Feature: Poor children dig living out of garbage piles in Cairo outskirts

Amidst garbage piles, 13-year-old Stephen Romany took a break to drink some cold juice after working nonstop for seven hours, sorting and piling waste in Egypt's renowned "garbage city," in the capital's outskirts.

"This has been my job since I was seven...I work with my family during school vacations," Romany told Xinhua whilst sipping his mango juice.

At Manshiyat Naser, commonly known as the garbage city, waste collectors bring most of Cairo's rubbish here then sort the recyclable garbage and sell it to recycling companies as raw material.

Here, mostly Coptic Christians families have been working in the same business for decades, earning a living surrounded by poor living conditions.

Manshiyat Naser's waste collecters' community, whose numbers currently stand at around 70,000 people, were originally farmers from Upper Egypt's Assiut.

They migrated to Cairo in the 1940s to escape poor harvests in rural areas and started a garbage-collection business, which proved tremendously successful.

In a harmonious and dynamic scene you can see dozens of little children along with their parents gathering around mountains of waste as they pile up empty soda cans, plastic bottles and other recyclable items.

Walking through the garbage city's narrow and smelly alleys, several vast rooms and hangars can be seen with men, women and children skillfully sorting and piling garbage. Children are always in charge of the sorting process.

"It is easy work and I really like it... all I do is sort out plastic bottles whereas others are specialized in sorting out cans or anything that can be put to good use," Romany explained as he got ready to return to work alongside his parents.

Like most residents, Romany believes the garbage city is the source of various recycled materials which many factories use.

Although Romany still attends school, he doesn't believe he'll look for another job even if he completes all educational stages.

"I really love my work and my father does not permit me to work during school time. I want to continue my education, but I also want to keep my job. I think my children will also work the same job," he said.

According to the World Bank, over a quarter of Egypt's 90 million population lives under the poverty line.

Therefore, according to the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) poverty forces up to 15 percent of Egypt's children to work, including over one million who are involved in seasonal agricultural labor.

However, poverty is not the only reason children work in rubbish sorting and collection as most children are happy to work and help their families earn money.

Living surrounded by smelly and rotten food, the dirt roads can tempt anyone to escape this place.

However, for the city's residents, the smell is a source of security which to them means they still have a business which earns them money.

Yassa Saeed, 11, says this job helped his father provide a good education for his two sisters who are currently students at the faculty of medicine.

"My sisters will become doctors soon and I will follow in their footsteps," Saeed said happily, holding a yellow-and-black football.

Despite Saeed's work with his family in the garbage business, he is a distinguished student and a talented footballer.

"I like school and I also like working with my family...I help my father during school vacation so my work does not affect my education," said Saeed as he bounced his ball.

Saeed wore a very clean white and green sports training suit, and said that he really enjoys his work and never felt ashamed of being a garbage collector.

"I always love helping my family and even when I become a doctor, I still want this to be our family's main business," Saeed told Xinhua.

Saeed confessed, however, that the only thing which might take him away from the family's garbage business was "If I become a professional football player, I may forgo studying medicine or rubbish collecting," said the blonde boy with a smile. Endit