Job Opportunities Although this type of intervention is not targeting the children themselves, it instead targets their parents and older family members who are in need of having an occupation. Thus job opportunities must be offered to lessen the problem of unemployment that has a high percentage rate in Egypt. By offering the parents jobs, they would receive incomes that could help them in paying for their basic daily needs and their children's. As a matter of fact, job hiring facilities must be located in each district and help the inhabitants receive a job in their field of interest.

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C.

LONG TERM INTERVENTIONS

The long term interventions are those who must not take place directly next to their neighborhoods and slum districts or at the places where the street children gather. However, they are services and facilities that need a large scale and more facilities and equipment for advanced cases. As a matter of fact, they are more developed, facilitated buildings located at any suitable place that can it the project scale. The reason they must not be located also next to their neighborhoods is that these kinds of services are for severe and advanced cases, where people would target the service themselves and would pay to reach this facility even if it is not of a walking distance for them.

1. Affordable Health Care The main facility that has to be well equipped and facilitated is a medical care center which is a hospital. An affordable, accessible hospital must be located at a near place so as not to be so far that they can't reach it using transportation. thus, these facilities can still take them to use a transportation system to get them there but for each district, there must be a wellequipped hospital for the severe cases. These cases might need to stay for a period of time and as a matter of fact they must not be located next to their homes since they wouldn't need to come and go to the facility several times frequently.

2. Advanced Vocational Training As an advanced stage, upon receiving the preliminary vocational trainings that would be offered on the street/ neighborhood level, they would move on tothe advanced stage where they further develop their skill. This facility would even serve as an organization guaranteeing the learners a diploma upon graduating that would help them seek a better professional job.

3. Educational Systems An educational complex must also be designed for a better standard of education on a larger scale that can encompass large numbers of students from several neighborhoods. Again this kind of intervention must not be directly located next to their neighborhoods but at least for each couple of neighborhoods there must be a well-equipped and facilitated educational system for all the age group and educational levels.

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4. Housing Permanent shelter should be provided for the under privileged, living on the streets or in houses that are poorly maintained and can be demolished in any time. Thus suitable affordable shelter should be provided to help these needy people find a place to live and shelter that is healthy, clean and affordable; unlike the high rates they use to pay for renting or buying a house.

5. Self-Sustaining Programs Most importantly the program must be self-sustained, meaning that the program gets its funds from its production. This way they would lessen the reliance on governmental, foreign and outsource funding and instead the program would use its outcomes in funding the facilities given so that it goes on as a cycle.

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VII.

Scheme of interventions

Figure 18: Scheme of Interventions.

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By examining the general types of interventions, an intervention plan is developed that is divided into various stages.

A.

CASUAL INTERVENTION STAGE

Figure 19: Location of Casual interventions on general scheme of interventions.

The project is dealing with two main target users, current street children and potential street children. Therefore the first intervention level, which is the informal, takes place at two locations; at the street to address the current street children and at low- income neighborhoods where children could potentially become street children.

1. Attraction: The first step aims to reach the children, communicating with them, identifying their problems and raising their level of awareness. Therefore, at that stage this intervention should take place where the children could be found.

Street level: At the street level, various strategies are utilized in order to draw the children’s attention. i.

Mobile units:

Mobile units are located at the common street children gathering points. These units move from one location to another one. Professional and social experts sit in those units who aim to

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talk to the children. Basic needs could be provided such as food, clothes and general medical care to draw the attention of the street child to the facility.

The mobile unit procedure, these are buses designed to prepare the children before they are referred to the reception centers where they can have a full range of services and have their problems solved. Moving according to a specified schedule, the mobile unit goes around greater Cairo for acquainting the children with the places that the centers cannot reach. The mobile unit works through an integrated teamwork of social workers, psychologists, a physician, a nurse and a driver. ii.

Events:

Movable, small scale platform could be set at the street in empty locations such as squares or wide pedestrians, where simple events could take place. These events could include famous figures such as singers or actors or simply any entertainment facility for the children where they could participate.

Home level: At the home level, it is important to note that at the home level an additional dimension is dealt with which is the parents of the children. They have a great influence and interference on the children’s’ decisions and life. Therefore when dealing with the children at the home, the problems resulting from the parents should be also dealt with in order not to negatively affect the child’s life.

At the home level, various methods are utilized to draw the children’s’ attention to increase their level of awareness, address their problems and prevent them from becoming street children.

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Such methods are: i.

Market place:

A market place could be designed or used (if already exciting) with all basic necessities such as food (vegetables, fruits, poultry, bread‌), clothes, etc‌. This could be a gathering point for parents and children. It is an interactive space where events could take place. The aim is to increase awareness and communicate to people the exciting of the project and its benefits to them.

Figure 20: Egyptian markets.

ii.

Clinic:

A clinic is designed at the neighborhood where people could use as a first aid facility and for medical advising and check-ups. This is also an important point of attraction for both parents and children. It is a potential effective opportunity to meet with experts and professionals communicate with both parents and children and increase the level of awareness. It is a chance to open up their minds and direct them to facilities and options to improve their living standard and solve their problems. iii.

Sports facilities:

Providing basic sports facilities such as football and basketball fields is a mean to attract children and gather them in a place. Children play sports especially football under any circumstances regardless if there is a designed football field; they use an empty plot or the street as their football field. Therefore if an attractive, well design sports fields are designed at their neighborhood children could gather there.

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B.

INTERMEDIATE INTERVENTIONS STAGE

Figure 21: Location of Intermediate Interventions on general scheme of interventions.

Street level: After reaching out to the street children various steps take place in order to deal with their problems and reveal their potentials.

1. i.

Reception:

Reception center

A reception center is designed to receive street children of different backgrounds and conditions.

This is the primary contact point between street children and the responsible where they can have a variety of psychological, social and recreational services. A meeting with the child and a responsible is first set, where the child introduces himself and states his problems, however the institute does a research about this child to know more details and to assure the information stated by the child, They contact his family to know more about his situation. Inside the reception centers, social workers carry out individual interviews with the children to identify the reasons why they preferred the street to the family houses. They further conduct family researches to closely determine the reasons why street children escape to the street.

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ii.

A group of professional

The new initiative is to stretch the work further than the centers out into the streets of Cairo and Alexandria. Social workers will head for the areas of Cairo and Alexandria where the majority of street children are known to be located and they will make a contact with the children. This initiative is intended for those children who, for whatever reason, do not want to come to the centers. The social workers bring out the assistance and activities to the children directly into the streets. The children may gather around the social workers under a lamp post where he may: read to them educational stories, play games with them, or let them draw or paint, etc. This has two main advantages: firstly it builds a relationship of trust between the children and the social workers that may help in convincing more children to come to the centers; secondly the activities take place in the open, creating awareness in the general public who are able to see with their own eyes that the street children are like all others. iii.

Rehabilitation

This stage is the second stage that comes after the reception and is a temporary stage.

The main purpose of the temporary shelters is to rehabilitate the children and prepare them to adapt to the new, sound lifestyle before they are referred to the permanent shelters where they engage in a family-like life.

The institution tries to bridge the gap between the children and their families through creating the natural environment of which street children were deprived.

The street children can find a refuge from the dangers of street life. The center provides them with a warm friendly environment, where the children can freely come and go whenever he wants.

Not all children are willing or capable of living in the shelter as most of them, being accustomed to the absolute freedom and lawlessness of the streets, are not prepared to accept the rules and discipline of an institution such as the shelter. Street Children have been conditioned to take care of themselves since a young age, so they are suspicious of and do not easily accept any authority or control. Hence, they often prefer the street life where they can sleep when they want, eat what they want, smoke and make use of the drugs to which they are addicted. The child needs to be rehabilitated before he is able to accept rules, thus most of them 41

will only be willing to come to the day care center where they are able to come and go and are still free to do what they want after the closing hour.

The institute also tries to assist both the emotional and physical needs of the children.

Moreover, it tries to solve the parents’ problems such as financial by the micro credit loans which we charge them the amount that they give them. They also try to solve the children problem such as illiteracy and unemployment, etc.

This day center opens approximately from 9:00 AM to 6: 00 PM during which the children receive 2 meals and join illiteracy classes and basic workshops to show their skills and artistic talents, medical assistance, various recreational activities, clothing, psychological therapy, and many more. Through these activities they hope to give the street children a dignified life and the means to build a better future for them. In addition, reception centers include 4 clinics of internal medicine and dentistry that conduct periodical examinations for the children and provide First Aid services for minor cases. The critical cases, however, are referred to hospitals or the surrounding clinics. iv.

Domestication

This stage includes many advantages where children can live in the institute. Unlike the day center, it is open 24 hours a day accommodating children also during the night and giving them a place to sleep. The stage comes after building confidence and trust and solving most of the problems of the children. The shelter is only a transitional phase for the children; it hospitalizes them for a period between 6 and 9 months after which the social workers will gather the child with his family again in his house During domestication basic psychological, health and social preparation from experts takes place that is due to the strong, negative impact of the street. This will enable them to integrate in the next phase which is the development phase.

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Home level As already discussed parents have a great influence and interference on the children’s’ decisions and life. Therefore when dealing with the children at the home, the problems resulting from the parents should be also dealt with in order not to negatively affect the child’s life. As concluded from the previously discussed studies, the problems at home are due to poverty. The parent cannot finance his/her home and is illiterate; this influences the child on an economic, educational, social, psychological level.

In order to enhance the living condition at home, an employment center is designed for the parent to get a fast vocational training that he/she could work with.

2.

Medical

Figure 22: Medical/Health interventions on general scheme of interventions.

This facility aims to deal with children in need of advanced special health care. Those children are treated corresponding to their individual conditional in order to give them a chance to reintegrate in the system instead of isolating them. The children are those who suffer from: a) Physical Illness b) Mental Illness c) Rehabilitation (drugs) d) Disability

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C.

FORMAL INTERVENTIONS STAGE

Figure 23: Formal interventions on general scheme of interventions.

1.

Development

This intervention takes place at the chosen site close to the neighborhood, preferably walking distance for easy access. i.

Critical Education

Education is one of the significant areas of focus in such a project. Upon the visits to the existing institutions in Egypt, like Dar el Amal, also known as Hope Village, Ana el Masry, Caritas, it was found that education was found to be one of the fields tackled in their programs.

Educational systems in Egypt follow the traditional educational system that depends on providing the children with school facilities to be able to continue their educational field according to the stage they have reached prior to joining the institution. While for those who are illiterate, they join illiteracy eradication courses that are provided by the institutions also.

Meanwhile, the kind of education that is being provided does not challenge the child to extract his unrevealed potentials. In addition such educational systems are not creative and are demotivating.

As a matter of fact, education must tackle new creative approaches in teaching the children so as to bring out their utmost potentials. This could be done by learning from other

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foundations, international institutions that have dealt with similar cases. For example, CEF "Creative Education Foundation" in Massachusetts, United States, is involved with the creative area in education to make it more interesting to the children. As a matter of fact they focus on developing personal creativity, creative thinking and problem solving through teaching each other’s, effective communication, leadership development and application learning to apply what they learn in their own lives. Their main goal is to provide children with, as stated on their website, "a dynamic, multi-dimensional learning environment brimming with collegiality, playfulness, openness, challenge, spirit, and purpose."

Another successful international example is the CCE "Center for Creative Education" in Palm Beach, Florida that focuses on the entertainment part in education. As a matter of fact, the institution provides entertainment facilities such as art classes where they later display their work in workshops, dance classes where they learn to dance, feel free and relax and Youth Choir training to indulge the children in a therapeutic, interesting and self-motivating environment.

Such institutions may follow Bloom's idea about creative education where he has introduced three main parts to deal with in educational systems which are Cognitive that focuses on the mental skills (Knowledge), Affective, that deals with the growth in feelings or emotional areas (Attitude) and Psychomotor that deals with the manual or physical skills (Skills). ii.

Vocation & Talents

Vocational activities are widely considered in such organizations but several defects have been spotted throughout conducting the research and visiting the local existing organizations.

The available offered vocational trainings are multiple, such as carpentry, leather making, printing, carpets, pottery, farming, welding, cooking, handcrafts, painting, textile and many others. The problem found as stated by officials in such organizations is the lack of sufficient facilities and resources, which is due to the insufficient funds for the project. Also the tools do not cover the whole number of applicants in one field; as a matter of fact some might be forced to learn another skill due to the unavailability of places. Hence, more resources should be offered to the children to give each child the opportunity to efficiently learn a skill that later would help him/her apply for a job that meets what he learned during his years in the institution. This brings us to the fact that upon graduation, the children must be offered a certificate that states the skill they have learned to guarantee them an opportunity of further develop their skills in 45

much advanced institutions or work. In addition, such institutions must be facilitated with exhibition spaces where students are motivated to display their works. A great advantage of such vocations would be to make use of the created products and sell them in onsite markets or outside ones so that children can benefit from what they are learning and in return take the money to spend it on their needs and help in the funding process of the institution. iii.

Sports

Sports are an area that is undermined in Egypt especially in the low income segment. It is regarded as a hobby and an entertainment facility. Sports have a great positive impact on the children. It develops their personality as they learn how to win and lose, play in teams, commit and persist. It is very beneficial for their health and it prevents many diseases, such as heart diseases, obesity and blood pressure problems. Children who play sports are more psychology stable. Children spent their time in sports rather than going out in the street and dealing with its problems such as addiction. Professional sports educational facility is introduced to for those who have special talents and are seeking sports as a profession. Different sports types are addressed such as football, basketball, swimming, tennis…Additionally sports education is provided with a certified diploma.

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D.

PRE-INDEPENDENCE INTERVENTION STAGE

Figure 24: Pre-Independence interventions on general scheme of interventions.

i.

Employment Centre (Job)

Finally after completing vocational, education, sports or any special talent high quality education, the child is sent to an employment center that ensures that the child has a stable career that corresponds to his/her education degree. This could be located anywhere, does not have to be next to formal intervention stage.

These interventions optimally aim to reveal the child’s utmost potential, give them a chance to integrate in society instead of alienating them and become productive positive contributors to society.

Figure 25: Relation between scheme of interventions and thesis statement.

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Figure 26: Summary of interventions showing target stage, the barriers tackled the intervention channel and an example of a model through which the objectives can be achieved.

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As a result of the limitation of time and resources, six of the interventions from the scheme were selected for further development by the six group members. As mentioned earlier, the interventions are very interrelated and interdependent with each intervention adding to the success of the entire process. The diagram below shows how each intervention aims to achieve a certain psychological level in the street child in order to compliment the rehabilitation process the children undergo.

Figure 27: Procession of each intervention in terms of child’s psychological development.

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VIII. Site analysis A.

CRITERIA FOR SITE SELECTION To select the suitable locations in which such an intervention is to take place

requires setting some preliminary criteria. Our primary interest is to address the children at their home or at the street level. Because our target is street children and children at risk, the areas where they congregate constitute a major factor, which are located according to the research studies conducted by UNICEF. Cairo is the city with the largest number of street children holding 31.6 % of their population. For that we have chosen the capital city as the site for our complex.

Figure 28: Cairo map showing areas where street children congregate.

The areas where the street children usually aggregate have certain characteristics which include: 

No threats such as police forces to attack their lifestyle



Areas where they can be protected from violence

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

Places where they can earn a living by begging, stealing or working



Places where they can provide for their basic needs of food and shelter



Areas that sell cheap food



Workshop areas



Public gardens where they can sleep and take refuge and recreation



Socio-cultural areas and historically significant areas (to beg)



Under bridges/flyovers so they can sleep



Places of heavy traffic



Cemeteries to hide, sleep and play

Of importance are the vulnerable communities from which the phenomenon of street children emerges such as slums and low-income neighborhoods. Also deteriorated historic communities are included in this classification.

Figure 29: Cairo map showing areas where street children congregate and the vulnerable informal settlements from which they emerge

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Also, as illiteracy is one of the root causes that influences indirectly and on the long term, it needs to be addressed.

Figure 30: Cairo map showing areas where street children congregate, the vulnerable communities and the areas of high illiteracy.

Moreover, there are secondary criteria that we have considered for site selection. These consist of: 

Near the areas where they live – easy transportation



Close to the city. They want areas where they feel is crowded



Must be in an area that is accessible to the children



Walkability of an 800m distance from where the street children congregate and where the vulnerable communities are located.



The site should be suitable for the type of intervention and the level it is tackling



Vehicular accessibility



Accessibility for an outside community (offers overlap of communities)



Functions/activities to be introduced are not already existent in the surroundings of the site



Neighborhood accepting to change

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B.



Permits future expansion



Space can accommodate for a public garden



Visual connectivity with its surroundings ALTERNATIVES

OLD CAIRO

Figure 31: Cairo map showing 3 potential sites for the project.

As a result of the overlap of criteria, three sites were chosen for consideration to employ a collective model for our scheme of interventions; 1. El Husseiniya 2. Mansheit Nasser 3. Old cairo (Fustat)

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The strengths and weaknesses for each site where then further analyzed as follows;

El Husseiniya

Strengths

Weaknesses

Located at a road intersection

No space for future expansion

Cemeteries

Cemeteries

Historic site Visual connectivity Large under-privileged community

Manshiet Nasser

On the periphery

Large area Road accessibility Mosque

Small community

Historical area Old Cairo (Fustat) Road accessibility Potential space for expansion Fustat Garden Figure 32: Table showing comparison between alternatives

C.

OLD CAIRO (FUSTAT)

History Old Cairo, known in Egyptian as Masr al-Qadima, is technically the area of Cairo south of Sayyida Zeinab and Garden City. Nowadays sometimes they call the area Fustat, in reference to the first Muslim city established in the area.The name of this area comes from the Arabic word (‫)ﻓﺴﻄﺎط‬, which means a large tent or pavilion or the camp.

This area was the first capital of Egypt under the Arabrule. Amr Ibn Al As built the city besides building his mosque. The houses in the Fustat were originally designed from one floor level and afterward they raised the levels and become from different levels. The Fustat also contained a lot of wells of water.

Today, Fustat is part of Old Cairo, this area is considered one of the most attractive and famous places with religious complex as it has the oldest Islamic Christian and Jewish sites,

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Starting by Amr Ibn Il As mosque and then the Saint Virgin Mary’s Coptic Orthodox Church, known as the Hanging Church, next to it is the Coptic museum where there is more than 10,000 art crafts from the Christian period, as well as the Naga Hammadi library, at last is the religious complex Ben Ezra Synagogue. It is also contains a 228 feddan of green spots, the Fustat garden along Salah Salem road, there is also a new garden beside the mosque of Amr Ibn el As. The area is very rich and attractive to different activities such as that the area is very famous for pottery making and beside for (leather works) in Old Cairo which is not far from this area. Beside that this area has a lot of potentials such as historical cultural and religious.

Figure 33: Cairo map showing surrounding context of Fustat plot

For that we have chosen our site to be in Magra El oyoun, a site which we believe contains all the aspects that would attract the street children and have them easily access and find the site.

The map above is color coded and shows the various attractions around the site colored in yellow which are typical destinations in which street children would gather.

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Socio-Cultural Settings.

This area contains two buildings which are major touristic attractions for both locals and international tourists. There is the Mary Girgis church and the Amr ibn El As Mosque.

It is very important to have these places near the site as they themselves attract many street children as it gives them a chance to beg for money form the many visitors that visit the site daily. Street children also use the free facilities of these buildings such as the bathroom, indoor carpet to break from the harsh setting of the street.

Fustat traditional crafts center This center main purpose is to revive the history of the ancient Egyptians and Islamic era and to enhance the future, through providing opportunities to the artists and the talented to design and to ensure the value of the art and crafts. Their main focus is on the Islamic design through different activities such as pottery, glass painting, carpentry, etc..

This center allows 20 to 25 students per year, they teach them for about two years so they finish with a diploma. The architecture of this center is based n the style of Hassan Fathy, and it was accomplished by 2001. Nowadays they are building another building not far from the existing one as an extension.

Darb 17/18 It Is a Contemporary Art and Culture Center, non-profit organization that it s mission is to advance the contemporary art movement in Egypt while engaging with various social and culture activities with the Fustat residents.

They have three main goals; the first is to exhibit the work of the local Artists who their work have never been exhibit. They also try to provide for the local artists some international exposure opportunities, the last thing is that they try to develop different programs while including some workshops, debates, films and other educational initiatives .

The architecture of the building is also based on vernacular style and is vey well designed to accommodate.

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Cemeteries As street children don’t have a proper home and live on the streets, areas like cemeteries have been a popular spot in which the children can find a daily shed to sleep in and as the same time feel protected as it is a quiet area with very limited visitors Public Gardens Children use the public gardens as modes of entertainment where they gather in groups to play. In the selected location there are two major parks one which is directly on the periphery of the selected site and it is therefore an opportunity for expansion or even integration within the urban layout Historically preserved site As this area is very rich with culture as it is the center of Coptic Cairo the neighboring land has been historically preserved because of the findings of historic ruins. The land is therefore vacant becoming a garbage dump site but in the eyes of the steet children a huge playground where they can take walks, hide and play around. Although we discourage the use of a site in such a way but itsutilization in this way have led to the place being a popular spot among the street children.

Informal Housings This area is regarded as a low income level plot, Ezbet Abo Arn. Many slums and informal housing exist in this area and therefore many families that have children that are prone to becoming future street children.

Workshops This area is famous for the clay works that are done. Many workshops and steer markets exist where they sell their pottery.

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Souq el Fustat The main purpose of the Souq is to create a space for specialized craftsman and designers to their work and to enhance a similar place to Khan el khalili for tourists. The Souq contains 47 stores and workshops contain ceramics, textiles, glass blowing and wooden products. Also the souk helps the people who rent the shop by letting them teach children some arts classes in return.

Metro station Middle-income residential In addition, there is a new development for middle-class residential units across from the site which can act as a potential community to interact within our intervention.

D.

SITE PLAN ZONING

Each of the individual interventions are interrelated and inter-dependent on each other.

Figure 34: Diagram showing zoning of activities on the site

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The concept of the design of the site plan is derived from a study conducted on the morphology of street patterns that are available in Ezebt Abu Qarn. Alongside this morphology, lines were extrapolated from the site surroundings that have a significant impact of the plot such as the mosque, the street facing the plot, and streets that lead to the plot from the slum.

Because the masterplan is inspired by the concept of streets a major spine was created to serve all the plots

and to

connect the

slum areas surrounding

it; Ezbet

Abu Qarn

and

another to

the south.

Figure 35: Analysis of street patterns in Ezbet Abu Qarn

Figure 36: Concept generation of masterplan

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IX. Individual interventions

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A.

RECEPTION CENTER

The aim of this project is to attract street children to the facility. The facility is composed of three parts; the Football Field which is the main attraction aspect, the Day Care Center and the Temporary Housing Facility.

The Football Field is located at the periphery of the plot, directly on the street. The aim of this is so that it is closest to the children. The field is part of the street. A child can see that it is public property, where he feels comfortable accessing it.

I am to create events and tournaments, with winning prizes so that children are tempted to come back.

As a child gains the trust to enter the field, he is tempted to discover the Day Care Center. Here children are offered a Figure 37 – Diagram showing zoning

healthy meal. Children learn through counseling that there are other options that being on the street. They learn that they can go

back to school, or that they could learn a skill that could earn them some money, or that we could even find them a foster family and a permanent home to stay. In this area, children learn about the surrounding facilities, and gain the trust to discover them.

The Temporary Housing is a transitional zone, until the child finds a permanent solution.

Children are either sent back to their families, to an orphanage or to a foster family. In this area children are still subjected to awareness sessions which help them understand the process their going through.

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The Football Field The football field acts as the main attraction point. I chose football in specific because it’s the most popular sport in Egypt. Children are seen playing football on the streets with anything they can find to make a ball out of.

The aim is to create events and tournaments, with winning prizes so that children are tempted to come back. Children are then offered a meal in the day care center. They can either grab their food and sit in the outdoor seating arrangement beside the field, or if they feel confident enough they can sit with the rest of the children inside.

Figure 38 - Multi-purpose football field

Football Field Dimensions: 

Pre-K – Kindergarten: 20yds (60ft) x 30yds (90ft) = 27m x 16m



1st – 2nd Grade: 25yds (75ft) x 40yds (120ft)



3rd – 4th Grade: 30yds (90ft) x 50yds (150ft)

I chose to build the smallest football field which 27m x 16m because I don’t want to build something that is intimidating but rather acts as a magnet.

Why Football? 

Fun in safe environment



Most popular sport in Egypt



Improves health and wellbeing



Builds confidence



Self Esteem



Personal Discipline 62



Teamwork



Gives talented children an opportunity to be discovered as professional players

Day Care Center The Day Care center’s main goal is raise awareness, and to educate the children of their possible options out there. Here children learn about the neighboring facilities, they learn that there are options than living on the street. The day care center overlaps with the field. Here is where there will be a large dining hall where children choose their food, and sit together while having their meal. Here counseling happens on a very casual sense. Children who feel comfortable discussing their problems with a peer or a professional are given the opportunity to do so. There are multiple rooms, for one on one counseling as well as group counseling.

Dining Hall

Figure 39 - Dining areas

Children are given the choice of what they eat, from an open buffet. We serve healthy food, to promote better living, and to give the kids the nutritional benefits they need.

The seating arrangements are large, to give children the chance to interact with one another.

Giving them a chance to have a chat, and sharing similar stories. Here counseling takes part in a subtle way.

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Counseling Rooms

Figure 40 - Counseling rooms

Children who feel comfortable enough, discussing their problems are given the chance to do so. Either one to one or through a shared group ; depending on what makes them feel more comfortable.

The counseling rooms are placed side by side. The rooms can either be used alone or be joined together by opening the sliding doors that separates them Kitchen (Cooking Classes)

Figure 41 - Cooking areas

Cooking classes aim to teach nutrition and healthful eating as well as self-confidence, cooperation and other skills. The cooking classes are considered another attraction point. Not all kids like to play football, some enjoy cooking, especially young girls.

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The kitchen is located in the Day Care center, overlooking the Football field. I aim to create very clean and fresh environment, where children are taught the importance of cleanliness and hygiene. Here children learn to work as a team, to read the ingredients and follow the instructions. They get to see how the process works, and that when you follow the instructions you will be rewarded with something perfect at the end. When they’re done with cooking children get to eat what they made.

Temporary Housing The temporary housing acts as a hostel. This facility is very important, since they are relatively scarce. As stated by the UNICEF “The total number of Hostels is 13 over 7 governorates.”

The temporary housing overlaps with the Day Care center, both have facilities that are used by both, such as the dining hall, the kitchen and the counseling room. The temporary housing consists of the bedrooms, the bathrooms as well as a common lounge.

Bedrooms

Figure for 48: beds.

Layouts for sleeping area Data Figure 43 - Layouts Neufert, Architect’s

For the bedroom, I aim to create three prototypes, each with a different size. Some children prefer being with small group of children while other prefer being in larger groups.

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This diagram shows the dimensions for building bunk beds. Effiency of space is vital.

Figure 43: Layouts for beds. Neufert, Architect’s Data

This diagram illustrates that the design of bedroom, should take into consideration the activities take part in a bedroom. Such as sleeping, working, dressing, and studying. I need to make sure there’s enough space for all activities.

Common Lounge The common lounge is a plac where children are given the chance to interact with one another.

This space has to be a large open space which is flexiable for multi functions, since it is used for many uses. I aim to create a verstaile place which can be enlarged or decreased according to the function used.

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Figure 44: Layout for play areas/common lounge

A clean and fresh environment is needed. Large open spaces which could be used as one or by dividing them.

Figure 45: Common lounge activities

The space should incorporate activities such as playing board games, painting, watching TV, or just hanging out.

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1.

Zoning and Layout of Structure

Although the Reception Center is composed of 3 different functions, the football field, day care center, and temporary housing; they all work together. This diagram illustrates the zoning of activities within the complex, and where the functions overlap.

It can be seen that the Dining Hall overlaps in the Day Care Center, The Temporary Housing and the Football Field.

The kitchen in located in The Day care Center, yet is also used by kids who live in the temporary housing. The kitchen overlooks the football field. The counseling overlaps in three as well, since there is casual counseling which take place in the field and dining hall, there also counseling rooms for more serious problems.

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2.

Location on site The proposed site is near Magra el Oyon it is called ‘Ezbet Abou Qarn’. Upon site visit it was conducted that the slum area is high in crime and violence. There is one school within the informal settlement. Surrounding the slums are many historical areas where street children congregate, as well as the surrounding park.

Children climb the gates of the park to sleep there. The public garden is in fact not public at all. It is surrounded by a high fence. People feel hesitant approaching the park.

The highlighted spot is where the Reception

Figure 46: Location of intervention on site plan

Center would be.

The location is optimum for the following reasons: -

Close to the neighboring facilities, so that children are easily channeled to the surrounding facilities

-

Close to the park which is a major attracting point for street children

-

It is also a soothing a pleasant view for the temporary housing

-

The football can be integrated within the park

-

The plot I directly accessed from the central node

-

It is easily accessed by street children because it is surrounded by secondary streets. It was conducted that children are found in small neighboring streets, and not the main roads.

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3.

Design Concept

Throughout the design there are a couple of design principles which I want to implement. The design concept is based on Oscar Newman’s ‘Defensible Space’. All “Defensible Space programs have a common purpose: They restructure the physical layout of communities to allow residents to control the areas around their homes. This includes the streets and grounds outside their buildings and the lobbies and corridors within them. The programs help people preserve those areas in which they can realize their commonly held values and lifestyles.”

(Newman) Newman makes a direct connection between building height and crime. Claiming that as the number of floors increase so does crime. This partly results from reduced surveillance.

Defensible space is a model of urban design that inhibits crime by cultivating “…an environment in which latent territoriality and sense of community . . . can be translated into . . . a safe, wellmaintained living space” (Newman, 1972, p. 3).

Newman observes that crime is typically worse in larger housing projects, and hypothesises that they “encourage crime by fostering feelings of anonymity, isolation, irresponsibility, lack of identity with surroundings, etc.”

Design and amenities that draw the community out into public spaces will increase the safety of the neighbourhood. I want to use these design principles when designing, since the Ezbet Abou Qarn is a site heavy in crime and vandalism.

William Whyte an American urbanist (1979) also observes that successful plaza tend to have permeable borders or, as he puts it, a “…cordial relation with the street”. I want to use this in the design concept in general, a design that integrates with the surrounding. Making children feel they can easily access the facility; A design where a child finds himself in the facility without having made a conscious decision. For this reason the design must be inviting, and extending into the street, with permeable borders and open gates.

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Arnold Berleant (1988) expresses the same principle when he describes how some plazas, parks and buildings “…confront us with solid, opposing planes…” that repel us, whereas others are “participatory”; they “…encourage entry; they . . . evoke our interest and draw us in” (p. 94-95).

4.

Design Criteria

-

Permeable Borders

-

Sense Of belonging

-

Low Rise

-

Extending into the surroundings

-

Blending with the existing fabric

-

Colorful

-

Clean

-

Simple

-

Cozy and intimate

-

Free and flexible I want to create an atmosphere where a child feels personally safe and secure. Although flexibility is important, yet features that give demarcation to a space often increase its attractiveness, yet only to a point, strong boundaries are not generally preffered.

Highly bounding spaces are not inviting, neither are spaces lacking in definition, A certain amount of definition fives a cozy and friendly feeling.

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5.

Activities

Activity Program

Architecture Program

Design Criteria

Attract Children

Football Field

Simple

Raise Awareness

Cafeteria

Clean

Provide Food

Dining Hall

Spacious

Promote healthy living

Outdoor Seating

Personal

Physical Exercise

Counseling Rooms

Cozy & Comfortable

Release Stress

Bedrooms

Intimate

Team Work

Common Lounge

Colorful

Motivation

Bathrooms and Services

Interactive

Self Confidence

Kitchen

Flexible

Group Counseling

Efficient Motivational

One- to - one counseling

Warm

Cooking

Safe& Secure

Daily Workout Temporary Housing

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6.

Space Program Sheet

Football Field

Activity

Required Area

Playing Football Daily Workout Outdoor Seating

16m x 27m

Casual Awareness Eating Day Care Center

Dining

Cafeteria ( 6m X 10m)

Awareness Counseling One on one counseling

2m x 3m

Group Counseling

3m 5.5m

Cooking

Kitchen (6m x 8m)

Temporary Housing

Bedroom Bedroom A

3m x 4m

Bedroom B

4m x 6m

Bedroom C

4m x 8m

Common Lounge

5m x 7.5m

Bathrooms

4m x 6m

Peer Bedrooms

3m x 4m

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B.

EXPRESSIVE ARTS HUB

Alongside the reception point, this intervention is situated among the earliest and most casual level within our scheme of interventions. This is because it aims to attract the maximum number of children who are already on the street and in need of guidance and support in order to allow them to develop a trust in others and confidence in themselves. This is to be done by using the theater as a medium for attraction, recreation, expression, awareness and engagement.

Figure 47: Location of intervention within scheme of general interventions

1.

Level of intervention

This intervention targets the transitory stage between the street level and the rehabilitation process. It focuses on appealing to a number of the 1.5-4 million children who are already on the streets of Cairo (UNICEF). Without this introductory phase, the children will not have an opportunity to recover, seek their dreams or have hope for a better future. This could lead them to the further downfall into the dangers of delinquency, drugs, violence, crime and even more could lead to the loss of hope. Furthermore, intervening at this level allows the children to know of the

Street

Rehab

facilities where they could gain assistance and setting them

Level

Level

back on track of a normal life.

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2.

Problem definition

Evidence from the research conducted on the local systems in Egypt that deal with street children, indicated the availability of a tough filtration system that occurs during the reception phase. This eliminates a large number of street children at their first encounter with help.

Therefore, it denies them from getting an opportunity to enter the rehabilitation process and seek shelter, and hope for a normal life. Hence, what is required is a facility that can accept the diverse range of children, with their different circumstances, inclinations and interests. Then, instead of filtration, a process of distribution will occur to direct the children to what they want and need; in terms of medical assistance, shelter, education, or training and skills development.

In addition, as also implied by the local systems, the children face a problem of integration into society and still meet discrimination from the society even after they have gone through the entire rehabilitation process. Discrimination does not only take form in the way society perceives former street children as former criminals but also takes form in the employment opportunities and the like. This creates a large gap that affects the effectiveness of the entire process. And so fields of interaction with the community need to be integrated within the entire process.

Figure 48: Diagram showing gaps at stages in local system which intervention tackles

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3.

Barriers tackled and potential resources

By understanding the barriers at this level, which include a lack of opportunities for education, exposure to violence and the development of psychological problems, the types of needs of the children at this level can be understood. In addition, the effects of society’s stigmatization of street children and their view of them as hazards and trouble to the society.

Furthermore, the resources, such as peer support and a sense of belonging, which are gained at this level can be utilized and strengthened in order to better connect with the children.

Tackles barriers of:

• • •

• •

No school Violence No sense of belonging to society Vengeful to society Stigmatization

Street Uses resources of:

• •

•

Peer support Sense of belonging to street children community Freedom

Figure 48: Barriers tackled and resources to be used by Expressive arts center

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4.

Objective of intervention

The purpose of this intervention is to: 

Attract street children o Offer a recreational venue for the children o Provide a children’s attraction/ playground with interactive activities o Provide simple income-generating activities o Offer a food outlet



Initiate the rehabilitation process; in terms of psychological treatment and small-scale illiteracy eradication o Employed through therapeutic art and drama o Use of theater and role play for psychological therapy and to initiate trust between child and the facility o Use the theater approach to overcome illiteracy barriers in reading/writing of script from which they can develop in the adjacent critical education school



Community engagement; offer a location for the interaction between the children and the outside community and their gradual integration into the community o Theater and drama are cultural activities in Egypt that bring together the audience and actors in the same venue.

5.

Statement “Empowering street children:

Realizing potentials of the underprivileged as independent contributors to society” Attract, introduce and initiate opportunities to assist street children in discovering their hidden potentials which they can develop in order to become positive contributors who belong to society.

Street Children + Society

Health Theater

Education

Society

Shelter Skills

Figure 49: Diagram showing role of center in distributing to specialized facilities and better social integration

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6.

Methodology

Hence, the project type is a merger of a community center typology and an expressive arts facility. The core activity within the center is the open amphitheater, around which revolves subsidiary activities of a more formal yet smaller theater, basic illiteracy classrooms, workshops to produce the theater’s equipment as well as exhibition spaces for the work to be displayed. At times when there are no performances taking place in the amphitheater and the formal theater, the spaces will function as a fair ground for selling the products and crafts developed and a location for conferences and lectures for use by the larger community respectively. The theater function will be flexible to accommodate masrah arayes and normal performances depending on the need.

The project setting will focus on filling the psychological gap so as to raise the children's self-esteem and confidence in themselves. It will offer a medium through which the children are able to experiment with the different fields a theater production offers until they find what they are interested in pursuing and providing the opportunity for them to be able to pursue it through the other facilities. In order to raise the creativity, inspire Instead of only having adults perform for the children, productions done by the children will be 7.

Contextual background

Interventions of a similar typology has rendered effective in Egypt as a result of its appeal to the sociocultural nature of Egyptians and children in specific. This is because it is considered as one of the traditional and entertaining activities that are part of folklore (Diwan Al Arab).

Figure 50: Children consumed in Puppet show

The history of the children’s theater has long existed in Egypt. Of the many theaters in Egypt, a number focusing on children as their target audience includes the National Puppet Theater. It is defined as the type of theater that serves to entertain and amuse children through interaction that stimulates their interest for knowledge and sense of mobility of manipulating the puppet (Diwan Al Arab). Children’s theater and puppetry is a form of visual art that is

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inspired by Egyptian popular culture. The use of the theater as a means of reform and therapeutic/rehabilitation, as well as being a means for creativity and a mode for teaching and the transfer of knowledge and skill, it submissively develops the child. (Diwan Al Arab) In addition, the tradition of the “mobile/portable” theater of the” aragoz” depicts the degree of children’s attraction to this sort of activity. The finely crafted wooden aragoz and portable wooden stage which travelled the streets of Egypt to perform shows on pavements, main roads, cafes and other areas where children congregate thrived during the 1920-70s to become a major source of amusement for children and their families. (The Revitalization of the Aragoz Puppet in Egypt).

Figure 51: Traditional Egyptian Aragoz

The Social Defense Department has employed drama and theater as means for dealing with behavioral disorders and for rehabilitation which studies show has been appealing to the children. In another study conducted by the UNICEF, the children were asked about their preferred activity within the facilities. Responses show that recreational facilities appeal to the children most. (UNICEF)

Figure 52: Famous Egyptian puppet Operette

Figure 53: Table showing children’s opinions on best programs provided by NGOs

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8.

Location of intervention on-site

The plot of land dedicated for the expressive arts center is on the periphery of the site in order to enhance accessibility by the community to the center. Also, its location on the periphery allows connectivity of the center with the surrounding cultural landmarks whose visitors are of the same sort as the audience of the center. Being on the main street, the center can also be noticed by wandering street children.

In terms of its relation to the other activities on-going within our open complex, the expressive arts center is located adjacent to the reception point so that the newlyreceived street children transition to the other levels of rehabilitation through the center after they have gained a level of trust at the reception phase.

Figure 54: Location and relation of intervention with others on site

After the children have experimented at the expressive arts center with the different fields, they will be better able to decide on what they want for the future; whether to continue with further education or to take up a skill. Depending on their interest, they can then move to the adjacent skills workshop or the critical learning facility which is visually linked with the arts center.

The center is also adjacent to the existing Fustat traditional crafts center which is a continuation of the workshops setting the children can attend as they will have obtained an introduction of it at the expressive arts center. In addition, the products of the Fustat center can also be exhibited at the open fair ground that will take place during the times when the amphitheater is not at use for performances.

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9.

Case studies Psychodrama The concept of psychodrama which employs drama performances in psychological

therapy was developed byJacob L. Moreno. It offers a medium where individual therapy can occur within a group environment, thereby making use of the Peer support factor.

It acts as a tool for reflection on situations. The main purpose of this type of therapeutic treatment is to help victims of abuse and trauma which are the majority of street children.

This type of activity fosters connection

Figure 55 - Center for Playback Theater

and goodwill between the roleplayers/actors and the professional director/staff. As the emphasis is on the process rather the final product, the children find a mode to express themselves timidly at first, but then courageously as the process allows them to realize that the end Figure 56 - Theatre at Moreno's Institute in Beacon, New York

product/judgment is not so crucial.

Bread and Puppet Theater This type of theater was established by Peter Schuman in 1963 in New York. This type of theater focuses on rod-puppet and hand puppet shows aimed at children. This form of outdoor theater is non-profit but self-supporting. The name was derived from the combination of puppetry shows with freshly baked bread which created a unique trademark for it. (Bread and Puppet)

Figure 57: Bread and Puppet Theater performance

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OMA’s Art District Although the project does not target individuals at risks, it still offers a successful combination of an attractive venue which hosts Visual Art +Film +Design +Popular culture. Located in Hong Kong, the 40 hectare waterfront site focuses on the quality of street life. The main concept of the district is to display “cultural production where all aspects of the creative process are nurtured and made visible.” (Archdaily) The theater village consists of 4 types of theaters; Grand Theater, concert hall, the chamber music theater, street theater and the Mega Performance Venue. Each theater design is unique depending on the interaction between the audience and the performance. An open-air amphitheater surrounded by a ground for events and markets creates this large scale entertainment setting for 15000 people. (Archdaily) In addition, the project also contains an exhibition center, street markets, small-scale entertainment, local shops, restaurants, artist studios, production spaces, and galleries.

Figure 58: OMA’s Art District theater types

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Mobile cinema pavilion This case study illustrates an urban intervention of a mobile theater/cinema.

Through this design, an attraction is created.

Figure 59: Mobile/ Rotating cinema pavilion

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10.

Zoning

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11.

Space program

Most of the activities in the center are based on standard requirements for optimum design. The standards found in the table below are obtained from Neufert handbook.

Level

Activities

Functional spaces

Requirements

Area (m²)

1

Connectivity to other

Out-door

0.6 m²/person for 500 ppl

600

Focal point

facilities

amphitheater

Watching movies

Cinema

0.5 m²/person for 100 ppl

80

(outdoor/indoor) Performance space

In-door theater

0.5 m²/person for 250 ppl

400

2

Rehearsing

Rehearsal hall

2 halls (6*8)

100

Gathering

Exhibition of children’s

Gallery

150

work Selling point of products

Sales outlet

10m x 10m

100

Community engagement

Guest rooms for

3 rooms (5m x 5m)

75

artists/actors

3

Eating/ socializing

Restaurant

Script writing

Discussion halls

100 2 halls (3 m²/person for

50

8)

Specialized Manufacture props

Wood workshops

15m x 30m

450

Scenery preparation

Art Studios

10m x 20m

200

Costume design

Textiles workshop

4

Service space for

Supporting spaces

20% of theater area

120

Service

performers Administration +

1 + 2 offices

65

6 restrooms (15m² each)

90

Total

2680

Production

100

tickets W.C.

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12.

Design criteria

Approachable

In order to design a space that will accommodate a wide variety of children who are of various ages and of different backgrounds certain factors need to be considered: 

Accessibility is a key factor in the design for street children. To the plot of the expressive arts center will be

Figure 60: Amphitheater

at three levels; street accessibility, accessibility through formal passages with the complex layout and accessibility through informal passages that correlate to the street children attitudes and psychology. Such informal passages will take form in concealed narrow passages linking the slum area or the historical land next to the site with the complex. 

Visual linkages with the other facilities are also important to raise awareness about them.



The specialized production spaces need be transformable and flexible spaces in order to allow for the teaching as well as the producing/ manufacturing.



The design form is inspired by the concept of a threshold because it is threshold for the children to interact with the community, a point in-between the street and the

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rehabilitation process, and in-between the random day-to-day life the children lead on the streets to having a future.

The design criteria are grouped into 3 key categories: 1. Human/socio-cultural needs a. Respect for the child’s anthropometrics b. Respect the street children’s psychology of fear and intimidation of such a place, so the center needs to be welcoming and casual c. Public spaces of a public community gathering nature 2. Form generation and spatial arrangement a. Visible from around the site b. Spaces are visually connected to each other c. Spaces should be connected and fluidly opening to each other d. The center will be based on an eco-design in order to mimic the public gardens the street children congregate in as well as offer a continuation of the garden adjacent to the site. e. The circular nature of the amphitheater design will inspire the concentric stages of the rest of the center which increase in their level of trust in the activity which in turn increases the confidence and self-worth of the child 3. Sustainability a. To transform the nature of the theater as an energy-consuming facility, utilizing solar power for energy. b. Being street-oriented, the complex will incorporate sustainable materials such as wood, which also associate with the wood workshops on site.

Figure 61: Inspirational design for incorporating theater with building

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C.

VOCATIONAL: CREATIVE SKILL WORKSHOP

One of the major problems in Egypt is poverty. All the people suffer from being poor. The family is poor because they lack money either they haven’t job or don’t have any resources to be able to work. When there are no money all the economic, social, psychological educational problems start. For example, the parent’s start sending their children to work, or the children leave their homes to go to the street or even sometimes the whole family move to the street, as there is no even a shelter. And from here the street children phenomena is evolved.

There are 3 types of street children

Figure 62: Types of street children

That is why the intervention has to be in the home and street level 1.

Project Statement

-The project objective is family bonding; the problems that had been occurred between the parents and their children through bringing and uniting them in the same environment by either each one doing something for example the child can be at the school which will be close to the center by walking distance and the parents are in the center working, or the child after finishing school can come in this center and helps his parents to learn a skill or to work and enjoy it or sell the products, so they both do the same thing in the same place .

-The project is a sustainable vocational workshop with a market for the parents and their children before being street children or while the children are in the street. This intervention will basically try to intervene to help the parents and their children first to learn a skill and then

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to work with it to try to create a product that is really efficient to be able at last to be sell.

Briefly, it is going to tackle mainly economic, social, educational and psychological barriers.

2.

Project objective

The project is solving the street children phenomena by helping the Parents Financially by teaching them a skill, giving them a chance to work and to sell their products. Besides that it will help to Reduce the Time spent by the children in the street; to meet with the children in their own environment to easily communicate with them; Change the attitudes of the children by teaching them in an indirect way; Encourage Participation between the parents and their children and try to solve the problems between them and strength the bonding relation. Exploit positives aspects such as the potential of the space and the facilities that are provided.

This project helps to solve many problems such as economic, Social, educational problems. The parents can be illiterate, they don’t have the opportunity to get a job, or there is no job opportunities in general, social problems for example when the parents don’t fulfill the needs of their children there is no family support and this will lead to family breakdown physiological problems and the children will become violent and affect the education problems of the street children indirectly because when all the previous problems are solver, it will help the child for a better life and that all his needs will be fulfilled .

3.

Site analysis

The site chosen is Fustat Old Cairo, the area is very famous with pottery work, when the site was analyzed it was found That They are aware of pottery but there is so much they have not done yet.

4.

Level of intervention

The project is intervening in mainly two levels the home and the street level. The home level as our site is all surrounded by a lot of slums such as Ezbet Abo Arn; this means that the project is in their environment, very close to their homes; So the intervention will be helping the parents financially so they will not force their child to go to work, there will be no child abuse; parents will be relaxed and will not be aggressive with their children, solving psychological problems, they will feel that they are useful, will be able to fulfill their basic needs so the child will be able

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to learn, go to school and the most important thing that he will not be a street child. On the other hand if he becomes a street child, he left his home and he is staying in the street bagging or doing violence acts or taking drugs … etc These workshops allows the street children to come and get a skill and to work afterward in the shop and then sell their products to be positively producers and contributors in the society rather than staying in the street.

Moreover, The Fustat traditional art center is playing a completing role as they admit the people from age 20 years which can accommodate at the independence level so by this it can be figured that all the levels are covered and there is no anymore gap or filtration in the whole system as they complement each other.

Weakness and strength of the site After researching about the Fustat site potentials and facilities there, 

The Fustat area is very famous with pottery work, it has been known that there are a lot of workshops exactly beside the Amr Ibn el Ass mosque but from few years, there has been a decision taken from a member of the parliament that all these workshops will be reallocated in the same area but what happened that they removed all these workshop and designed the place for a public garden which is always closed and for the a new workshops they designed it but they didn’t give for all of them new workshops and now they are renting them for their interests, besides that to do this project it took so many years so some of them change their fields, other are staying home.



There are some workshops that work in plaster and some pottery but they are not specialized at all and they are not professionally done. They produce mainly plaster as it is cheaper and easier and a lot of products but not efficiently done or high standard.



Besides that there is no place to exhibit their work, their products is installed in the street with no market or a special place where the people can buy. Although pottery in Egypt can be a unique skill, very advanced and we can excel the potentials and the sources that we have to attract the potentials so we can create a unique place known all over the world by pottery.



The Fustat area is very famous with pottery work, when analyzing the site it was found That They are aware of pottery but there is so much they have not done yet.

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Fustat traditional crafts center Where they accept the student above 20 years and they only admit 20 students per year, after 2 years of training they get a degree but they don’t have a place to work, the center is focusing on Islamic designs through different activities such as pottery, glass painting, carpentry. The center gaps the integration of the people in the society and letting them work.

Darb 17/18 It Is a Contemporary Art and Culture Center, non-profit organization that it s mission is to advance the contemporary art movement in Egypt while engaging with various social and culture activities with the Fustat residents.

It was originally designed for the potter’s workshop, which they relocate them from the place of the garden but now they are renting these workshops for exhibition.

Souq el Fustat The main purpose of the Souq was to create a space for specialized craftsman and designers to their work and to enhance a similar place to Khan el khalili for tourists. This souk didn’t succeed to cerate another more luxurious khan el khalili as the renting shop is very was originally 5.

Workshops

This area is famous contains a lot of pottery workshop where they sell their products on the street but they are not professionally done.

Figure 63 : Self produced images of pottery and stucco products

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Steps for making pottery 1

1. Preparation: -

The Clay type used is clay Aswany (they come in big pieces we start by cutting them into small pieces until it becomes a powder) (1)

-

Start Mixing the powder with water (2)

-

The material is removed from water and then put through a sieve. ( ‫)ﻣﻧﺧل‬

-

it is put it in certain bowls in the air to evaporate the water that is in it and transform it into paste. (‫( )اﻟﻣواﺟﯾر‬3)

-

The clay is then briefly "wedged" by hand to establish a consistency in the raw materials and align the clay particles and remove any air left over from the pegging process

-

Store the paste in boxes and cover it well not to reach any air (4)

1

2

3

4 Figure 64: Self-produced images of clay preparation steps

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2. Shaping clay -

There are 2 methods to form the clay hand building, which is the earliest method and using The potter wheel which the potter rotates with foot (5) or it rotates automatically with a an electric motor(6)

-

Piercing can be occurred at this stage before firing, as the paste will be still

-

If piercing is not needed or already done, the pottery is left in the air to dry for 2 to 3 days

-

The pottery is then put into fire in the electric oven, which is safer and easier and faster.

This is the first step of firing. (7)

5

7

6

Figure 65: Self-produced images of clay shaping steps

3. Glazing and decorating -

After the pottery is taken off from oven it can be either colored with a white coat, and then given to designers to design to color it, then a transparent coat is applied another color without a specific design.

-

After completing the decorating and then glazing or only glazing the pottery is put again into fire , To fix the color and to make the pottery shiny and look in high quality or to immediately apply a glazed

Figure 66: Self-produced images of finished ceramics

material. (Interview with Isam responsible in traditional Fustat Center) -

The method for shaping the clay are mainly very simple and primitive they use a potter wheel on which they put the paste on and start scrolling the wheel with their feet which is very easily done and don’t need a lot of skill rather than knowing the technique.

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-

There is also the roller head machine where you put your paste on a rotating mold

-

The decorating and glazing stage is the main step, which we have to reconsider while doing the project.

In Egypt this step is not very advanced and creative, it has to be well intervened and wellstudied how to develop and be creative in the products to excel in this field as the pottery products in Egypt are now imported and are really very expensive to buy especially in the kitchen utensils. There is a research made that the pottery appliances are healthier than the Tefal and the stainless product that is why product can cost five times more Egyptian products and are much simpler and less costly but the thing is that they do good glazing for their product to be really healthy and they look really efficient and are produced in very high quality.

Figure 67: Egyptian vs American pottery products

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6.

Cases studies

Sra Pou Vocational School Rudanko and Kankkunen design this project where they created a vocational school and a community center in Sra Pou Cambodia. The aim of the project was to teach and help their community to earn their own living as they are unprivileged and expelled form the city to the countryside by providing training to a sustainable business. They lack all the basic needs such a good shelter, the infrastructure and an appropriate environment.

The project also works as a public area for the community where all the people and their children can gather and spend the day.The local materials are the ones used for the buildings to teach them how they can build other things so they will be able to do their own homes. Some environmental aspects were taken into consideration such in the walls there are small holes to allow the indirect sunlight to access and the wind to penetrate.

The windows and doors are very colorful to attract the visitors and to be very visible wile coming on the main road

Figure 70 - 3d for the school

Figure 69 – Plan of the school

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Figure 68 - Façade of the school

Figure 71 - wall of the school

Shangai Pottery workshop It is a pottery workshop in china.

This workshop offers pottery and sculpture classes for adults, children, summer programs and camps. They have more than centers in china they even have shops where they distribute their products. They are very professional In their products and they are trying to even exports them.

Figure 72 - shop façade

Figure 73 – Workshop

Figure 74– Exhibition space

Figure 75 : shop façade

Portable construction Training center (PCTC) It was created for Venice community housing corporation In Venice. It is non-profit organization created to develop and maintain low-income housings.

14’x65’ Classroom for student’s trainees to learn: Plumbing, painting, carpentry and plaster.

It is provided with Trailer fold which are used as workstations or wood shop. This unit is Portable, and very flexible and operable.

Figure 76 : Shop under construction

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Adan Rural classroom In this project they Use sustainability in social, environmental and economic aspects They Maximize flexibility with the simple linear forms and ‘L shape’ The space can be transformed for any use by changing the setting of the shape and removing some parts. The L shape will create a Pleasant external and internal space that will attract the community to coordinate together, solve problems and discuss issues.

Figure 77 : L shape Setting

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7.

Space Program

Activities

Space program

Area

Social aspects

Collective Workshop

450 m2

Children & Parents

(organized on family bases) 80 persons /5 m2 Kids zone

40m2

Exhibition/ Market Area

100 m2

Educational aspects

Storage Area

40 m2

Parents & parents

Equipment Area (Oven )

40 m2

2 -Meeting Space

100 m2

Economic aspects

Raw material

40m2

Parents & children

Water Area

40m2

Info desk

20 m2

Bathrooms

20 m2

Circulation + outdoor space

250m2

-Coordination -Interaction -Gathering -Share

-Educate them about pottery (What is pottery, usage, how to improve the products and make them competitive to the world market) -Creativity & innovation

-Training -Producing - Market to sell their products

Total Area

98

1100m2

8.

Zoning

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9.

Design Criteria

All classes are customized for any age, They are designed to Provide a great social opportunity and teach techniques that guests will be able to use over and over again, anytime, An experienced Creativity trainer leads each Class, professionals who will provide guidance, support and assure maximum fun with creativity. It is a self-sustainable vocational project, by using pottery I can create a good bonding between he adults and the children, as it is a very friendly and easy craft for the children. The method for shaping the clay is mainly very simple and primitive And It is going to be a unique way by bringing groups working together.

The space is divided into three zones There is the private zone in the back consists of the raw material room beside the storage area for the clay, the equipment rooms (oven) and some toilets and other services.

Figure 78: Family enviornmnet

There is the semipublic, which consists of workshops that are designed and organized according to family basis, each family will have her own workshop or sometimes if the family’s number is small or sometimes if there are relatives or friends, so more than a family can share a workshop.

Or even sometimes as the workshops are designed in a very flexible way by using partitions they can integrate and open two workshops on each other which will enhance more the family environment and will certainly affect Creativity and productivity. The furniture is very flexible and movable to be able to rearrange the settings of the room to accommodate Figure 79: Family enviornmnet

different families.

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Even when more than a workshop are opened on each other some classes, seminar and discussion groups can be done with the experts and the professional’s team who lead and supervise the work.

Figure : Family working

Also, the flexibility of space will create more rooms for identity so each person, adult or young will be able to re-arrange the room, affect it on his way and will try to express him or herself, even the kids can express themselves differently by painting and hanging their work on the wall.

The workshops are in a define space but in the same time they are all open on each other and there is a central area in the middle that unite all of them this area they can gather, talk, and create a very recreational environment.

The work is in family environment to create family bonding and each family will be able to do the whole process of pottery from powder to products, the whole process will let them have more chances to be innovative as they have a better grasp for the material and the process. Even by preparing your own material, shape it, sell it, this will create for each person more of a self-belonging and will be Developing identity.

Figure 80 - Display

These workshops will allow the family to learn and to train on the pottery work and then produce to sell their work.

Beside the family workshops there is the kids area it is an Introductory area to pottery for the children, it is more colorful than any area, it is like a playroom for the kids to grab them to use pottery in a primitive way so they use hand building method so they love it and feel the material and have fun with their friends so they can move on to the next step to really work with their family Figure 81 - Kids area

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on a production scale on different level There is also stands and shelves on the spine (1) on both sides where they can put their work even before completing it, this will create a competitive environment, it will also attract the out comers to see the process and maybe will join the center.

-The public zone is for to the public where they will buy their products it is a market where the qualified products will be exhibited and they will do events to exhibit their work. Also the family will work in this stage, they will sell their products and will get the money from. There is some meeting area beside the

Figure 82 - Kids area

market where the public can meet with the individuals and also interact together.

Figure 83 – Display of products

Figure 84 - Studio

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D.

CRITICAL EDUCATION INSTITUTION 1.

Introduction

Egypt public education system funded by the government is facing a great decline due to the lack of funding and the rigid, old traditional teaching structure.

Due to poverty, a great percentage of low income family children drop out of school seeking for a job at a very young age in order to assist parents in financing the family. Sometimes the children are the only financial source of the whole family members. Boys work as assistant in any vocational specialization and girls work at households. This leads to a high illiteracy percentage among the low-income class.

The education system lacks innovation and creativity that could attract children and successfully prepare them for integration in the professional real world. This is due to the traditional bureaucratic structures and the rigid curriculum (El Gablawi).

The education lacks the adequate resources due to the population growth and lack of funding which leads to limited access and lack of qualified teachers; these factors negatively influences the education level and does not attract children to join the traditional schooling system.

2.

The stage the street children have reached:

Based on the previously discussed interventions, the child goes through the following process.

1) RECEPTION POINT: At the reception point intervention the child is attracted to the system. The child’s trust to the system is raised.

2) EXPRESSIVE ART CENTER: At the expressive art center confidence and awareness is raised through the interactive and experimental experience.

3) CREATIVE SKILL WORK SHOP: At the creative skill work shop vocational training is given to children and parents. A certain level of commitment is required in order to the child and parent to commit to the program.

CRITICAL EDUCATION: COMMITMENT II

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 This leads to the next intervention which is the critical education intervention which requires a higher level of commitment.

At that stage it is valid to assume that the child has developed awareness for seeking education with a will and ambition! He/she has reached a relatively deep level of commitment and involvement. He has gained trust and feeling of safety to the system.

3.

Problem Definition:

There are several factors affecting the child’s educational life. Some of which are the psychological pressure coming from home/street, social disorders, Financial problems and failure of the education system. These factors lead to the child’s drop out of school.

This results to a high Illiteracy rate and unqualified skilled children which leads to the child’s limited job opportunities that result to poverty.

4.

Target users:

The target user of the critical education system is the drop out of school children.

5.

•

Project aim:

This educational facility is designed for the children who dropped out of school and no longer have the chance to reintegrate in the traditional schooling system.

•

A creative education system is introduced to channel those children back into the same system that alienated them.

•

Critical education enables dropped out students to successfully integrate in higher education.

•

It is their only potential successful way out to the outside world.

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6.

•

Relation to thesis statement:

The critical education facility aims to empower street children by extracting all their potentials and capabilities in order to be able to excel as independent individual in society: “Empowering street children to reveal their utmost potentials as

independent contributors to society”.

•

This education facility introduces critical education that greatly prepares a high skilled child on an intellectual, academic, and psychological level.

7.

•

Education status in Ezbet Abu Qarn:

The statistics show that the highest certificate that is obtained is the primary level which is achieved after the age of ten.

•

Only about 20% of the children in the area reach the medium certificate. This means that only chance to go to higher education.

 The intervention aims to increase the percentage of children who could have the chance to obtain higher level education.

Figure 85 The educational accomplishment of the child labourers

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8.

Context of project

Critical education intervention Figure 86 location of the critical education intervention

•

The critical education intervention is located around the center node in order to expose the children to the center and interact with the surrounding.

•

The project is directly located next to the creative skill workshop as children could enjoy both facilities. Additionally, the creative skill workshop offers vocational trainings for the parents; therefore both parents and children could go to the same destination; the child enters the critical education facility, while the parents go to the vocational skill workshop

•

The project is located close to the reception intervention in order to benefit from the sports facilities and attract other street children.

•

The intervention is located walking distance close to the children’s’ home, Ezbet Abu Qarn.

•

The project is overlooking the cemetery area which is an advantage as a quiet area is needed to create a positive education environment.

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9. •

Location of intervention

This system is found at the FORMAL INTERVENTION LEVEL.

Figure 87 general intervention scheme

10.

Methodology

The critical education system aims to substitute the traditional education system that fails to attract the children with a new creative education system that addresses the child’s characteristics and needs.

Traditional education System: The traditional education system fails to attract and accommodate the children, because of several reasons: o Mismatched curriculum o The Curriculum is out of context. There is no real world application of knowledge and the child cannot relate the content to his own o A large number of children do not have access to education facility.

Characteristics of street child: The characteristics of street children must be carefully studied as they cannot be treated like normal children because of the negative impact of living in the street.

When going back to the understanding of street children development study, barriers and resources at each stage were identified. The resources and barriers of each phase are

107

examined and the resources of each phase are integrated in the creative education system while the barriers are treated positively.

The children are independent; they take their own decisions and enjoy complete freedom without having any boundaries. They are “street smart”, they have their own community where they all support and help out each other. Street children are insecure; they have no trust and constantly have a fear of being trapped.

Critical education system: The critical education facility will be designed to accommodate the characteristics of street children as follows: o Freedom of choice: a casual education system is designed where the student has the freedom to choose. o Control over process: the student has control over his/her educational process o The creative education system welcomes all academic standards and age. o Self-expression: : the student has the opportunity to express themselves, develop their own work following their own preferences o Relevant curriculum to the children’s own life: The system established a relevant curriculum to the children’s own life. o Real life application: The students have the chance to practice on real life case studies.

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11.

Approach:

Critical education: Develops a critical mind Gives the student the tools to use skepticism and doubt constructively to understand, analyze a situation to come up with informed, in-depth decisions and develop (Gokhale).

Project based learning: Instructional method that provides students with complex tasks based on challenging questions or problems that involve the students' problem solving, decision making, investigative skills, and reflection that includes teacher guidance.

In project-based learning, students tackle a local problem. Some schools call this problem-based learning or place-based learning. According to Chard (1998), planning project-based curriculum involves three steps: 1. Teachers and students select a topic of study based on student interests, curriculum standards, and local resources.

2. The teacher finds out what the students already know and helps them generate questions to explore. The teacher also provides resources for students and opportunities to work in the field.

3. Students share their work with others in a culminating activity. Students display the results of their exploration and review and evaluate the project.  The following is an example of how projects based learning is applied in schools. This is an example of a project 

Example: soap making company



Question: find most friendly way to produce it in the future.



Given: budget + few requirements



Process of problem solving: Students are divided into teams; where they all gather to brainstorm, ask questions research options, develop materials summarizing issues by using various median such as library sources, computers,.. etc. afterwards the outcome of the project is presented to other peers, parents and professional where they exchange their ideas, get feedback and enhance their work. During this process the child learns collaboration, active engagement

109

in work and peer support. It also raises the child’s curiosity by asking questions and looking for sources to answer this question. The child develops critical thinking and problem solving. Through the thorough study of various study fields the child gets the chance to explore himself/ herself and developing interests and inspirations for their career.

Additional methodologies that will be applied: ďƒ˜ Montessori school of thought: It is an educational approach created by Maria Montessori and currently practiced in 20,000 schools worldwide. It receives a child age from birth age till 18 years old (Montessori).

Its theory is to increase the child’s internal satisfaction towards education by increasing his/her curiosity and interest to learn. Learning becomes a joyous experience that the child seeks for and is sustainable over a lifetime.

The goal of Montessori education is to prepare students who are confident, enthusiastic, selfdirected learner. They should have ability to think critically, work collaboratively, and act boldly (Montessori).

110

This is achieved through the interplay of three factors: Psychology, education and architecture:

Figure 88 montessori school of thought

Psychology:

Figure 89 montessori school of thought-Psychology

The education system aims to celebrate and nurture each child’s inherent desire to learn by: -

Enriching the value of individual

-

Enriching “self-regulation” and independence

-

Creating a supportive community

-

Allowing freedom of choice

-

An atmosphere is created in Montessori classroom s that is warm, well-organized, calm, casual, inviting and homey.

Architecture:

Figure 90 Montessori school of thought-Architecture

-

The Montessori classroom design aims to accommodate the children’s choice and needs.

111

-

Spacious areas are designed for group activities, alone, resting, peace and reflection, books (reading).

-

Accessible shelves are designed where learning materials are displayed

-

Flexible, movable furniture are used to create casual and flexible environment.

-

Walls are designed for children to exhibit their work.

Education :

Figure 91 Montessori School of thought-Education

The Montessori education system aims to prepare students to become active seekers of knowledge through a supervised self-teaching approach!

Montessori Learning Materials are exhibited where students could freely choose from.

- The Teacher is a “Guide” rather than an instructor.

Students are Multi-Aged grouped where the older act as a role model and assist each other.  Learning landscape approach:

Figure 92 innovative playground

Figure 93 innovative playground

"Once the playground was open, there was a sense of calmness in the children when they entered the building that did not exist before." - Principal, CRS Report 2003 The main objectives is to reconnect communities with their public schools, a learning landscape playground is created with a park providing innovative avenues for participatory learning; it

112

increases recreational opportunities, and provides green spaces in heavily urbanized neighborhoods. The learning landscape creates a site for learning and discovery that is entertaining. Outdoor spaces are specially designed as entertainment facility but yet carrying an educational element in it (learning landscapes).

It is composed of grass playing fields, age-appropriate play equipment, trees, shade structures, gateways, artwork, gardens, traditional play elements and non-traditional, specially designed, play elements (learning landscapes). Learning Landscapes also aims to serve as local public parks that offer green space and social gathering places. It fosters the sense of a local community.

Figure 94 outdoor painting wall

Figure 95 outdoor concrete table

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12. 

Factors Influencing space design

Students: grouped together according to academic level and not age: designing an education space for wider range of age group



It is a casual education system; there is no class-room design!

Figure 96 open spaces

The whole project is an exhibition. Also professionals in field are invited to evaluate the project outcomes, give their opinion. 

Dynamic, movable partitions

Figure 97 dynamic partitions

114

Ceilings could be used for exhibitions:

Figure 98 ceiling used as a partition

Corridors are also used for exhibition:

Figure 99 corridors used as exhibition partition

Exhibition partition units in pathways:

Figure 100 exhibition units

115



Students choose a project from real world of his/her interest to work on corresponding to his/her academic level: spaces are required that allow practical tasks to take place.

Figure 101 model work



Case studies (for projects): various educational fields derived from their context: outdoor and outdoor spaces are used.



Materials, tools and equipment (technological) with all needed instructions are provided: integrated spaces for storage



Lectures and trainings from experts are provided.



Indoor and outdoor spaces: working, relaxing and socializing

Figure 102 integrated outdoor spaces for education



Entire project serves as a “learning classroom”:

Figure 103 landscape integration in education

116

Creative, inviting & attractive spaces for children for innovation and learning:

Figure 104 creative exhibition of work in schools

117

13.

Case study:

MIT design studio (I)

Design studio Virginia Tech University (II)

Figure 105 MIT design studio

Figure 106 Virginia Tech design studio

Unconventional class room design that is designed as following: -

Large studio hall: they are interactive and casual. All students could see each other

-

Studio is living place for long working hours

-

Each Student has his/her own study place and there are other seating areas for groups.

-

Exhibition partitions: wall partitions are designed where students could exhibit their work and exchange knowledge among students

118

Peaceful Pathways Montessori School, Illinois (III)

Figure 107 classroom layout

Figure 108 classroom design

Unconventional classroom layout: -

There are no rigid rows of tables that are directed toward a teacher and a board.

-

Spacious areas are designed for group activity, alone, resting, peace and reflection, books (reading)

-

Accessible shelves are designed to display Learning materials

-

Flexible furniture are used

-

Walls are designed for children’s work display

High Tech High School, Lincroft, NJ The project is designed to accommodate 240 students with an area of 30,000 square foot building. According to the High Tech High School official website, the building accommodates the following spaces: •

nine general- purpose classrooms,

•

two multi- discipline science laboratories,

•

Four state-of-the-art computer laboratories and

•

a multi-purpose room to function as a classroom

•

Full complement of general administrative and faculty support spaces.

•

college’s health and fitness facilities

•

library with technological facilities,

•

a cafeteria with snack bar for food service,

•

auditorium seating up to 250 occupants general assembly hall

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Architectural features: Curtains as separators

openness of spaces

Figure 109 High Tech High School- working place

empty working space

Figure 110 High Tech High School- hall

Practical working spaces: There are large spaces hosting the students’ practical project execution. It is composed of tables and storage places for material and equipment.

Figure 111 High Tech High School- working studio

Figure 112 High Tech High School- working studio

Simple interactive places: children are sitting on the floor playing cards. It is a very casual atmosphere where children act based on their comfort and preference.

Figure 113 High Tech High School- corridor

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

High ceilings, minimal structure and uncovered structure: the use of high ceilings makes the space appear more inviting, bright and relaxing. There are no structural boundaries, but the space is rather large and open. The use of uncovered structure gives a feeling of transparency and a feeling of the space. It makes the building looks real.

Figure 114 High Tech High School- large hall

Spaces for group work

Figure 115 High Tech High School- classroom

private spaces: still interactive because of the use of glass

Figure 116 High Tech High School working space

Exhibition of work takes place at corridors, visible to people walking by, people could easily see other peoples work and learn from it. The work exhibition does not take place in a separate room but it is rather in corridors where everyone passes by. This gives a vivid feeling to the space.

Space z

Figure 117 High Tech High Schoolexhibition wall

121

14.

Zoning

•

The project requires certain spaces for different number of users, size, privacy, setting.

•

The variety of spaces are according to the level of interaction: High interaction space, medium interaction space, small interaction space

•

The spaces should interplay and overlap. Openness and transparency is required.

There are no boundaries around the different zones.

Figure 118 space zoning

122

15.

Activities and architectural program

Based on Neufert standards areas are obtained to accommodate a certain number of users.

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E.

MEDICAL UNIT & DRUG ADDICTION TREATMENT CENTER

1. Project Scope Drug Addiction is one of the major jeopardizing phenomena in the poor’s routine life.

Statistics shows that 8.5 Percent % in Egypt are drug addicts. Their age range are between 15-25 which is a young age range. The popular substance that is highly bought is bango mainly since it’s the cheapest and thus more spread and preferred by the poor. Most importantly, among this 8.5% of drug addicts, 439,000 children are regular drug users in Egypt, which is a threatening number and shows the gravity of the case.

Addicts choose to spend their money buying these harmful substances instead of buying their basic needs, such as food, medicine, water and the like. As a matter of fact, they consume a large amount of their income/money on such addictive substances and destroy their health and their lives.

As stated in Exist Counseling Web page, ““Addiction is a disease that affects the whole family. People who live in homes with addicts live in chaos; their environment has been out of control for a long time. When a loved one is in trouble people ignore their feelings, deny their own needs, keep secrets, and focus entirely on others around them. They feel a sense of powerlessness and shame, and they strive to fix the problem by controlling the addicted person, which ultimately fails as they themselves gradually lose their own life.” This is really the case in all the drug addicts home, which shows that even if the family knows about the addict, they fail to treat him.

The characteristics of Drug Addiction are many. As stated in Exist Counseling, among these characteristics of the disease are: 

Pre-occupation with the substance



A compulsive need for it



And increase in tolerance



Withdrawal symptoms



Loss of control

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

Anger



Anxiety



Depression



Trauma Hence, drug addiction is obviously a repulsive action, reaction or an effect of the

disturbed life these incapable, unemployed and ignorant people are experiencing. As a matter of fact the consequences of the addiction behaviors are far beyond the expectations, which is why they have to be discussed in order to raise the awareness regarding this issue that is neglected in certain parts of our society.

How the program operates differently from typical drug addiction centers? 

The facility would employ nonprofessional, recovering staff rather than professional therapists – so workers and patients would have a special recovery and developed program. Thus, experienced recovered patents become role models who guide instead of direct patients.



It would encourage open admissions. Thus keeping the facility flexible, less formal and open to all.



It would stress on “experiential” knowledge and spirituality versus diagnostic procedures and professionally prescribed treatment plans.

2.

Factors Affecting Homeless Engagement to the Facility:

According to Zerger, the factors affecting the homeless engagement to such kinds of facilities are: Disaffiliation, Distrust, Mobility and Multiplicity of needs. 

Disaffiliation: Zerger states “a relative lack of those personal supports (social support) that enable most people to sustain themselves in society”. She suggests that the reason behind their refusal for such facilities is that the lack of social support from family or friends thus are not advised to receive medication.

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

Distrust: Distrust is basically due to previous experiences for the patients. It is always related to domestic violence that they suffer from greatly. Thus the patients would expect to receive the same kind of treatment in facility.



Mobility: Homeless children are believed to be moving from one place to another thus there definite place is at times hard to predict. However, they have some common places at which they gather and thus the facility would be best situated at such areas.



Multiplicity of Needs: According to Zerger, “Homeless individuals frequently possess complex needs for treatment programs to address, including a myriad of psychiatric concerns, social service needs such as access to benefits, jobs, and housing, and physical health problems.” Thus they not only need to be detoxified, but they also need to be psychologically, socially, and health treated to be able to get cured completely and receive a comprehensive medication. This could be accomplished with the help of the other facilities provided also by the project, like for example, the vocational center, domestication and psychological/theater facility.

3.

Types of Treatments:

Inpatient & Outpatient In drug addiction treatments, there are basically two kinds of treatments, Outpatient, which includes shallow treatments, day/partial treatments and inpatients treatments which include advanced/long term residential treatments. Each varies according to the condition or the state of the patients. The more severe it is, the more care they would be willing to receive.

Focus on “Out Patient” Day Treatment: This project focuses on the Out Patients, day treatment. Day treatments deal with the patients daily, providing special programs for a successful recovery where at the end of the day they can get back to their homes or area. The day treatment is basically divided into two, “Usual

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Care” and “Enhanced Care” that are then followed by 2, 6 or 12 months assistance. According to Zerger, “it illustrates an attempt to incorporate substance abuse treatment with housing and work needs, and because it raises relevant research question.

The “usual care” intervention – clients are seen 2 times/week for individual and group counseling by trained substance abuse counselors who also function as case managers. The “multi-faceted enhanced treatment program” is based on two phases: day-treatment, and work and housing components.

Throughout the first stage (2-months period), participants are involved in active programming throughout the day every day and reside in shelters or other temporary living arrangements. This 2-month phase includes: therapeutic community meetings; psych educational groups (e.g. relapse prevention, assertiveness training, AIDS awareness, relaxation therapy, 12-step, and vocational training); individualized contract development; individual treatment planning and counseling; and process group therapy.

Upon finishing/ receiving the 2 month treatment and the consequent two week “drug free” test results, the patients are encouraged to participate in advanced vocational skill development and paid works. Upon completion of this stage also, they would be encouraged to attend weekly “after care groups” which prevents them from relapse and the difficult period after receiving the treatments.

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Level at which project is intervening

Treating drug addiction, being a medical treatment, would be best suited if located near the addicts’ homes/neighborhoods, to facilitate their accessibility and to treat the disease at its route areas.

Also, it should be available next to their streets where the children gather since we have Higher Risks of having drug addicts in such harsh environments and there are fewer opportunities for health care facilities.

Cairo is known to be a city that is full of slums and squatter settlements that are in terrible conditions and unhealthy environment. As a matter of fact, their health condition is deteriorated and most importantly, the availability of medical centers or treatment centers Figure 119 : Intervention Level Diagram

that are affordable and accessible is scarce and even

unavailable at many areas and districts. As a result, these underprivileged children and people must be provided with such medical facilities and units that raise their awareness and help cure them from their diseases.

Most importantly, drug addiction centers must be located at such areas that have the greatest percentage of drug addicts and drug consumers. Choosing to treat drug addiction, this specific facility must be intervening in the home stage/neighborhood, where the people are being offered the facility of being aware to the case and getting free/affordable services to be cured.

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4.

Project type

“Health Aid Units & Drug Addiction Awareness Treatments�

It tackles the problem of drug addiction from its rout causes. Thus this project would be a Drug Addiction Treatment Center. This center would be attached to the medical center that is located in the main layout of the site chosen in the Fustat area next to Ezbet Abu Qarn slum. It would be specifically targeting the drug addicts to get their treatment in their own areas, instead of being totally isolated from their neighborhoods and families to get a treatment that might or might not be successful.

5.

Objectives and aims

The objectives of this project are mainly two, to raise awareness about the jeopardizing phenomena of drug addiction and to treat drug addiction in its route areas. The challenge is in having drug addicts living in the same unhealthy environment and harsh surrounding but willing to get cured and receive medication in the center provided. This challenge must be succeeded since the majority of the drug addicts relapse upon receiving the treatments when they return to their homes; hence, the aim of this project is to come to the patient in his/her town and offer them the medication.

Figure 120 : Objectives and aims.

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6.

Barriers tackled

Drug Addiction treatments are basically tackling several barriers that were found limiting the children’s abilities of success and of having a good life. Such barriers are like health barriers, economic, psychological barriers and social barriers. 

Health Barrier: The health state of the addicts would be definitely improved by stopping their habit of

addiction. As stated in the National Abuse of drug addiction, the consequences of the drug addiction are tremendous diseases and illnesses, among which are: “HIV, Hepatitis and Other Infectious Diseases, Cardiovascular Effects, Respiratory Effects, Gastrointestinal Effects, Musculoskeletal Effects, Kidney Damage, Liver Damage, Neurological Effects, Mental Health Effects, Hormonal Effects, Cancer and Prenatal Effects.” Thus, by treating drug addiction, these incapable people would be saved from experiencing and getting such serious diseases that would further destroy their health and might lead to their death at early ages even. 

Economic Barrier: The economic barrier would be obviously tackled by treating this habit. Drug addiction

is known to consume a huge budget of the addict’s money. Especially when it comes to the poor, it turns out that their spending are all directed to buying the substances that they forget about their family needs and their own needs. Thus by treating addicts from addiction they would save that huge amount of money they used to spend on buying the substances and instead spend it in useful products and their daily needs. 

Social Barrier: By treating addicts, their social life would be definitely improved; their relation between

their family members and their friends would be ameliorated, creating a clean start for the patient and a better image towards his family and friends. Thus his connections would get back to normal.

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

Psychological Barrier: Curing a drug addict would tremendously improve his well-being and his psychological

state. He/she would get back to their normal life, feeling that they are positive contributors to society instead of being negative ones. Their image for life and for themselves would be reshaped, believing that there is still a chance for them to engage fully in life and positively their society. Moreover, curing them would help them: -Be Self-determinant -Engage more fully with life -Tolerate uncertainty -Learn to get comfortable in chaos -Take a stance and shape their lives and future

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7.

Case studies

Several Case Studies were studied concerning Drug Addiction and health architecture.

Case Study 1: Sister Margaret Smith Addictions Treatment Centre Architects: Kuch Stephenson Gibson Malo Architects and Engineer + Montgomery Sisam Architects Country: Canada According to Archdaily.com, “The Sister Margaret Smith Addictions Treatment Centre provides residential and non-residential services for the treatment of addictions including drug and alcohol, gambling and eating disorders, among others.”

Inspired by “compassionate and holistic care, dignity and respect, faith based care, inclusiveness, truthfulness and trust” the building is designed to have organized spaces that are clear and related to their exterior and the landscape. Natural light was also given great attention in such project to provide

Figure 121: Group Halls

a natural setting and healthy atmosphere for the patients.

Figure 122 : Young/contemporary Design of building.

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Case Study 2: Exist Counseling, Egypt This is a drug addiction center that is opened in Cairo. It serves the middle/upper class in Cairo, where basic therapy rooms and psychiatric rooms are offered with appointments and doctors supervisions. The useful idea about this project is its program components and the way it deals with drug addiction, thus their program is composed of: 

Psychological Assessments



Addiction – including alcohol, drugs, sex, and food



one-on-one sessions as well as group therapy



Compulsive Recovery Groups: prepares clients for treatment, to understand addiction, breakthrough denial, limit damage and prepare to establish recovery



Educational workshops for families



Life issues – including anxiety, depression, loss and trauma



Relationship issues – including communication, intimacy, divorce and separation



Family issues

Hence, the program is comprehensive. It deals with the problem from all its various angels, showing the different aspects that must be dealt with in order to overcome/treat addiction.

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Case Study 3: Mood Wall Architects: Studio Klink and Urban Alliance City: Amsterdam This is a project that takes place in Amsterdam. Amsterdam, being known as the city with the highest percentage of drug addicts, is believed to have threatening streets and uncomfortable ones that its citizens feel insecure by walking in them. So as an attempt to prevent such a feeling and further improve the moods in the streets this project was

Figure 123 : Mood Wall picture 1

designed with a series of colorful lights that work on the LED systems to be more sustainable. These colorful lights are believed to create a pleasant atmosphere for the passer by. This project shows that in an insecure area, still simple architecture can create a different setting and environment to the users. Thus this idea should be considered when

Figure 124 : Mood Wall picture 3

designing for addicts in their harsh environments.

Figure 125 : Mood Wall Picture 2

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Case Study 4: Maggie Gartnaval

By OMA Architects Maggie Gartnaval is a charity project dedicated to Cancer patients. Being a case sensitive project as it is dedicated to special kind of patients, the architecture of the place was given great attention so as to design the perfect atmosphere for such patients. The architecture depended on providing the patients with a transparent design, where the

Figure 126 : Maggie Gartnaval Center Exterior.

use of curtain walls and light materials was all over the place. Also a fresh enviroment was enabled using plantations, courts and atriums that included plantation and green architecture. Also a natural effect was provided using natural materials like wood that gives a warm, cosy and comfartable feelings to the users. Moreover, he use of natural

ventillation

and

natura

ight

Figure 127 : Maggie Gartnaval Center Exterior View 2

excessively is a must, to provide an honest, fresh and comfy enviroment.

Figure 128 : Maggie Gartnaval Plan Design Figure 129 : Transparency in Design

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Figure 130 : Atriums and natural materials usage

8.

Project Relativity to Site

Health Conditions of Surrounding Slum Settlements:

Figure 131 : Map of Fustat Area.



High Percentage of illnesses (ex: Blood, Kidney,..)



Scarce Medical Facilities



Advanced facilities are far away and expensive, thus leads to financial deficiencies.



Poor Hygiene Conditions.



Unhealthy Environment and pollution.



Lack of proper Infrastructure.



However, in Abo el Soud Area, a medical unit is located there that serves as the area’s main hospital. Unfortunately, upon interviewing the inhabitants of Ezbet Abo Qarn area and the other surrounding settlements have mentioned that the only available medical facility is located in Abou el Soud area; however, it lacks advanced treatments and not everyone can manage to get medical assistance or pay for the medication. They even said, “who has money, gets medications, but who has not, do not get any, like us.”

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9.

Plot Relation to Site

Figure 132 : Plot Location on Site

Plot 5 The location of the project is located next to the reception point and the expressive arts center.

Its is ideal to be located next to the reception/domestication area, where patients may seek this kind of facility directly. It is also near by the neighboring slum district of Ezbet Abu Qarn so as to facilitate the easy access to the facility. The plot is located facing the main spine, at which the visitors would come to facility seeking the medical clinics, pharmacy and first aid units. While from the back, the plot is overlooking the garden, which enhances the view at the back, thus locating the recovery rooms at the back would be best.

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10.

Program Concept

Methodology of Proposed Treatment Facility

Figure 133: Concept generation diagram

Drug Addiction treatments are hard to target among addicts. Their ability to seek such treatments is weak and thus the methodology of offering the system is only way for its successfulness.

Level 1 “Excuse” The concept of this project is to offer medical clinics for the inhabitants of the surrounding areas to get regular check ups and basic medications. This is reflected in the clinics zone that is located directly on the street. Next to the clinics, first aid units and a pharmacy will be located, again near the street and easily accessed since they are visited the most and the inhabitants would seek these services frequently. This public level is thus called the “Excuse” level. The reason behind its name is that this level is located as an attraction point, so that people who get medications could then get aware of the drug addiction treatments we offer in the center. In

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addition, while checking up on patients, if a drug addict was noticed, he would be advised of the available facility and get convinced to join the treatment.

Level 2 “Awareness” Upon receiving the medication and regular check ups, patients would pass by the mediation and recognition area where awareness classes and group therapies are held to get people aware of the gravity of the case and get them informed with the facilities offered in the center.

Level 3 “Devotion” When patients et informed about the facilities offered and get aware of the problems of drug addiction and its consequences on their life, the would be devoted to the facility and thus seek treatment. At this level, extensive medication for drug addiction is then offered. This kind of medication unlike the medical clinics that are available at the first zone, takes place in the form of therapeutic medication, where group, individual and one to one therapies are held in special therapy rooms, designed specifically for drug addiction treatments.

Level 4 “Commitment” At this level, day beds are offered, in order to provide needy patients with the proper advanced medication. Some may need more than just therapeutic medication and thus would seek day beds where they would spend their day in recovery rooms, getting treatments and then return back to their homes by the end of the day. This way they would not get completely isolated from their families and get intensive medication in recovery rooms.

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11.

Activities and programs



Awareness Classes



Therapies: o Psychiatric o Systemic o Integrative o Existential o One-to-one o Group o Cognitive behavior o Interactive Classes



Vocational Activities



Entertainment Activities



First Aid assistance



Nutritional Program



Daily Workouts

The architectural program _Group Halls _Reception Spaces _Medical Clinic _Therapy Rooms _Spacious Rooms to occupy temporary beds for more severe conditions _Common Lounges for interaction and food supply _Vocational Trainings (arts, crafts) to indulge the children in creative ways of avoiding the bad trait of addiction. _Basic Workout Halls

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Space requirements 

Well equipped



Inviting



Warm



Comfortable



Clean/Fresh



Indoors and Outdoors



Spacious



Encourages group meetings



Encourages one to one meetings.

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Architecture Design Criteria: 

Clean



Fresh



Spacious



Natural



Comfortable



Inviting

Figure 134 : Fresh Architecture

Figure 135 : Inviting Architecture

Figure 137 : Natural, Fresh architecture.

Figure 136 : Spacious, fresh, clean architecture.

Figure 138 :Fresh, spacious and clean architecture.

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Relationship between Activities, Spaces and Design Criteria:

Figure 139 :Relation between activity program, architecture and design criteria.

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12.

Level

Level 1

Space Program and Area Requirements

Activity

Facilities Normal Care

Level 2

Level 3

Mediation & Recognition Special Care

Functional Space

Required Areas for Space Pharmacy 20 m2 First Aid Units 19-25 m2 Reception 140-160m2 Area Clinics 80-100m2 Group Halls 19-22 m2 Reception Space One to One

(Therapy Areas)

Level 4

Group Therapies Psychiatric Systematic Integrative Existential Recovery Area Bed Rooms

Total

20 m2 25 m2 160 m2 3x80=240 m2 2x22=44m2

140-160 m2

140 m2

10-15 m2

15x2 =30m2

30-40m2

30m2

30-40m2 30-40m2 30-40m2 30-40m2 25-30 m2/Recovery Bed

30m2 30m2 30m2 30m2 30x30bed=600m2

Figure 140 :Space Program and Area Requirements.

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Total Area

1379 m2

F.

CHILD / FAMILY ENGAGEMENT CENTRE

Create ARCHITECTURE that encourages FAMILY BONDING as a means to Reduce VIOLENCE created in the children and therefore the chances of them escaping to the STREET

1. Introduction Street children are not given the attention needed and are regarded as insignificant defects of society. They are ignored and left to live their lives on the street with no support whatsoever.

The negative impact of these children on society is Crucial; they are not only a threatening and an unhealthy sector, but rather, a waste of many creative potentials society could benefit from.

To save these children, the reason to what make them leave to the street must be determined.

First, it was found that the children are extremely violent and mistrusting to anyone. The reason behind this violence originated from the violent treatment were exposed to during their life, either at home or work. Hence, leaving the child’s only other option to escape to the street, an unhealthier environment where the child is exposed to even more and more violence, turning him himself into a violent child.

It was therefore most rational to go one step back and determine the specific reasons that would make the child leave his house in the first place. There are two sets of reasons to why children escape to the street. First, are the DIRECT reasons, these do not necessarily have to do with the social status of the family or the level of education, they are simply children that have taken the decision based on various factors affecting their life and have therefore chosen to escape to the street. There are also ECONOMIC and SOCIAL reasons which have been in our society for so long without a solution producing so much poverty and ignorance that it has effortlessly sourced a rising population of street children to grow.

DIRECT Reasons for being on the street 

Child abuse (family/work)



Family neglect



Peer pressure

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

Child seeking own desires



Other Siblings on the street

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL REASONS (long term planning policies to be approached for these) •

Low income and educational family level

•

Family break down

•

Dropping out of education

•

Large families

•

Unplanned rural –urban family migration

•

Declining role of the extended family

After closely analyzing these reasons carefully it was very obvious to where the real problem of street children was, and that was with the family. For that, the project proposed is intervening in a stage as early as possible to save the children from being titled as street children in the first place. Therefore the program aims to intervene at the family level.

“Any intervention that aims to impact the attitudes, beliefs and behaviors of youth are limited if family members are not involved” (ikeda et al. 2001) Alongside the family, interventions must also be injected in the schools and community in order for the program to reach its maximum potential as these two settings are of immense importance to the child’s development and hence the person he will be in the future.

However in Egypt we still have major defects in the education system and a corrupt community and so the hope is to intervene greatly in the family sector to balance out these systems that wont have a significant effect as they themselves have a long path before they can be used as liable bases of interventions.

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2.

Project Cycle & AIM

The projects aim is to intervene at home by solving the problem of family breakdown and therefore reducing the production of potential street children. Concurrently the project will carry out ways of intervention to help with children that have already been lead to the street and become violent. Therefore interventions will be carried out making these children gain back the trust of society and be optimistic to a better life. For that, the project will harvest these two sources of children guiding them back to the road of independence. This has to involve giving the children the appropriate skills and knowledge to integrate them back to society and be fit for future stages in life such as marriage and employment and therefore stop the cycle of street children going on.

Increase family bonding as a means to: 

Stop the children from escaping to the streets



Reduce violence in the children

In addition to provide the child with: 

Acquired skills for employment



Increase responsible decision-making



Enhance self-esteem



Provide the child with a second home



Give the child a sense of commitment

A FORCED life (parent rejection/ divorce/ NEGLECT) is without doubt the major source of the problem of street children. The child needs to feel he is important in that he can determine his own future and make decisions as If the child is not going to feel that way at home then he will escape to the street to get that satisfaction.

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3.

Area of intervention

In order to find a solution to save potential street children and decrease their numbers off the streets, the SOURCE and EFFECT of the problem must be tackled. Its source, by intervening at the FAMILY level, which has been concluded earlier as the starting point to the decline of the child’s attitude and positive commitment to life. Alongside the source, the project should also intervene with the effect this problem causes and this is the VIOLENCE that is injected in the children day after day in this unhealthy, unfair life they are forced to live.

For that it can be concluded that two types of intervention strategies must be approached these are: 1.Family Based Innervations that enhance family bonding, family life and commitment.

2.Violence Based Interventions that consume of violence prevention programs.

The following section goes on to explain these two strategies in more detail and the sort of intervention that are to take place to solve the issue.

1. Family based Interventions Research and studies have shown that intervening within the family and solving their problems could mean the upbringing of a whole positive and bright generation. Therefore the problems of the household that influence the child to escape to the street had to be studied in order to determine the source of the problem: 

Insufficient monitoring



Improper punishment



Poor communication



Low attachment / attention



Rejection



Neglect



Indifference



Stressful events



Frequent moves

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

Unfair treatment to mom (if mom is not defending herself they get mad at her too)

Intervening at the family level for the child (as shown in the figure above) can start as early as pregnancy in a mother’s life. Pre-natal interventions are usually targeted at parents and families of high risk whom are in a context with a higher likelihood of their child being a victim of violent behavior. These are obviously areas that are located within slums or informal housing, being the case of most street children; prenatal interventions are of immense importance for a positive magnitude of effect to take place in the societies norms.

2. Violence Based interventions Not all children are available for saving at this early stage and this is why the project must also be available for phases later on in a child’s life, children that have already been left on the street. This is why the project should also offer violence based intervention strategies for the children that have already been exposed to the initial cause of street children which is family breakdown and hardship and therefore violence.

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4.

Case Studies

Adopted from the website of the University of Colorado on interventions that have a noticeable positive impact in addressing violence prevention in children. Stated below is the overview of these programs as recorded on their website.

1. BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF AMERICA (BBBSA) Program Targets: BBBSA typically targets youth (aged 6 to 18) from single parent homes.

Program Content: Service delivery is by volunteers who interact regularly with a youth in a one-to-one relationship. Agencies use a case management approach, following through on each case from initial inquiry through closure. The case manager screens applicants, makes and supervises the matches, and closes the matches when eligibility requirements are no longer met or either party decides they can no longer participate fully in the relationship.

BBBSA distinguishes itself from other mentoring programs via rigorous published standards and required procedures: 

Orientation is required for all volunteers.



Volunteer Screening includes a written application, a background check, an extensive interview, and a home assessment; it is designed to screen out those who may inflict psychological or physical harm, lack the capacity to form a caring bond with the child, or are unlikely to honor their time commitments.



YouthAssessment involves a written application, interviews with the child and the parent, and a home assessment; it is designed to help the caseworker learn about the child in order to make the best possible match, and also to secure parental permission.



Matches are carefully considered and based upon the needs of the youth, abilities of volunteers, preferences of the parent, and the capacity of program staff.



Supervisionis accomplished via an initial contact with the parent, youth, and volunteer within two weeks of the match; monthly telephone contact with the volunteer, parent and/or youth during the first year; and quarterly contact with all parties during the duration of the match.

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Program Outcomes: An evaluation of the BBBSA program has been conducted to assess children who participated in BBBSA compared to their non-participating peers. After an eighteen month period, BBBSA youth: 

were 46% less likely than control youth to initiate drug use during the study period.



were 27% less likely to initiate alcohol use than control youth.



were almost one-third less likely than control youth to hit someone.



were better than control youth in academic behavior, attitudes, and performance.



were more likely to have higher quality relationships with their parents or guardians than control youth.



were more likely to have higher quality relationships with their peers at the end of the study period than did control youth.

2. PROMOTING ALTERNATIVE THINKING STRATEGIES (PATHS) Program Summary The PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies) Curriculum is a comprehensive program for promoting emotional and social competencies and reducing aggression and behavior problems in elementary school-aged children while simultaneously enhancing the educational process in the classroom. This innovative curriculum is designed to be used by educators and counselors in a multi-year, universal prevention model. Although primarily focused on the school and classroom settings, information and activities are also included for use with parents.

Program Targets: The PATHS Curriculum was developed for use in the classroom setting with all elementary school aged-children. PATHS has been field-tested and researched with children in regular education classroom settings, as well as with a variety of special needs students (deaf, hearingimpaired, learning disabled, emotionally disturbed, mildly mentally delayed, and gifted). Ideally it should be initiated at the entrance to schooling and continue through Grade 5.

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Program Content: The PATHS Curriculum, taught three times per week for a minimum of 20-30 minutes per day, provides teachers with systematic, developmentally-based lessons, materials, and instructions for teaching their students emotional literacy, self-control, social competence, positive peer relations, and interpersonal problem-solving skills. A key objective of promoting these developmental skills is to prevent or reduce behavioral and emotional problems. PATHS lessons include instruction in identifying and labeling feelings, expressing feelings, assessing the intensity of feelings, managing feelings, understanding the difference between feelings and behaviors, delaying gratification, controlling impulses, reducing stress, self-talk, reading and interpreting social cues, understanding the perspectives of others, using steps for problemsolving and decision-making, having a positive attitude toward life, self-awareness, nonverbal communication skills, and verbal communication skills. Teachers receive training in a two- to three-day workshop and in bi-weekly meetings with the curriculum consultant.

Program Outcomes: The PATHS Curriculum has been shown to improve protective factors and reduce behavioral risk factors. Evaluations have demonstrated significant improvements for program youth (regular education, special needs, and deaf) compared to control youth in the following areas: 

Improved self-control,



Improved understanding and recognition of emotions,



Increased ability to tolerate frustration,



Use of more effective conflict-resolution strategies,



Improved thinking and planning skills,



Decreased anxiety/depressive symptoms (teacher report of special needs students),



Decreased conduct problems (teacher report of special needs students),



Decreased symptoms of sadness and depression (child report – special needs), and



Decreased report of conduct problems, including aggression (child report)

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3. INCREDIBLE YEARS SERIES (IYS) Program Summary The Incredible Years Series is a set of three comprehensive, multi-faceted, and developmentallybased curriculums for parents, teachers and children designed to promote emotional and social competence and to prevent, reduce, and treat behavior and emotion problems in young children.

Program Targets: Children, ages two to ten, at risk for and/or presenting with conduct problems (defined as high rates of aggression, defiance, oppositional and impulsive behaviors). The programs have been evaluated as "selected" prevention programs for promoting the social adjustment of high risk children in preschool (Head Start) and elementary grades (up to grade three) and as "indicated" interventions for children exhibiting the early onset of conduct problems.

Program Content: This series of programs addresses multiple risk factors across settings known to be related to the development of Conduct Disorders in children. In all three training programs, trained facilitators use videotape scenes to encourage group discussion, problem-solving, and sharing of ideas. The BASIC parent series is "core" and a necessary component of the prevention program delivery. The other parent training, teacher, and child components are strongly recommended with particular populations that are detailed in this document.

Incredible Years Training for Parents. The Incredible Years parenting series includes three programs targeting parents of high-risk children and/or those displaying behavior problems. The BASIC program emphasizes parenting skills known to promote children's social competence and reduce behavior problems such as: how to play with children, helping children learn, effective praise and use of incentives, effective limit-setting and strategies to handle misbehavior. The ADVANCE program emphasizes parent interpersonal skills such as: effective communication skills, anger management, problem-solving between adults, and ways to give and get support.

The SUPPORTING YOUR CHILD'S EDUCATION program (known as SCHOOL) emphasizes parenting approaches designed to promote children's academic skills such as: reading skills,

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parental involvement in setting up predictable homework routines, and building collaborative relationships with teachers.

Incredible Years Training for Teachers. This series emphasizes effective classroom management skills such as: the effective use of teacher attention, praise and encouragement, use of incentives for difficult behavior problems, proactive teaching strategies, how to manage inappropriate classroom behaviors, the importance of building positive relationships with students, and how to teach empathy, social skills and problem-solving in the classroom.

Incredible Years Training for Children. The Dinosaur Curriculum emphasizes training children in skills such as emotional literacy, empathy or perspective taking, friendship skills, anger management, interpersonal problem-solving, school rules and how to be successful at school.

The treatment version is designed for use as a "pull out" treatment program for small groups of children exhibiting conduct problems. The prevention version is delivered to the entire classroom by regular teachers, two to three times a week.

Program Outcomes: Multiple randomized control group evaluations of the parenting series indicate significant: 

Increases in parent positive affect such as praise and reduced use of criticism and negative commands.



Increases in parent use of effective limit-setting by replacing spanking and harsh discipline with non-violent discipline techniques and increased monitoring of children.



Reductions in parental depression and increases in parental self-confidence.



Increases in positive family communication and problem-solving.



Reduced conduct problems in children's interactions with parents and increases in their positive affect and compliance to parental commands.



Multiple randomized control group evaluations of the teacher training series indicate significant:



Increases in teacher use of praise and encouragement and reduced use of criticism and harsh discipline.

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

Increases in children's positive affect and cooperation with teachers, positive interactions with peers, school readiness and engagement with school activities.



Reductions in peer aggression in the classroom.



Multiple randomized control group evaluations of the child training series indicate significant:



Increases in children's appropriate cognitive problem-solving strategies and more prosocial conflict management strategies with peers.



Reductions in conduct problems at home and school.

5.

Problems with the Global systems approach

These are all programs that RELY on other institutions and organizations that are much established, stable and secure than the ones we have here in Egypt. They are based on studies that are executed on the children in a much more organized setting (known Address, school, telephone). In Egypt we are dealing with street children that don't have a stable address of education or even a proper home.

Therefore for this sort of intervention to work its OWN SPACE needs to be shaped, one that accommodates as a substitute for all the subordinate places that these interventions usually take place at.

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6.

Space & architecture

1. Family Attraction - Nursing Center This center will provide the mothers with both prenatal and postnatal mentoring to allow for a better mother/child bond. It will also contain a pregnancy unit, which offers a free newborn delivery and care service to mothers in order for them to gain the trust the organization. After which it is easier to convince the mothers to attend mentoring Awareness classes also offered by the organization it its mentoring department. a. Maternity Unit Access to community 

This unit should be close to the homes of the parents as it reduces the women’s anxiety

Welcoming Arrival space [public] 

The space should be easily identified and through a large main glass door so the patients are able to see what is inside and easily locate the staff and support, therefore feel more relaxed while approaching (not an emergency room entrance as it creates frustration to the women)



Area should be well lit and relaxing by the use of natural light



Staff / nurses should be easily accessible and therefore location of their offices/ desks must be in the same space

Family rooms [family members and support people] 

More segregated areas home/ lounge like



Woman can sit comfortably and share experiences to one another



Individual feel to every space



View to outdoors and access to outside is important

Transition corridors 

Corridors should be welcoming, wide and short



Rooms should be highlighted with recessed openings rather than just doors to the walls



External windows in the walls of the corridor to enable orientation from he outside

Mother’s room [space of birth] 

Women should feel in control of the space and therefore her area of placement of the delivery bed/ bath should be in a place where she can easily see who is going in and out the room

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

Small bathroom to wash hands and use



Furniture items such as cupboards /shelves should be located so the woman can easily store her belongings till she has finished



Birthing area should be to the side of the room so the women feels proper privacy



Rooms should be harmonious with feminine symbols of beauty and wholeness

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Example Boston Medical Center / TK&A Architects

Here it is clear how the architect managed to break the monotony of a long corridor by exposing the space to natural light as well as creating recessions in and out of the corridor walls to give it a more defiant look. Shade and shadow also have a positive role in this area by creating a more relaxed atmosphere to the users.

159

The architect here has a purpose of promoting health trough innovative design. This is a very important tactic that should be used in the project proposed in this report as the target audience are of a low standard of living and therefore have low expectations to their facilities, hence, life. These expectations can be raised by creating innovative architecture such as the like by helping those unprivileged people gain back their feel of significances, importance and give them a non-monetary value to their experience by showing them how they are appreciated (Raise the standard of living by changing the standard of spaces they are used to).

In this image the architect used double high ceilings and a mezzanine floor to give a character to the space, delicate materials such as glass and greenery are used in this lively atrium/ waiting space.

These sections show the use of the different materials, colors as well as the proportioning system of zones used by the architect. Even though the elevation has a very straight skyline, different materials and slab thicknesses emphasize the different spaces of the facility. Rhythm is also created by the verticality and horizontality modules of the materials used. Natural materials are used such as warm wood, stone and a tranquil bamboo garden. The lobby is well highlighted hence immediately orienting the visitors within the space.

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2. Skill and service Center This sector of the project will contain services, vocation and mentoring facilities that will give the families and the children the necessary skills to be integrated back to society a. Mentoring unit  This will contain rooms that offer mentoring for families and their children, the area will contain one on one mentoring rooms as well as group mentoring areas in which the patients sit in circles to reflect on their life experiences and therefore overcome their problems together. b. Life- skills school  This will contain rooms that offer the children and their parents with the vocation and skills needed for life. It will include social skills, family planning, sex-ed and career based seminars. 

Alongside the traditional school that the child is to attend the family engagement center will offer education on life and social skills to be effective members of society, it will teach the children problem solving skills and allow them to be more independent, which is the main reason to why they are on the street in the first place.

c. Travel office  This office will organize family trips that are headed by the mentoring department in order to become a productive experience in the family's life where the members of the family can spend family time and bond together d. Transition - Employment office  This office acts as an employment agency for the children or at their stage of independence as well as the parents. It is responsible for injecting workshops, seminars and trainings throughout the child’s road to independence so at the end he is equip to pursuing with a job.

161

Example Sao Cirlo Community Center / Nuno Valentim Arquitectura This center was designed for the social integration of immigrants. Different terms however a very similar approach to the aim of the project proposed. To integrate street children back to the society as proper individuals

Internal courts are injected in the space to have a larger perimeter of rooms overlooking the natural view and light from the outdoors. In order for the families to feel safe while mentored, these kind of views are essential so they do not feel trapped or threatened.

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Light plays a major role in this building; natural light slits are created in the slab as well as a curtain wall at the end of the facility so the user does not feel trapped in the corridor. This will be necessary as at times the spaces for the skills/ services center may have to be very functional and therefore the monotony of this has to be broken by this kind of sophisticated/ neat architecture.

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This space has allot of character to it. The skylight in this court has horizontal beams enclosing the space and also blocking the harsh sun from entering the rooms in the morning. Artificial light also creates a very relaxing mood to the space during the night.

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3. Child Attraction - Main Plaza This space will be regarded as the main activity node of the project; it should be able to house various types of activities and therefore should contain various types of spaces to house the many opportunities it may be used for.

It should also be made to attract the street children into the facility.

a. Extracurricular activity booths and offices  Location for booth setup for various nongovernmental organizations to recruit members allowing the children and their families to be engaged in societal issues enhancing their leadership skills and help them contribute to society by taking important decisions that they can witness their effect hence making the child learn proper decision making skills b. Large plaza space for multipurpose activities  Place for weddings, meetings, conferences, public speakers, events and community booths (non-governmental organization services) banks booths (research has shown that street children are afraid to carry the money they beg for as it can be easily stolen or lost from them this is why they choose to spend it immediately and hence buy drugs), the space should allow positive social interaction between the children, families and workers of the facility and therefore should contain various types of spaces such as indoor, semi-outdoor and outdoor spaces as well as a garden where children can experience the various types of trees and be engages in the tree planting process whether on their own or with their parents allowing them to feel more relaxed and a the same time have a root in the organization where they would want to come back and visit to see its progress.

165

Example Community Center / SO – IL

This image shows the proposed indoor space for this community center, as seen it is a very lively space with high ceilings. Even though it is very simple it still has allot of character as of the shape of its windows some being tall and others wide. It also allows the users to view the outside and so not feel as though they are trapped, a very essential characteristic when designing for street children and their families.

The integration of greenery in this project is very clear; shrubs, lawns and trees help in creating different experiences and at the same time different eye levels to the project. It is the perfect location for the child to play or even sleep in this healthy atmosphere.

166

The plan of this center shows how such a large space can be very functional, and at the same time have a low built up area. The use of different wall thicknesses in the different areas gives the building either bold or delicate transition between the spaces. The Main outdoor court also has an architrave around it to ease the transition and allow for a shaded circulation around the court. It also has a large tree to shade the area.

167

7.

Design CONCEPT

The design concept of the proposed building is based on the phycology of a street children and their perception to space as to what makes them feel protected, safe and therefore have them approach and stay in the facility. As earlier in this report it was mentioned, the street children have several criteria in which they choose a site, below are them listed again: 

Do not pose threats on their lifestyle/ easily hide



Protected from violence, feel secure



Cheap food/ shops



Workshops available where they can informally work



Public gardens/ Fountains so they can play



Socio- cultural areas where it is easy to beg for money. Lots of visitors



Under bridges/ flyovers so they can sleep



Places of heavy traffic

It is obvious by this that the street child enjoys being in areas that are very clustered, small and narrow, this is mainly because these are the areas in which they feel protected. This of course is not a very healthy environment to be used to. Hence the design concept is to allow for a smooth transition of the child from his naturally clustered unhealthy environment in to a more open, friendly and socially active one. Hence, the design of the building will be influenced by this approach by creating at the periphery, an environment that the child is used to, until his trust is gained by the organization and he can therefore enter to a more open area free of barriers.

Mirroring that attitude towards his life.

168

8.

Site influences

The building has to be located in an area that is in close proximity to both the street and the community, this is so both families and children can use the center. As explained earlier both these sectors of people have many barriers that will not make the transition into the building easy. This is why the building has to be designed in order to allow for a smooth transition in that in a matter of time, the child and family will find themselves a part of the community and they no longer have the barriers they once had.

169

170

The diagram above is a conceptual sketch to the approaches from both the child and the family members into the complex. The child approaching form the side of the plaza, which has to be connected to the street, and the family approaching from the side of the nursing center which has to be connected to the community, in this projects case, the informal housing and slums. Sketches in the diagram try to show how hard/ easy the approach to either the two groups will be. It is diagrammatically expressed that the approach of the family may/ will be easier than that of the child. This is because they have a need which is being satisfied in he complex, being the free delivery unit that is offered, after which the trust of the organization is immediately gained and so it will be easier be an easier approach to target the families.

171

9.

Space program Area

Attraction

Space

1. Nursing Center

Entry Lobby (access to Ambulance/road)

50

p 560

Nurses room/ workstations

30

male and female WC

25

2@20 Family rooms

40

Check up Medical room/ emergency

18

2@25 mothers delivery room

50

single bathroom in each Mothers room

12

Center

3@10 one on one mentoring/ nursing rooms

30

p307

2@50 large empty hall for group mentoring

100

p 561

(m2)

2. Skills/ Service

1 lecture hall for skills training Central open space with skylight/ court

3. Plaza

80 100

Administration - travel office

10

employment office

20

male and female WC

35

semi - outdoor space (with roof) (tiled)

40

outdoor space for booth setup (tiled)

80

open space (planted)

180

900

172

173

Neufert Standards 1. Nursing center

174

2. Multi-purpose rooms

175

X.

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