City of life

In Manshiyet Nasser, the nonprofit Association for the Protection of the Environment (APE) was established in 1984, with the aim of helping the Zabaleen make the most out of their situation, in both an environmentally safe, and economically sound manner. Thanks to funding from local and international donors, APE has offered the residents of Manshiyet Nasser guidance and assistance through an ever-expanding range of programmes and workshops.

“The main objective when we started was to simply help them in the recycling of rubbish,” says Hany Al Arian, director of APE. “Right now we have diversified into the production of recycled products; programmes for women; pre-school for the kids; and of course, health coverage.”

In spite of the Zabaleen’s obvious proficiency in recycling, working conditions remain a major health concern. The Zabaleen and their families spend their days surrounded by potentially infectious, disease-ridden garbage. Since 2007, Al Arian estimates that APE has spent some EGP17m (about $2.4m) on treatments alone, much of it to battle diseases including hepatitis C, diabetes, anaemia, and glaucoma – all of which are common.

“We are especially concerned for the women,” he says. “They are the ones sorting through and categorising the inorganic waste their husbands bring them. We have been doing a number of awareness, treatment and prevention programmes on good health practices for the Zabaleen.”

On the ground floor of the APE building is a small treatment room. A congregation of women waits patiently outside to see the doctors, happy to have a healthcare option close to their homes.

Outside the main block, a small school is hidden among recently planted trees. Packed with young children, the tiny classrooms overlook a garden built by APE in 2002, replacing what was once a composting plant. 

“It was important that we gave these children something to do, some preparation for school and to keep them away from the streets,” says Al Arian, adding that the facility – and others like it – accommodates children from birth, up to the end of primary school.

“Right now, we have approximately 650 children coming to our schools,” he notes.

Less than 200-metres away, young mothers work in APE recycling centres, earning a wage, while staying close to their children.

“One of the most important things we at APE can do is to empower the women here,” says Al Arian. “But empowering the women is not enough; you have to educate the men. So we are also trying to do some workshops to broaden their minds.”

One woman who found an opportunity with APE is 38-year-old Aida Ghaly. “After I was married, I became lonely, so I came to APE for something to do,” she recalls. “I learnt embroidery and now teach it to other girls.

“My husband was happy because I was nearby, had work that would help our income, and APE were able to help me when I had my children, and in providing early education for them too,” she adds.

Using her talent for embroidery, Ghaly is one of around 200 women who help to create recycled products from paper and textiles. Close to the rooms where the women work, a huge array of their products are on sale, from bags and birthday cards, to pillow covers and coin purses. 

“We have maybe 200 different design styles, but we modify and add new ones every day,” explains one of the local workers. 

“The income from our recycled products should make the programme self-sustaining, but since the revolution we have had trouble on that front,” says Al Arian. “Because the local economy is in such difficulty, people are less willing to spend and we are having to look more to overseas markets.”

The Zabaleen are hoping that more recent political developments will help, rather than hinder, their progress. In the early 2000s their community was dealt a massive blow when the Egyptian government decided to contract four multinational waste management corporations to deal with Cairo’s rubbish.

A 15-year deal was signed that stipulated the multinationals needed to maintain a recycling rate of just 20 per cent, while the Zabaleen were told to stop collecting altogether. The income loss of the Zabaleen - coupled with the needless waste ending up in landfills - meant that a few years into the contract, the experiment was condemned as a failure.

“These companies came with a European attitude, they weren’t aware of what the Zabaleen provided,” explains Naem. “So they placed large [skips] in the streets, instead of going door to door. They asked the residents to bring the garbage down to the street. Of course the Egyptians refused.

“We are the only people in the whole world who will go into apartments and collect your garbage from your front door,” he continues. “Now they are subcontracting the Zabaleen through the Wahaya, adding another layer where income is lost for the average Zabal.”

Egypt’s new government has accepted that the corporatisation of waste disposal in Cairo was a misstep, and is now preparing to integrate the Zabaleen formally into the city’s official waste management system.

With the multinationals’ contract due to end in 2017 and with APE and other NGOs continuing in their work with the Zabaleen community, Naem is optimistic for the future.

“Now the government is beginning to acknowledge us and we are cared for a bit more,” he says. “I feel the future could be very bright for my people.” – PA