Dar el Rahma orphanage, Cairo

Egypt is a pretty tough place to be an orphan. Widely considered to be "bad blood", orphans are very rarely adopted locally - and international adoption from Egypt is not allowed.

The kids pictured above live at Dar el Rahma ("House of Compassion") a small orphanage in Cairo which relies heavily on volunteers and donations.

These 9 children are about to be kicked out by the landlord of the apartment that currently houses them - and their future is looking bleak.

Egyptian law requires that orphan boys and girls are housed separately - so brothers and sisters are routinely split up. In the case of the kids pictured above, that means siblings, including a set of triplets - two of whom are intellectually handicapped - could be separated from the only family they have.

The team at Dar el Rahma - including my good friend Soad - is trying desperately to find new accommodation for these boys and girls in close proximity, so brothers and sisters won't be torn apart.

They need to raise about NZ$30 000 to achieve this goal and secure longer-term rental accommodation for the children.

Any money raised that exceeds what is needed for rent will go towards the children's medical and other day-to-day expenses.

It's a big target, but NZ dollars go a long way in Egypt, and anything you can spare will make a huge difference to some lovely kids who have been dealt a tough hand by life.

I'm happy to provide further info if anyone wants to know more - you can email me on catherine.nicol@gmail.com.

Thanks!