Who Are Street Children?

A Global Problem – Suffered One Child at a Time

A Local Solution – Provided One Child at a Time

How is it that children – often as young as four years of age – end up living on the streets?  The thought seems impossible to those of us blessed with plenty – but it is the reality that millions of children live every day.  It is virtually impossible to know the exact number of street children as these children regularly move from place to place.  In the mid 1990s, UNICEF estimated the number to be over 100 million worldwide.  No country is exempt- not even the most affluent.  Latin America, Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe have particularly high numbers of street children.

How Does A Child End Up On The Street?
Children end up in the street for a variety of reasons – poverty, abuse and neglect are chief culprits.  Many families are simply too poor to provide the basic necessities for their children and abandon them to the streets.  Some children are sent to the streets to earn money for the family.  Other children turn to the streets to escape physical or sexual abuse.  Some are overwhelmed by the hardships at home – alcoholism, drug addiction, family disintegration, neglect -  and are easily lured by the excitement of street life.  A little more than half of street children have a place in the house of family or friends where they can sleep at night, the rest spend both day and night on the street – often sleeping on cardboard boxes.

The Realities Of Life On The Street.

Hunger       While food is a most basic human necessity – some might consider a right- hunger is a daily reality for these children, and so is their perpetual struggle to obtain it.

Abuse         Avoiding abuse is integral to life on the streets.  Street children face abuse from gangs, child predators, other street children, and even adults who have come to see them as a nuisance is a constant

Drug Addiction Glue huffing is a rite of passage in street culture and is nearly universal among Honduran street children.  It serves to dull their hunger pains and despair.  It gives the “courage” to steal and participate in survival sec.  Children purchase industrial strength glue from local vendors – often adults – shoemakers and cobblers.  This solvent-based glue is both addictive and toxic and can lead to cardiac, neurologic, pulmonary, and liver complications.  If overdosed – an all too common occurrence – can cause immediate death.

Poor Health         Exposure to the elements, malnutrition, poor hygiene and lack of medical care converge against the health of street children.  Sexual promiscuity, prostitution, and exploitation put these children and the community at higher risk for sexually transmitted diseases.

Crime          Hunger sets the stage for petty theft.  Lack of social support promotes maladaptive coping skills.  Glue addiction further fuels the cycle and erodes the child’s options for a better future.  If left to “grow up” on the streets a child’s chance for gang life and it’s associated violence goes up dramatically.

Lack of Education      While not as imminent as other threats, lack of education insidiously robs these children of a chance for a better life.

Hopelessness    Children are defined by their universal need for love, care and nurturance.  Life on the streets is a humiliating and dehumanizing experience.  Street children are often viewed as a worthless nuisance – even less than human.  To others they are simply “invisible”.  Such lack of human kindness and caring drains these children of hope.