Together for Family Development Network was formed in 2003 out of the need to address root causes of poverty in Egypt. Network members decided policy advocacy and public awareness raising were the most effective ways to work. They decided to focus on children with disabilities after a participatory workshop in which specialists informed them about the struggles facing poor women, poor farmers,working children, and children with disabilities.

During 2005 Network members conducted a series of studies, first at the community level to learn first hand about the situation of the disabled and the perspectives of their parents. The next step, a series of studies to identify the gaps in laws and practices, identified the contradictions in Egyptian law that foster a dual education system- free public school education for children without disability but restrictive education and vocational training for the 2% of children with disability who enroll in school.As for the remaining 98%, they have almost no chance of claiming their rights as children and as human beings.