A place of filth and disease is not a place for children to be living, but there are children living in the Muqattem Garbage District of Cairo - barefoot, wearing old, tattered clothing, playing in the garbage.

Between 30,000 and 50,000 people live there. Muqattem is a place of desperate poverty where all of the garbage collectors of the city live. They collect the garbage in carts pulled by donkeys, and then sort the garbage in the street in front of where they live, separating out the plastics, glass, metal and food refuse.

With the garbage piled up everywhere, the smell is putrid. There are flies everywhere. Add to that the smoke from the burning trash fires.

In the middle of Muqattem lives "Our Egyptian Friend" , a man who loves Jesus and who loves these children. He has begun a ministry called the Good Samaritan Ministry. Although a skilled businessman, and his wife a pharmacist, they have given their lives to provide wonderful and constructive activities for these little children.

At the center, the children are showered and dressed in clean clothing; they play games; do crafts and art; learn to read and write; and, most importantly, they learn about Jesus. Additionally, "Our Egyptian Friend" has a program to train teenagers and young adults learn the craft of weaving - a craft by which they can escape the cycle of poverty.

Good Samaritan also sponsors a day camp program which takes the kids out of the garbage district and gets them into a clean environment for recreation and provides a glimpse of God’s world.