N.P: due to the sensitivity of this topic, I will not be able to share real photos but will use free stock photos.
Walking in barefoot and wearing shabby clothes were familiar scenes in many Egyptian cities. Elderly homeless people are sleeping by the roadside and vagrant children are begging for money or food while dreaming of finding a safe shelter to dwell in. According to a report issued by Egyptian Ministry of Social Solidarity, there are at least 12 million homeless people, among them three million children, in Egypt, and the problem is most severe in Cairo, Giza, Qalioubiya, Alexandria, Menoufiya, Sharqiya, Suez, Beni Swief, Minya and Assiut. In spite of receiving her affairs only a few months ago, the recent minister of social solidarity has started a significant shift in the Egyptian efforts to provide them a safe and dignified life.
For me as a local who experienced the power of using the maps in daily routines and in adopting a “review before go” mantra, I had been continually working on facilitating the life of my neighborhood residents by utilizing these days technologies. Considering that, I noticed that there is a gap between the NGOs and charity entities, who aspire to serve their community by giving a hand to those in need, and the homeless people.
Many organizations suffer not only to locate the homeless but also to distribute these locations to their volunteers without support from an online map like Google Maps. That’s when I thought about why not to map the location to those in need and create a list, containing their locations, which is available for public and accessible by NGOs.
I contacted some civil work teams who appreciated the idea and showed interest in depending on this list in providing their support and aid to those in need. I’m working now on updating the list with as many homeless I can while maintaining an updated list by modifying the location of those who wander among the city streets.
“Google Maps” has always been a vital tool for helping people choose the right place to visit and have a glimpse of how their destination will look like. I think now it’s the time to utilize it for many social activities like connecting the needy people/places with the rest of their communities.
You can have a glimpse on this list from here, noting that this list will be updated regularly depending on the new status and locations of homeless people