WHO ARE STREET CHILDREN?
We see them everyday - in the streets rummaging dust bins, in the railway coaches, cleaning compartments or selling petty goods, lounging about or begging during the day and sleeping on pavements or railway platforms at night. What we do not know is that they quickly become victims of drug abuse, sexual abuse, HIV, and criminal gangs. Most of them die early, while others become hardened criminals.
WHERE DO THEY COME FROM?
Most of the children are runaways or castaways of broken homes, trying to escape tyrannical and/or alcoholic fathers, constant fighting at home, dire poverty, etc. Some of them are "accidentally lost" and found in railways and bus stations, while a few belong to the unwanted and "deliberately lost" category.
In the constant struggle to live, these children have to use whatever means that are within their reach - searching through garbage, begging, stealing, sweeping trains, polishing shoes, etc. Soon they start thinking that life on the streets is easier than circumstances back at their homes.
Their day starts and ends on the streets. However, life on the street has a negative impact on their health and many children suffer from psychological implications that arise from emotional shortcomings like a lack of parental love, loneliness, and insecurity. Usually they have a lower self-esteem and self-confidence.
