Ayub's Story - an Unaccompanied Boy in Cairo

Ayub is an 18-year-old unaccompanied youth. Ayub left his home country because his family members found out that he is gay and physically assaulted and abused him. Upon arrival in Egypt, Ayub struggled to find safe shelter and community support. He approached the Naimo Center in March 2021. When he first approached StARS, he had just faced a sexual assault incident and was evicted from his apartment. He was extremely shy and scared about disclosing his sexual orientation because of the rejections and abuse he had faced in the past. A caseworker secured a temporary shelter for him on the same day, while advocating for him to receive emergency cash assistance to cover his living expenses. Given his heightened vulnerability, he was taken into case management in the same month.

His caseworker met him, made an in-depth assessment about the challenges he had been facing, his needs, and his skills and made a care plan in collaboration with him in order to stabilize his situation. Ayub’s history of SGBV incidents, bullying, and rejection from his family and community had caused him a great Page 10 of 11 deal of psychological trauma. He was suffering from feelings of guilt, fatigue, insomnia, and thoughts of self-harm. His unstable living situation contributed towards exasperating his already fragile mental health state. His caseworker linked him with a community member for a long-term care arrangement. Ayub was not yet registered with UNHCR when he first approached StARS and had no information about how to register and access services. His caseworker flagged him to UNHCR, requesting an urgent registration appointment and he was successfully registered in the same month. Since there was a delay from service providers to grant Ayub financial assistance, his caseworker advocated for several emergency funds to fill the gap and ensure Ayub could cover his rent and food expenses, as well as other essential needs.

Although this helped to stabilize Ayub’s situation for a period of time, he unfortunately continued to face a lot of protection issues, impacting his sense of safety and stability. Ayub was kidnapped and sexually abused on several occasions. His caseworker helped him to relocate to different areas each time. Complementary to this, his caseworker provided ongoing counselling and advice, while addressing his physical needs by referring him for check-ups to a StARS doctor. With the support and advocacy of his caseworker and legal advisor, Ayub’s Refugee Status Determination (RSD) interview was fast-tracked, and he underwent his RSD interview in December 2021. By the end of 2021, Ayub was placed in a house far away from his community. He receives taxi transportation allowances when coming to appointments at the Naimo Center to prevent him from further attacks and ensure his safety. He was also referred to the Unaccompanied Youth Bridging Program and started attending classes in February 2022. His attendance has been excellent.

Although it has only been two months since he enrolled in UYBP, his English language skills have shown significant improvements, and he has been making friends with young people who accept him for who he is. The holistic support he received from StARS helped him to better cope with his situation and overcome past traumas. He told his caseworker in one of their sessions: “I feel safe when I come to the Naimo Center. Attending the classes in UYBP have reduced my negative thinking. I feel happy when I am here.”