Street Children: An unnoticed factor of future’s loss

Who are “Street Children”? Where have they come

from? Why are they living there? What factors led to
their this condition? What can be the impact of these
conditions on the lives of these children, on the future
of the nation and the world?
Street children are those children who are experiencing
poverty, are homeless or both. They are usually found
in all large cities, towns and villages. According to
UNICEF, this term can be used for those children below
16 years of age, with no proper protection or
supervision and for whom the streets have become
home and/or a source of livelihood. There are usually
many factors which may have lead these children onto
the streets. Some of the most common ones are;
children who have been abandoned by their families,
children who are sent to cities or towns by families
facing poverty often with the hope that they will earn
some money and send it home, children who run away
from children’s institutions or their homes(usually
happens in single parent houses), children facing
sexual, physical or mental abuse usually end up on the
streets.
There are also other factors like armed conflict, natural
and man-made disasters, urbanization and
overcrowding, acculturation etc. which may have
forced them onto the streets. These children do not
receive any parental love or control, personal
satisfaction, leisure time, do not have any formal
education or training and are always under the fear of
violence, exploitation, abuse and conflict.
Street children lead life by selling small things, by
selling newspapers, shoe-shining, working in the
exploitative conditions of factories or industries,
begging, stealing etc. These children are also exploited
and used for selling drugs, to work as prostitutes etc.
These children develop anti-social behavior towards
the society especially because of the way people treat
them and get used to criminal activities.
Therefore the government should look into this issue
and try and take some serious action to provide these
children with food, shelter and also some form of
training to lead a respectful life. Although the
government and a lot of NGO’s have been working on
this issue, the help has not been successful in reaching
all those arms out there which are in need of it. Special
programs have to be designed to bring these children
at par with the main stream society. It has to be
remembered that todays children are the future of the
nation and if these children are not guided and
mentored properly then that would be the first step of
failure for any country.
Hence, there is a dire need to help these children and
mould their lives in such a way so as to ensure they
receive success in life. As quoted by John F Kennedy,
the 35th President of the United States, “ Children are
the living messages we send to a time we will not see”.
So it is time we ensure these messages are perfect and
on the right track.