The Ministry of Social Solidarity announced on Saturday the closure of a branch of Dar Al-Orman orphanage that is located in Fifth Settlement, after a five-minute footage circulated on social media revealing possible child abuse.
The footage had the sound of a child screaming and asking a woman, who was later proven to be one of the employees in the orphanage, not to be bathed with cold water. The video was filmed from a window by one of the residents in the neighbourhood.
Citing Minister of Social Solidarity Ghada Waly, the ministry on Facebook said that the closure order was issued after an investigation was conducted in the orphanage and the accused employee was referred to prosecution. All the children were transferred to other branches of the orphanage until maintenance works are finalised in this branch, after which the possibility of reopening the branch will be studied.
Dar Al-Orman, the largest charity group in Egypt, issued a statement following the incident, saying that the employee was newly-hired and they will fully cooperate with the Social Solidarity Ministry and prosecution in the investigations. The statement continued that the group also thanked the girl who filmed the footage as they care about providing a safe environment to children.
Several orphanages were closed in Egypt over the past few months after reported torture and abuse cases surfaced.
