Egyptian charity teaches children in Cairo to recycle - in pictures

Many of the children are from the Zabaleen area, also known as 'Garbage City'

A child resident of Cairo's Zabaleen known as "Garbage City" and member of charity Mesaha, known as "Space" in Arabic, shows a creation made with materials collected from rubbish to recycle, in Manshiyat Nasser, Cairo, Egypt March 17, 2023. REUTERS / Hanaa Habib

Children and members of local charity Mesaha, which means space in Arabic, collect materials to be recycled

Mesaha founder Teresa Saeed, 34, works with children to collect materials to recycle

Shahinda Adel, a resident of El Zabaleen, also known as 'Garbage City', searches for rubbish that can be recyled

El Zabaleen is an unofficial district near Cairo’s Nasr City district

People from the district are looked down upon because of their association with waste

Despite its poverty and marginalisation, El Zabaleen has been lauded for its efficiency

It recycles more than 85 per cent of all the rubbish produced by Cairo's 22 million residents

Each day, dozens of lorries carrying rubbish line up to enter El Zabaleen’s narrow streets to unload their cargo

El Zabaleen is home to more than 70,000 people, predominantly Coptic Christians

The rubbish is then sorted by recyclers in the area’s rundown homes and warehouses

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