Belgium: a woman’s love for children creates waves in Egypt

Flavia Shaw-Jackson, a South African with a French passport, is the founder of a Belgian and Egyptian established charity, FACE for children in need.

The charity, started over seven years ago, initially sought to better conditions in Egyptian orphanages. Today, it has broadened its projects to directly helping abandoned babies, street children, and the future prospects of orphans through vocational training, in addition to the overhauling of the orphanage system.

“It’s not enough to have a heart, you also have to be professional.”

Flavia Shaw-Jackson’s Business and Economics training, acquired during higher education at ICHEC in Brussels and direct professional experience, enabled her to design a convincing business plan for FACE, which made it possible for her to convince both donors and governmental entities of the validity of her project. Today, beyond volunteers working from Brussels, the charity employs 96 exclusively Egyptian staff in Egypt, from carers and social workers, to guards and drivers. Shaw-Jackson personally covers all costs of FACE’s office in Brussels, as well as her regular visits to Egypt.

She presents a model of organisation and skill mixed with extraordinary strength and compassion.

How did the idea of starting FACE come about?

I adore children and have always hated the idea of children suffering. The groundbreaking moment came when I saw a documentary on the BBC about children in China. That’s when I felt I needed to do something. China was too far though, and I was starting to have children of my own, so I had to take the distance into consideration too.

I then went on holiday to Egypt and, walking around and seeing the conditions of a lot of children in Egypt, I realised that this was the place I wanted to try and help. I went back in 2002, around eight times, visiting the slums and the orphanages which were in a terrible condition. I identified two in particular, one Muslim and one Coptic, which were in desperate need of being taken over.

What was the condition of the orphanages?

The condition was atrocious, children were uncared for, unclean, ignored. An untrained and very small staff would beat them with sticks. The children were receiving no proper love or affection. They hardly ever moved and had bruises all over their bodies. It was a terrible thing to see.

How easy was it as a foreigner to convince Egyptian authorities to let you in to Egypt to set up your charity?

I think I was actually very lucky. I met a lot of the right people at the right time. It was also a case of them realising that I wasn’t coming to Egypt to teach people what to do. I had no hidden agenda, I am just a lucky mother, with a healthy family, who has the possibility to devote herself to children in need.

I have now established a good relationship with a number of crucial people such as the Minister of Health, the National Council of Childhood and Motherhood, the Minister of social affairs, the Egyptian Ambassador in Brussels and so many more. I work very closely with them all so that we can all gain from the situation.

What are FACE’s activities today in Egypt?

Apart from the taking over and total re-structuring of orphanages, we have also opened centres for abandoned babies, and started a new programme for street children inspired by a charity in Cambodia called Friends International. We have really sought to identify root problems and address them in the best possible way.

We have also started a training programme, which seeks to train Egyptians within the ministries, who would then be equipped to go on to pass their skills to people directly in the orphanages around Egypt. I like this idea as it means that we are no longer just a charity pouring money into one project, but we are actually making a structural difference, and changing the ways problems are being looked at from the inside.

We work hand in hand with local governments, but also exchange knowledge with the other charities working in the field such as Caritas and Médecins du Monde.

Do you not feel that you are filling a huge gap which should be plugged by the Egyptian authorities themselves?

Yes and no. I think that the Egyptian authorities are overwhelmed with what is happening. There are between 500,000 and 2 million street children in Egypt, babies are being abandoned all the time due to stigmatisation attached to illegitimate relationships and single mothers, poverty, remarriages, etc. Organ trafficking means babies often “disappear”.

I think that probably too much money is being spent on the military, but I also think there is a huge will and open-mindedness attached to changing the situation, which is seen by the government’s welcoming of charities and organisations wanting to help.

How hard was it for you going backwards and forwards from comfortable Belgium to Egypt?

It was very hard, especially at first. I was often physically sick. I couldn’t cope with the horror of it all. After a while though it got better. It became a sort of therapy. Every time I went back, I could see the difference I was managing to make in small things, such as smiles and laughs from the children. I will keep on doing it for that. It is my lifetime project.

 

Find out more on FACE for children in need website: www.facecharity.org.