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Prevalence,
Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children |
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Published reports & articles
[continued] gvnet.com/streetchildren/India.htm ARCHIVES [Part 2 of 2] CAUTION: The following
links have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in India. Some of these links may lead to websites
that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false. No attempt has been made to validate their
authenticity or to verify their content. 7.6 million children are still out of the
school, says official The Hindu, Karnataka - www.hindu.com/2007/10/05/stories/2007100558961100.htm [accessed 25 May 2011] [accessed 25 May 2011] There are 7.6
million children who are out of school in India to this day. This is a drop
from the 32 million out of schoolchildren in the country when Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) project started in 2001. Admitting that
retention of children in schools was a worrying issue, he said the next area
of priority would be “hard to reach” children such as street children and
those in slums. The drop out rate was particularly
high among children from minority communities and those from Scheduled
Tribes, he said. Seemi PashaSeemi
Pasha , Indian News Channel CNN-IBN News, ibnlive.in.com/news/delhi-street-kid-becomes-professional-photographer/49538-19.html [accessed 25 May 2011] Vicky Roy's big city
dream started as a rag picker. After picking up empty bottles and selling
them for Rs 5 each, he graduated to working in a dhaba near the New Delhi Railway Station. “I ran away from home in 1999. The first
day I was here, I slept at the railway station,” says Vicky. But today Vicky is a photographer with
exhibitions at the India Habitat Centre in Delhi as well as in London. “Street boys are
usually very tough but Vicky was a very soft boy. He showed interest in
photography so we put him in touch with a professional,” says Founder, Salaam
Balak Trust, Praveen Nair. With several exhibitions lined up for his
work in India and abroad, Vicky has surely proved that if given an
opportunity even a street kid change his destiny. Auto rickshaw driver turns savoir of street
children Asian News International ANI, news.webindia123.com/news/ar_showdetails.asp?id=709150311&cat=&n_date=20070915 [accessed 25 May 2011] Hundereds of street children
in Four SSC passouts
were drug addicts 10 yrs ago Santosh Andhale,
Mumbai Mirror, 27 Jun 2007 www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?page=article§id=2&contentid=200706270235551254888984f [Last access date unavailable] [accessed 7 December 2016] Four street
children who were addicted to drugs 10 years ago appeared for the SSC exams
this year and passed with flying colours. Kashyap, who secured 76
per cent, said he wanted to become an artist and study at the J J School of Art. He said that due to poverty and
ill-treatment by parents, he ran away from his home in a Jharkhand village
and reached CST station where he spent a year. “Initially, I begged. Later, I befriended
some people, who taught me to work as a coolie. When I did not have
sufficient food, a friend suggested that drugs could suppress hunger,” he
said. He became a habitual drug user till he was offered help by the
NGO. Support officials
said that such children are first sent for detoxification and then to the
rehabilitation department, a process that takes about six months. Once this
is through, they are able to go to school. Satinder Bains,
Punjab Newsline, www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/5572/38/ [accessed 25 May 2011] [accessed 7 December 2016] With a view to
empowering the street children and to ensure their rehabilitation as
productive members of society, the Punjab Governor and Administration Union
Territory, Chandigarh, Gen. (Retd.) S.F. Rodrigues,
Friday laid the foundation stone of a vocational training center for 900
street children near village Maloya, which will be
fully equipped with facilities of Education, Vocational Training, Residential
facilities, playground and other necessary support structures. Agnes Chan, The chinesechic.wordpress.com/2007/09/07/human-rights-focus-spotlight-on-children-with-unicef/ [accessed 9 Aug 2013] Eighty million
people are considered middle and upper class in No one knows
exactly how many street people there are, but the number of street children
has been estimated by local child-rights NGO AMRAE at 200,000. The scale of
homelessness is simply mind-boggling. Many children are born into unfortunate
situations where the huge divide between the haves and have-nots depends not
only on materialistic issues but on class and culture: It is about where
people were born, what name they bear, their gender and what religion they
follow. All these factors influence the opportunities a child will receive in
life. Everyone is supposedly born equal, but generations of Indian children
have endured the same unfortunate destination. From polishing shoes to driving rickshaw,
he works his way towards a better future Vikram Rautela,
The Indian Express News Service, Ahmedabad, August 29, 2007 cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=253422 [accessed 25 May 2011] As a 10-year-old
boy, he used to move around on city roads with a shoe polish box slung around
on his shoulders. Then known as ‘Paka’ polishwala, Jitesh Parmar used to polish people’s shoes near Dilli Darwaja. Now, after more than a decade, Parmar aspires to become a civil servant. The 21-year-old
youth is doing MCom from a college in the
city. Parmar’s
life did not change overnight _ and nor did he find any magic wand. It was a
worker from city-based voluntary organisation, Rachanatmak Abhigam Trust, who
got a school dropout Parmar admitted to a school
again. The NGO also arranged for a
free of cost vocational training for Parmar at its
training and rehabilitation centre for street
children, so that he could earn while studying and not become a liability on
his poor parents. Piggy bankers Neha Sinha, The Indian Express News
Service, cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=251633 [accessed 25 May 2011] In a corner of a
grubby MCD night shelter, children queue up with their ‘passports’ and their
pennies at the counter of the Children’s Development Bank. At the end of a
hard day’s work, this is where they ‘invest’ their money — in “chalu accounts”. The award-winning
Children’s Development Bank, set up with help from the NGO Butterflies, is
run by children and has street children for its customers. Red FM extends social activities with 'Dil Se' Indiantelevision.com Team, Mumbai, 13
August 2007 www.indiantelevision.com/mam/headlines/y2k7/aug/augmam56.php [accessed 25 May 2011] Red FM Delhi in
association with the NGO Centre for Equity Studies has launched a social
campaign 'Dil Se' to provide all-round care for
street children in the city. The campaign is supported by the Department of
Education, Government of Delhi under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). As part of the campaign, Red FM and the NGO
will refurbish government schools and other buildings to accommodate street
children with arrangement for boarding and lodging. In Plain Sight but Invisible Shelley Seale, Worldpress,
July 19, 2007 www.worldpress.org/Asia/2868.cfm [accessed 25 May 2011] When brought face
to face with such children — an all-too-common occurrence virtually
everywhere in Meet the heroes www.cybernoon.com/DisplayArticle.asp?section=fromthepress&subsection=inbombay&xfile=July2007_inbombay_standard13453 [Last access date unavailable] It works at various
levels, which are an Outreach program which reaches out to street children
and encourages them to leave their street life, a Drop-in Centre, which
provides basic facilities for children who decide to continue to live on the
street, a 24 hour Open House for street children with any problem, a
Residential Home for the children, a Drug De-addiction and Therapeutic
Community, a Research and Development centre, which
publishes the learning's of the organisation, a
Rural Development Program and an Urban Slum Development program which aims at
empowering people at the grass root level and improving their quality of life
and preventing the children from leaving their homes for the street. Government Programme
To News Post At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 25 May 2011] The Integrated Programme for Street Children includes the setting up of
24-hour drop-in shelters with facilities for night stay, safe drinking water,
bathrooms, latrines, first-aid and recreation, an official release said
here. The programme
also includes non-formal education and training facilities for meaningful
vocations, trades and skills to enhance their earning capacity. At this meet, small voices address big
issues Pulkit Vasudha,
The Indian Express News Service, Ahmedabad, July 03, 2007 cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=243967 [accessed 25 May 2011] The Sheetal Waghela, 13, expressed her concern about the insensitivity
with which the police dealt with street children. “Though not all policemen
are bad to us, street children are terrified at the sight of policemen,” she
said. NGO to move HC seeking ban on use of ‘white
ink’ Sobhana K, The Indian
Express News Service, cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=242852 [accessed 25 May 2011] An NGO is planning
to file a public interest litigation in the High Court seeking a ban on
correction fluids—used in offices—and adhesives used for repairing tyres. The NGO
decided to file the petition after a study conducted by it showed that more
than 70 per cent of street children are addicted to drugs and over 50 per
cent of them inhale such “cheap drugs”.
The study by Chetna (Childhood Enhancement
through Training and Action) also states that “white fluid” worth over Rs 60 lakh is bought by these street children in Delhi
every day. “The liquid is not used any
longer in offices. A ban on the liquid will save the lives of many street
children,” said Sanjay Gupta, director, CHETNA. A New LIfe
Getting Children off the Streets Gita Pullapilly,
Frontline/World, June 21, 2007 www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2007/06/india_street_ch.html [accessed 25 May 2011] Although life on
the streets is harsh and dangerous, it has a certain allure. According to
Koshy and his team, it takes roughly a month for a child to become addicted
to hustling. Earning money from rag-picking and collecting recyclables, the
children quickly bond with each other and become accustomed to the relative
freedom of street life. Once they have enough rupees, they buy food, the
occasional luxury of a ticket to see a movie in an air-conditioned theater, and
cheap drugs. "The street addiction is very strong," says Dasaka, who's affectionately known as Anu
Auntie. Kolkata registers its young street dwellers Asian News International ANI, June 19, 2007 www.andhranews.net/India/2007/June/19-Kolkata-registers-5260.asp [accessed 25 May 2011] Civic authorities
in Kolkata have registered thousands of its street children enabling them
access to the state's social security system.
Civic authorities handed out birth certificates to about 50,000 street
children in the city, a pre-requisite for access to any government welfare
scheme. The children said
that the certificate would entitle them to things they were deprived of. "I have come here for my certificate.
I need a birth certificate to make my voter identity card, to register myself
in the State's social security schemes and school admission," said
Muhammad Aslam, a street boy, receiving a birth certificate. Summer shelters for Press Trust of www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200706180307.htm [accessed 25 May 2011] www.pressreader.com/india/the-times-of-india-new-delhi-edition/20070618/282076272451298 [accessed 7 December 2016] Sleeping children
on footpaths or on road dividers in Delhi may soon be a thing of past as the
Social Welfare department plans to come out with some round-the-clock
facilities. Aiding the addicted June 04, 2007 This article has been archived by World
Street Children News and may possibly still be accessible there [accessed 25 May 2011] Support
NGO works for the betterment of street children who have fallen prey to
narcotics. After spending twenty years
with Support- NGO, Managing Director, Sujata Ganega
has written a book on the rehabilitation of
street children. “The
book — ‘FLUTE’ is totally based on my experience through life,” said Sujata.
Talking about the main cause, Sujata said, “The drug addiction habit is
spreading because the bad company. Man arrested for molesting street children
in Andhra city Reuters, gulfnews.com/news/world/india/man-arrested-for-molesting-street-children-in-andhra-city-1.180155 [accessed 25 May 2011] Police in southern Madhur Tankha,
The Hindu, www.hindu.com/2007/05/18/stories/2007051814440400.htm [accessed 25 May 2011] streetchildrennews.wordpress.com/2007/05/18/delhis-street-children-vulnerable-to-exploitation/ [accessed 7 December 2016] By all accounts the
Capital's street children are vulnerable to all forms of exploitation and
abuse. And their daily lives are likely to be far removed from the childhood envisaged
in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. As a result, these children suffer from
sexually transmitted diseases, drug abuse and crime resulting in a deep sense
of insecurity and emotional conflict. Life's lessons learnt on the sidewalk Nikhil Hemrajani,
Times News Network (The Times of articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2007-05-13/mumbai/27872935_1_street-children-street-kids-sidewalk [accessed 25 May 2011] timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Lifes-lessons-learnt-on-the-sidewalk/articleshow/2039449.cms [accessed 7 December 2016] At the helm of Hamara Footpath is its founder, 24-year-old Shubhangi Swarup. "It is
an open community effort where people from all walks of life are encouraged
to step in and engage themselves with the street kids in any manner that is
helpful," she says. Thrice a week, from 7.30 pm to 9 pm, volunteers assemble
on the footpath facing a jewellery showroom and
interact with the kids. The sidewalk
classes see about 25 kids with five to 10 volunteers, picnics attract over 50
children, including a few of their street-dwelling parents. Money for such
outings is raised by volunteers from peers by way of e-mails and oral
communication. But it does not end there. Nearby chemists, general
practitioners and shopkeepers also offer a helping hand by sponsoring
medicines or performing medical check-ups. Today, with more than
18 million kids on the street, India has the highest concentration of street
children in the world. And the number is growing. Many of these children die
young for want of simple care. Many of those who survive are consumed by the
city’s underbelly. Human Rights Watch - Street Children Human Rights Watch At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 25 May 2011] In Street kids fight another odd: AIDS cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=235423 At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [Last access date unavailable] They clean your car
while you wait at the traffic signal, serve you tea at roadside stalls or
just loiter around begging. And a number of them are carriers of the dreaded
HIV or may be actually suffering from AIDS. Deprived of
childhood, education and a good future, a large number of street children in
West Bengal, especially in Kolkata, have fallen prey to the dreaded disease
through regular sexual exploitation and addiction to injectible
drugs. “Street children
are victims of various kinds of perversions, like sodomy, rape, and other paedophilic activities. Many are also drug addicts. Girls
are more vulnerable,” said Subhasish Guha, associate professor, School of Tropical Medicine.
“They are so marginalised that their infections do
not come to light, nor do they get medical attention in time. We are
providing free anti-retroviral therapy, yet hardly any street children come
to us,” he added. When the school comes calling to these
street children Azera Rahman, Indo-Asian
News Service IANS, www.monstersandcritics.com/news/india/features/article_1299672.php/When_the_school_comes_calling_to_these_street_children [accessed 25 May 2011] [accessed 8 December 2016] Her hair unkempt
and dressed in rags, seven-year-old Rani holds a stack of newspapers under
her arm at a busy traffic intersection in the city waiting for a car to halt.
Just then a van wheels by making her squeal in delight. A host of other kids
join her and they run towards it chanting 'Didi'(elder
sister). As three teachers step out of
it, the kids gather around it in excitement. The Tamasha
Roadshow Van, a mobile school initiative, is a sliver of hope for kids like
Rani from the drudgery of their daily grind at the various traffic signals of
the city where they sell newspapers, flowers and other odds and ends. Filled with colourful storybooks and having computers fitted in them,
these vans are a storehouse of excitement for the kids. Besides telling
stories, colourful pictures, puppets, cards and
marbles are also used to teach them in a fun-filled manner. The sessions last
for two to three hours a day. That's
not all. Various workshops on candle making, card making and painting are
also conducted so that the children can learn new skills and can use them to
earn a better living. 'The parents are also convinced this will help their
kids enhance skills to earn more that hence encourages them to come to us
every day,' she said. Govt, UNICEF plan education on
wheels for slum, street kids Tenzing Lamsang,
The Indian Express News Service, cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=234441 [accessed 25 May 2011] [accessed 8 December 2016] initially, two
buses provided by the Delhi State Industrial Development Corporation will be
redesigned, officials said. The bus, which will be designed so that it can reach
crowded slums, will cover four areas a day. The bus, on reaching a particular
area, will ring an alarm signalling its
arrival. Focus will be on school
drop-outs and children who have never gone to school. The bus will also be
instrumental in spreading awareness on malaria, dengue and environment,
officials added. For these children, labour
is survival Harshad Pandharipande,
Times News Network (The Times of articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2007-05-01/nagpur/27886772_1_railway-station-boys-ravi [accessed 25 May 2011] [accessed 8 December 2016] Ravi sells bottled
water at the railway station and makes about Rs 200
a day. "But I have to give Rs 150 of that to cops and other bullies. I get to keep
the rest,"he says and adds there are younger
boys who also work at the station. They do anything from selling gutkha and cigarettes surreptitiously to polishing shoes
and scrubbing and sweeping the floor of the railway coaches. Ravi says most
of them work voluntarily to support their families. Or themselves, if they
are runaways. Chetan Chauhan, Hindustan Times, www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/newdelhi/Delhi-s-street-children-to-get-new-home/Article1-219150.aspx [accessed 25 May 2011] [accessed 8 December 2016] Although not all
the children would be covered the government intends to bring street children
in central Delhi under the ambit of the scheme, that provides both financial
and institutional protection to children. "There would be child
protection officers in each district to look and investigate into complaints
of violation of child rights," a ministry official said. The government will
also allocate funds for construction of the "child shelter homes"
having facilities for education and games for children. Explaining the idea
behind these homes, a senior ministry official said, children would be
welcome in these homes around the clock but no one would be forced to come
here. The homes would be run by the NGOs with the help of WCD department of
the Delhi government. NGO lights up future of streetkids Ruchi Sharma , Indian
News Channel CNN-IBN News, ibnlive.in.com/news/ngo-lights-up-future-of-streetkids/39208-3.html [accessed 25 May 2011] Many children like Sagar, who sell flowers or simply beg at traffic points,
are today getting an window to education thanks to an initiative called
'Steps for Change'. An NGO, run by a group of youths, has begun this
initiative to help street children get basic education. The NGO educates 80 children in five
makeshift centres in Delhi. They teach the children
counting, Hindi, English and basic hygiene. The initiative may
or may not have changed much in the lives of these children today. But what
seems to be changing for sure is the future of these children and it surely
looks much brighter. But the
volunteers of Steps for Change admit that it's difficult to keep the kids
like Sagar hooked to books. "Initially, it was really very
difficult to get these kids to come to classes, because first of all, it was
a very big thing to connect with them so that they listen to you in the first
place," says Pawan, a founder member of the
NGO. Street kids get a park of their own Sumati Yengkhom,
Times News Network (The Times of articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2007-04-20/kolkata/27872350_1_street-children-underprivileged-children-adventure-park [accessed 25 May 2011] streetchildrennews.wordpress.com/2007/04/20/street-kids-get-a-park-of-their-own/ [accessed 8 December 2016] An adventure park
exclusively for the underprivileged children has come up in the city. Tucked
away on the southern fringes, Monobitan will open
its gates on Thursday. An initiative
of Child In Need Institute (CINI), the fiveacre
park near Thakurpurkur has different play areas for
children of different ages. While Badhan Hara, a
lush green play area for children upto six years
has a merry-goround, sea-saw and swings, Bana Mallika caters to bigger children. It has facilities like
multi-climbing structure, cycling trek, roller skating pitches and tunnels
where the children can play hide and seek. "While working with more than
50,000 street children in Kolkata I realised that
they were living in a concrete jungle with no open space to play. The
underprivileged children do not have access to the numerous parks in the
city. That is how the idea was conceived," said CINI director Samir
Chaudhuri. Street Children in Phulwari
Area Admitted in School www.patnadaily.com/news2007/apr/041207/children_admitted_in_school.html streetchildrennews.wordpress.com/2007/04/12/street-children-in-phulwari-area-admitted-in-school/ [accessed 18 January 2017] Phulwarisharif police station
in-charge Shabbir Ahmed, on Thursday, accompanied
by other police officials, visited several areas and picked up 76 young boys
and girls wandering aimlessly on the streets and had them admitted in a
government school in an attempt to rehabilitate them. Ahmed promised the
kids to reward them if they did well in their studies while assuring the
parents that the children will be provided with free lunch and free books as
long as they stayed in the school. Why summer means spring for these street
children The Indian Express News Service, Ahmedabad,
April 8, 2007 cities.expressindia.com/local-news/fullstory.php?newsid=230746 [accessed 25 May 2011] streetchildrennews.wordpress.com/2007/04/08/why-summer-means-spring-for-these-street-children/ [accessed 8 December 2016] Krishna is one of
the several children who run away from their homes and take refuge at the Kalupur Railway Station. Fourteen-year-old Sultan, who
also collects bottles from various trains arriving at the railway station,
says, “I make Rs 100 to 150 by selling used bottles
in the market but this is only during summer. During the rest of the seasons,
I do not make much money.” Arif Lalbhai,
another destitute says that his favourite train is
the Okha-Puri Express, which he travels in almost everyday, to get used bottles. He says, “I also sell
water pouches to passengers apart from selling bottles in the market.
However, Summer is the season in which the business becomes profitable for me
as I can get more bottles and sell more number of water pouches.” Runaway guides Paromita Pain, The Hindu
Business Line, Apr 06, 2007 www.thehindubusinessline.in/life/2007/04/06/stories/2007040600050100.htm [accessed 25 May 2011] WINDOW TO THEIR
WORLD
- Shekhar Saini and Javed
Khan, trust members and designated guides, love their newfound roles. They
share their stories with generous doses of candour
and humour as they point out the various spots at
the station where children get on with their lives. Saini, 21, ran away from
home when he was 12. He hung around the Delhi station for a year and then
went to the Trust. Today, he has just finished high school and wants to be an
actor. He greets the waiting group with infectious enthusiasm and warm
confidence, speaking clearly and fast in English while cutting quite a
dashing figure in well-fitting jeans and cool accessories. He puts the walk
in perspective — "This isn't just about raising awareness about street
kids but also showing how much they can achieve if given the right
opportunities." 50,000 street kids to get birth
certificates cities.expressindia.com/local-news/fullstory.php?newsid=228654 At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [Last access date unavailable] As many as 50,000
of the city’s underprivileged children under the age of 18 years would soon
get Indian citizenship. These are
children living on streets, those living below poverty line, and sex workers’
children. CLPOA’s
Bhattacharya said the survey was conducted last year under the guidance of
UNICEF. “We decided to give citizenship status to all deprived children born
in Kolkata,” he said. “Once they have the birth certificates, these children
will be able to get ration cards and other legal documents.” Interpreter of dreams Tanvi Sirari,
The Indian Express News Service, cities.expressindia.com/local-news/fullstory.php?newsid=228237 [accessed 26 May 2011] www.pressreader.com/india/ht-city/20161002/281762743752494 [accessed 8 December 2016] Roy was eleven when
he ran away from his home in Purulia, West Bengal,
in 1999. “My parents were strict and they did not want me to play with other
kids. I wanted to see the world. At home I felt caged.” So he made his escape one day and caught a
train to Delhi. He lived at the railway station for about six months, filling
up discarded mineral water bottles with tap water and selling them to
passengers. How to change the world - The role of the
social entrepreneur Nikhil Mustaffa,
The Daily Mirror, March 15, 2007 At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 23 September 2011] As Childline expanded to new cities, the call-tracking
system also emerged as an important source of child protection information.
National data showed that the biggest killer of street children was
tuberculosis, but regional call patterns revealed a variety of local
problems. In Jaipur, for example, childline
received reports of abuse in the garment and jewelry industries. In Varanasi,
there were reports of children being abducted to work in the sari industry.
In Delhi, many calls came from middle-class children. In Nagpur, a transit
hub, there were frequent reports of children abandoned in train stations. In
Goa, a beach resort, a major problem was the sexual abuse of children by
foreign tourists. Street kids make it to classrooms and how Mihika Basu,
The Indian Express News Service, Mumbai, March 11, 2007 cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=226060 [accessed 26 May 2011] Three-years back
all that Sheetal Jagdish Jadhav did was to look after her siblings and roam the
streets. Two-year’s ago, Kanaka Valli and her
parents used to sell flowers at street signals. And both could never dream of
making it to a mainstream school. Blossoms in the dust M.G., The Hindu, Mar 04, 2007 www.hindu.com/mag/2007/03/04/stories/2007030400200400.htm [accessed 26 May 2011] www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sundaymagazine/blossoms-in-the-dust/article2275005.ece [accessed 8 December 2016] In the bleak
barracks behind the Vijay Ghat, on the Yamuna Pushta, are growing up small blossoms in the dust. A
group of street children have found a home here, in a shelter run by the Ashray Adhikar Abhiyan (AAA). AAA volunteers had
come across many vulnerable street children and their big concern was how to
keep these kids away from drugs, petty crime and exploitation and make them
believe that another life was possible. The organisation felt that education was the key. However, no
school was willing to admit children from the streets. In many cases their
date of birth, father's name and identification were not known and these were
major hurdles to admission. Slum kids fear rehabilitation The Indian Express News Service, cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=224397 [accessed 26 May 2011] During the group
discussion sessions, children from state shelter homes said the problem of
rehabilitation always haunts them. They also said the homes lack proper
health facilities. Those children who came from slums complained about the
poor health and educational facilities, while those living on the stations said
stations witness a lot of criminal activities of which they are forced to be
a part. VOICE children enact street-to-home journey The Indian Express News Service, Mumbai,
February 25, 2007 cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=224019 [accessed 26 May 2011] streetchildrennews.wordpress.com/2007/02/24/voice-children-enact-street-to-home-journey/ [accessed 11 December 2016] Sixteen-year-old Kirti Katarmale started selling
lemons at road signals when she was two years old. Now she is preparing for
the National Open School board exams and wants to become a teacher. Fourteen-year-old Radha
Shiva Goud has lived outside stations throughout her life, but now has a roof
over her head and attends regular classes of English, Hindi and mathematics,
besides yoga and karate. Like Radha and Kirti, 25 girl street
children have a place they call “home”, four-square meals a day and proper
education all thanks to Sanjivani, a residential
home for street children started in August 2006. Mumbai has over 2,50,000 street children. From street child to surgeon, Indian girl
follows dream Reuters, Jaipur, 19 February 2007 www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/todaysfeatures/2007/February/todaysfeatures_February36.xml§ion=todaysfeatures [accessed 26 May 2011] www.reuters.com/article/us-india-poverty-children-idUSDEL17460820070218 [accessed 11 December 2016] Chand’s mother was
a prostitute with 16 children living in Japiur’s
red light area, and the girl — her family name has been withheld to protect
her — was already a child prostitute when she ran away to eke an existence on
the streets aged six. Even for Chand,
there is the constant threat of her past dragging her back to wreck her
future. “If I saw my family
again they would want me back to become a prostitute again to earn money,”
she said simply. The Indian Express News Service, Vadodara,
February 19, 2007 cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=222972 [accessed 26 May 2011] [accessed 11 December 2016] Western Railway authorities
are helping to put street kids on the right track. A few months ago, a
classroom for non-formal education being run for street children by the Vikas Jyot Trust (VJT), at the
Vadodara railway station, was levelled during construction of platform number
6. Following this, the local women's welfare committee, comprising of female
railway employees and wives of railway employees, approached the railway
authorities and asked them to provide an alternate place for developing a new
NFE classroom. Railway authorities agreed to give a stretch of land at Jetalpur Road, in the close vicinity of the railway
station. Vocational training centre
for 900 street kids in Maloya The Indian Express News Service, cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=221886 [accessed 26 May 2011] www.igovernment.in/articles/27263/vocational-centre-for-street-kids-at-chandigarh [accessed 11 December 2016] Chandigarh Housing
Board (CHB) is going to construct a vocational training centre
for 900 street children at Maloya. While the work
on the Rs 9 crore project will start in March, the
tenders would be floated next week.
According to the CHB officials, the proposed project would include a
hostel for the street children, besides a vocational training centre, where they would be provided training to enable
them to become self-dependent. The project would
help in the upliftment of 900 street children, who
after their selection, would stay in the hostel and get the required training
to make both ends meet. Civic body offers lifeline for street
children Thiruvananthapuram, The Hindu, Feb 02, 2007 www.hindu.com/2007/02/02/stories/2007020222800300.htm [accessed 26 May 2011] [accessed 11 December 2016] Robbed of childhood
and adult protection, hundreds of street children and juvenile migrant labourers in the city are compelled to negotiate a
precarious existence in a dark world of crime, misery and exploitation. The
City Corporation is now holding out a lifeline for these vulnerable children. While a majority of
the children have severed ties with their family, a good number of them live
with their family either in the streets of the city or in the suburbs. The
CDP points out that these children are not deviant or delinquent; in fact
they are intrinsically more gifted than the mainstream ones. The Corporation is
planning to establish three new rehabilitation centres
in different regions of the city. The existing rehabilitation centres and juvenile homes would be upgraded with
improved facilities. It is also proposed to open four bridge schools to
impart education to the working children. 10 rescued street children leave for home
States The Hindu, www.hindu.com/2007/02/01/stories/2007020120140300.htm [accessed 26 May 2011] [accessed 11 December 2016] Ten children
rescued from the streets in Kerala started the journey back to their home
States, with the help of Don Bosco Sneha Bhavan, from here on Wednesday. During the past month,
the children had been under the care of the Sneha Bhavan, which had been working in association with the
city Corporation for 32 years for the welfare of children left on the streets
under various circumstances. A rehabilitation programme for them is being implemented with the
cooperation of the Don Bosco network in the country. Journeying into dark lives of Nayanima Basu,
Indo-Asian News Service IANS, www.monstersandcritics.com/news/india/features/article_1249363.php/Journeying_into_dark_lives_of_Indias_street_kids [accessed 26 May 2011] news.webindia123.com/news/ar_showdetails.asp?id=701210157&cat=&n_date=20070121 [accessed 11 December 2016] These poor kids
flee their homes for a better life in the huge metros and get gobbled up in
the narrow by-lanes, or stinking sewers of the railway stations or bus-stops
which are, according to one estimate, home to some 3,000-odd poor young
runaways. They trade leftover drinking
water bottles to watch the new movie that comes in the nearby Sheila movie
theatre on Fridays. One uncrushed bottle fetches them up to Rs.2, whereas a
crushed bottle brings a paltry 50 paise. Sometimes they also pick up leftover fruits
from trains and sell them to the juice-sellers in the platform and earn
money. The children,
according to Saini, often fall prey to gang leaders who sometimes sexually
assault them or get them into drug addiction. If by chance they escape from
the clutches of gang leaders, they are not spared by the railway police who
beat them without any reason. NGOs’ solution to missing saga: Database of
slum kids Tarannum Manjul,
The Indian Express News Service, cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=217629 [accessed 26 May 2011] With the number of
missing children increasing in the state, NGOs working for the
under-privileged children different districts are now trying to keep a
database of street-children and those living in slums. The database will
include all details about these children, and in case any child goes missing
the NGOs plan to help the police with the same. Noida — The mirror of Indian society At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [Last access date unavailable] THE LITTLE PREYS - The weakest of Braving every day [PDF] Harsh Mander, Aman Biradari, January 8, 2007 www.amanbiradari.org/Braving_Every_Day.pdf [accessed 23 September 2011] Like many children
who flee their families to escape intolerable abuse, Ratul
is unwilling to talk about precisely what drove him from his home. But one
night at the age of seven, he walked away decisively from his truck-driving
father, mother and two younger brothers, never to return. It was an act of
incredible courage for a child so young, echoed and repeated in the lives of
tens of thousands of street children who decide at very young ages to bravely
escape violence and abuse in their homes — alcoholic fathers, physical and
sexual violence — by fending for themselves, at whatever cost. Mumbai’s street fighters Deepa Gahlot,
Daily News & Analysis DNA, Mumbai, Jan 9, 2007 www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_mumbais-street-fighters_1073474 [accessed 26 May 2011] “It’s almost
impossible to get an accurate census as they are a floating population,” says
Dr Madhav Chavan, one of the founders and programme
directors of Pratham, an NGO that provides primary
education to these children in Mumbai. “Once they get a taste of freedom,
living like adults and surviving successfully on the mean streets, they
prefer not to return to a disciplined lifestyle.” Five years ago, the average of children who
ran away from home in states such as Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh used to be
eight years old. Today that average has dropped to six. Poor kids appeal to Prez
to ensure safety Press Trust of articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2007-01-03/india/27881108_1_street-children-child-labour-killings [accessed 26 May 2011] timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Poor-kids-appeal-to-Prez-to-ensure-safety/articleshow/1040814.cms [accessed 12 December 2016] Demonstrating
against the killings in front of the Indian Social Institute here, Secretary
of the organisation Subhash
Kumar said, "we condemn the ghastly killings and hereby make an appeal
to the honourable President that he take a close
look into the matter and ensure the safety of all homeless street children
and all those still involved in child labour." Uwe Buse, Spiegel
OnLine International, www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,454601,00.html [accessed 26 May 2011] Children living on
the streets of Nearly P.Vijian, Malaysian National
News Agency Bernama.com, [accessed 12 December 2016] The temperature
continues to drop in this capital city but these two children continue to
defy nature's harsh climate to earn some paisa to feed themselves in the
gripping winter. Similarly, an
estimated 400,000 street children in the city hog the streets daily to eke
out a painful living in the bustling capital -- resisting all kinds of
harassment, from changing climate to child abusers. Undernourished and
thinly dressed, many homeless street children appear to be the most
vulnerable people during winter, especially this time around where the
weatherman expects temperature to dip below 10 degrees Celsius during most
nights in the coming months. Many of them escape
grinding poverty at home, broken families or abusive parents, and bravely
venture into the city to feed themselves, despite the extreme cold conditions
or scorching heat in summer, which arrives just after winter in the month of
May. Tapping the talent on city streets At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [Last access date unavailable] In a bid to
bringing these children into the mainstream society, Humanity Association is
going to organise a children’s theatre festival in
February next year. Education Made Me a Real Human Being Tehelka, Nov 25 , 2006 www.tehelka.com/story_main22.asp?filename=Ne112506Education_p24.asp [accessed 26 May 2011] kashaji.blogspot.com/2007/04/education-made-me-real-human-being.html [accessed 12 December 2016] Arriving in Delhi,
Shahadat found work at a tea stall. He was, naturally, more concerned about
getting enough food every day than in receiving equitable wages, but the
tea-stall owner gave him neither enough food nor wages. What he did get in
ample daily doses was abuse. After working at the tea shop for 15 days, he
fled, retracing his steps to the place he had arrived in the city at — the
New Delhi Railway Station. There, in a sad replay of Oliver Twist, he found
his “saviour” in the form of the leader of a gang
of pickpockets and the “generous” man agreed to take him on as a disciple. The Kerala difference R. Krishnakumar,
Frontline, Volume 23 - Issue 22 :: Nov. 04-17, 2006 www.hindu.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=20061117003503000.htm&date=fl2322/&prd=fline& [accessed 9 Aug 2013] www.frontline.in/static/html/fl2322/stories/20061117003503000.htm [accessed 12 December 2016] Street children
have been found to spend their entire day's wages immediately on food,
watching adult movies, or buying drugs, alcohol and other addictive
substances; they feel insecure carrying money on them. These children are a
challenge to those involved in their rehabilitation, he said. Street kids have edifying visit to Empire
Circus October 30, 2006 streetchildrennews.wordpress.com/2006/10/30/street-kids-have-edifying-visit-to-empire-circus/ [accessed 18 January 2017] Humaara Footpath is the
brainchild of Shubhangi Swarup,
a 25-year-old Xavier’s graduate. At the age of 18, she felt an urgent desire
to educate street children and now has an informal network of 16 friends
helping her realise her dream. “I first started
with the girls who sell gajras at signals,” she
said. “We get together at least three times a week in the evenings in front
of Tanishq at Churchgate,
lay out chatais and do whatever they want, whether
it’s drawing, story-telling, singing or English. The biggest need of the day
is to create the desire to learn in them. That is the biggest hurdle. So
forcing them to bury their noses in books is the last thing anyone should
do.” Smile Please! Shinjini Singh, The Indian
Express News Service, October 29, 2006 cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=207132 [accessed 26 May 2011] bylinerajkotia.blogspot.com/2006/10/smile-please.html [accessed 12 December 2016] In Sector 8 Vikas Nagar, house number 212, "Gharaunda",
is home to eighteen little boys who have progressed from being homeless
street kids on the railway station to being students at the local Rani Laxmi Bai school. It has all happened under the loving
care of Shachi Singh and her NGO Ehsaas. Mermier Bal Ashram: a ray
of hope for street children Preeti Gupta, Navi Mumbai News, October 6, 2006 streetchildrennews.wordpress.com/2006/10/06/mermier-bal-ashram-a-ray-of-hope-for-street-children/ [accessed 18 January 2017] Young children
doing odd jobs like polishing shoes, picking rags, working at small eateries,
begging at the traffic signals etc., are a common sight in our city. Most of
these kids have fled from their home for various reasons and live on streets.
The hunger pangs lead these kids towards these weird jobs or begging, The sad state of
these kids smashes our claims of being a modern and progressive city.
However, all hope is not yet lost. Non-governmental organizations like Jan Vikas Society (JVS) are trying to create a better world,
fit for all children irrespective of caste, colour,
creed and sex. 40 per cent of workers on building sites
are children Chitra V. Ramani, The Hindu, www.hindu.com/2006/10/07/stories/2006100706550400.htm [accessed 26 May 2011] [accessed 12 December 2016] "I do not work
every day. I only work on days when my mother is ill," said Hema (names of the children have been changed to protect
identities), a nine-year-old construction worker. "I ran away
from home because my father used to beat me every day," said Mukesh, a 12-year-old who cleans the floor of train
compartments to earn some money. Hema and Mukesh are two of a kind, both working when they should
be studying and playing like other children. Southern News - Andhra Pradesh, streetchildrennews.wordpress.com/2006/10/01/guntur-turns-haven-for-street-children/ [accessed 18 January 2017] Each child has a tale
to tell. For instance, Mokkulu Rajendra
Kumar (12) lost his parents in a road accident at Gudiwada
four months back. Since then, he has been eking out a livelihood here by
collecting waste paper. Childline to help children
in distress in India www.theindiancatholic.com/report.asp?nid=3620 [Last access date unavailable] For instance, close
to 150,000 street children live in Homeless No More www.mumbaimirror.com/nmirror/mmpaper.asp?sectid=2&articleid=927200605934484927200605543859&pubyear= 2006&pubday=27&pubmth=9 [Last access date unavailable] "Today we have
20 children, seven of them girls, all aged between four to 14; abandoned in
slums and railway stations around the area. Parents of some of the children
cannot afford to look after them," says John. The couple has promised to
look after the children for 18 years. Their parents and grand
parents are granted visiting rights. No room for child labour Paromita Pain & Shalini Umachandran, The Hindu
Business Line, Sep 08, 2006 www.thehindubusinessline.in/life/2006/09/08/stories/2006090800030100.htm [accessed 26 May 2011] From October 1, no
home or hotel can employ children below 14 years. But can a mere ban resolve
the complex socio-economics issues involved? Bhola (name changed)
left his mother, siblings and their ramshackle hut in Himachal Pradesh and
came down to Chennai to work. He takes care of a partially paralysed senior citizen, and his chores include wiping
away the constant dribble from his mouth and feeding mashed food with
tremendous patience. Bhola, all of nine years, sits
quietly by the old man's wheelchair with a `wipe cloth' tied to his waist. From October 10,
though, life might change for Bhola and children
like him when the Government's ban on employment of children below 14 in
homes, hotels, roadside eateries, resorts, and spas comes into effect. Early
in August, the Labour Ministry announced that it
was adding these jobs to the list of hazardous occupations in which child labour is banned under the Child Labour
(Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986. NGO to teach more street children The Indian Express News Service, Mumbai,
August 27, 2006 cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=198566 [accessed 26 May 2011] Eleven-year-old
Farida, a street kid, wants to become a doctor. She would have perhaps never
believed she could realise her dream had it not
been for Door Step School. Backward and forward linkages that
strengthen primary education Vimala Ramachandran, 17
August 2006 -- [This is an overview of a collection of 10 case studies on
backward and forward linkages that strengthen primary education. This
research (supported by DFID, At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 26 May 2011] IV CHILDREN, WORK
AND EDUCATION
- Primary education in There is, formally,
a widespread consensus about ending child labour
and establishing compulsory universal primary education for all children up
to the age of 14, a commitment that can be traced back to Gopal Krishna Gokhale’s efforts at the turn of the last century. Yet,
numerous commissions, reports, plans and experiments notwithstanding, more
than five decades after independence, the situation remains dismal. Not only
do many children never enter school, there are many of those who do drop out
before completing basic education. And scores of children from the most
deprived strata are or become part of the workforce. At Anuradha Mane, The Indian
Express News Service, Pune, August 17, 2006 cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=197128 [accessed 27 May 2011] And it was only
after a rigorous five-day training, squeezed between their daily schedules of
rag-picking or selling knick-knacks at traffic signals, that the 100 children
were ready for the D-day. The heroes of Jamghat Madhu Gurung,
The Hindu, Aug 13, 2006 www.hindu.com/mag/2006/08/13/stories/2006081300040400.htm [accessed 27 May 2011] www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sundaymagazine/the-heroes-of-jamghat/article3232396.ece [accessed 13 December 2016] SAME STORY, AGAIN
AND AGAIN
- He was 10 when he began living on the streets of Delhi. His friends have
similar stories to tell of why they ran away from home to the urban jungle
where every day was spent in trying to survive hunger, beating, illness,
sexual abuse and fear. Rajasthan's homeless children find shelter www.streetchildren.org.uk/reports/Rajasthan%27s%20homeless%20children%20find%20shelter.mht [Last access date unavailable] JUVENILE JUSTICE ACT - The Juvenile
Justice Act of 2000 states that all children must be given the right to food,
shelter, healthcare and education. So far, even a
formal census on the number of children living on the streets and are
vulnerable to abuses has not been conducted. In Rajasthan alone,
an informal organisation found that out of 1.5
million street children, not even one per cent have been provided shelter. Vagrants & street children: they need a
hand At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [Last access date unavailable] The privileged and
the employed have, more often than not, regarded vagrants with suspicion and
contempt apart from the usual dismissive sneer. Little are they aware of the
creative fire that lies in them. The “Bhabaghure O Pathashishu Mela — 2006” aims
at exploring that creative streak in vagrants and street children. Unique talent hunt for street kids Bindu Shajan
Perappadan, The Hindu, www.hindu.com/2006/07/30/stories/2006073006790300.htm [accessed 27 May 2011] [accessed 13 December 2016] It's a search for
the Capital's very own "Chhupey Rustum''. Looking for the star of tomorrow, this unique
talent hunt exclusively for street and working children under 18 is all set
to take off this coming month. It will comb through every nook and corner of
the city scouting for the very best talent in performing arts. The boy racer Amelia Gentleman, Observer Sport Monthly,
30 July 2006 www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2006/jul/30/features.sport9 [accessed 12 February 2011] There is something
disturbing about Budhia's odd touring lifestyle,
with the constant pressure on him to run, dress up and perform for the media.
But there is something just as bleak about the slum life into which he was
born. A few hundred yards from the hostel, dozens of street children Budhia's age are struggling to survive in the slums by
old Delhi railway station. They can be seen in the streets nearby, addicted
to industrial solvents, fighting among themselves as they scavenge for food.
This is the life that Budhia could have had and has
left behind, at least for now. SNEHA Chalks Out Scientific Plans To Tackle
Malnutrition Jayata Sharma, The Indian
Express Healthcare Management, July 2006 www.expresshealthcaremgmt.com/200607/initiative01.shtml [accessed 27 May 2011] www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_OZJ4YhKb8 [accessed 13 December 2016] ITS MISSION - Founded in 1999,
by a group of concerned doctors and social workers, SNEHA is committed to
improving the total well being of women and
children living in urban slums. While many NGOs work to provide shelter,
education, vocational training and recreation to the city's street children,
SNEHA observes that the health needs of this overwhelmingly large section of
the society are neglected. Monsoon of points in Kolkata Nick Hyde, Quins Community Development,
Kolkata At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 27 May 2011] The second game of
the season was the opening game in the 'cup', with Future Hope Harlequins
facing their old adversaries, the Kolkata Police. Things have changed in Kolkata;
street children were regularly pursued by policemen, but Future Hope and
rugby has started to change the perception of street children within the
Kolkata Police. Now best of friends, Future Hope boys have coached and
officiated for the police and were integral to the smooth running of the
Kolkata Police 10s played last month. 'Street India Movement' to help street
children in Kerala Bureau Report, www.zeenews.com/news307350.html [accessed 23 September 2011] With the objective
of wiping out child labour and begging by children
and to create an Street children join celebration The Hindu, Tamil Nadu - Chennai, Jun 26,
2006 www.hindu.com/2006/06/26/stories/2006062615780500.htm [accessed 27 May 2011] [accessed 13 December 2016] More than 500
street and working children gathered at the St. Anthony's The
non-governmental organisation has been enabling out
of school children to enter mainstream schools with counselling and material
assistance from year 2000. The keepers of the flame moneycontrol.com, 2006-06-23 At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 27 May 2011] Social workers are
faith workers of a different kind. They aim to right the accident of birth -
like helping slum children not having access to education or clean
drinking water. Seen ragpickers rummaging
through dustbins for their food? Well, this is reality at its worst for
some children, almost the minute their born but there is hope,
because some noble people keep them going. What these street children dream of?
Education The Indian Express News Service, Ahmedabad,
June 11, 2006 cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=187348 [accessed 27 May 2011] These street
children live in areas surrounding the Kalupur
Railway Station like the Tejas Mehta, Mumbai, June
5, 2006 streetchildrennews.wordpress.com/2006/06/05/mumbai-street-kids-fall-prey-to-drugs/ [accessed 13 December 2016] A large number of
street kids in Mumbai are heavily into dope, by chasing, snorting, smoking
and injecting. Many of these children stay doped through the day to hide from
the daily run of the city. They have been addicts for years, and some started
as early as at the age of eight. Indian street kids offer glimpse into their
lives Parul Gupta, Agence France-Presse AFP, May
11, 2006 archives.dailytimes.com.pk/foreign/11-May-2006/indian-street-kids-offer-glimpse-into-their-lives [accessed 2 March
2015] Javed Khan left his
village home at the age of nine to see monuments in the Indian capital During that time,
Khan lived in an empty sewer, went without food for five days, was stabbed,
reported to a gang leader of street children and saw his friends lose their
lives to alcohol and drug addiction. Slum tours: a day trip too far? Amelia Gentleman, The Observer, 7 May 2006 www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2006/may/07/delhi.india.ethicalliving [accessed 27 May 2011] He pauses to give
the group of visitors from These children finally have an identity to
flash Tarannum Manjul,
The Indian Express News Service, cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=180918 [accessed 27 May 2011] Seven-year-old Munnu is no longer just another face in the crowd of
street children. He finally has an identity which he carries with pride. Munnu, like
nearly 2,000 other destitute children of the city, are now identified as the
‘Street and Working Children’, and also, ‘Children in Difficult
Circumstances’. TV star reunites runaway & family Reena Thapar
Kapoor and Santosh Andhale, May 25, 2006 www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=290998 [accessed 18 January 2017] Rafiq said that he ran
away from home because he was fed up of the constant shouting and nagging of
his step mother and grandmother. "Nani beat me
up ruthlessly because I was weak in studies so I left home and headed towards
the railway station. Once there, I did not know what to do so I boarded the
first train that came on the platform," disclosed Rafiq. Though he does not
remember which train it was, he said he realised he
had reached Mumbai as the sign board read Mumbai Central and he was told that
the train would not go beyond that. Without any
relative or friend in Mumbai, Rafiq started begging
on the trains for the first two months and slept on various railway stations. Street children savour
care Rajib Chatterjee, The
Statesman, Kolkata, April 30, 2006 streetchildrennews.wordpress.com/2006/04/30/street-children-savour-care/ [accessed 18 January 2017] Where have all the street children gone? They have gone to schools, thanks to Love and Care Foundation, a social service organisation formed by the residents of Tarakeswar, Singur and Haripal. About 120 street
children from Tarakeswar, Singur
and Haripal go to three schools formed by the organisation at three villages in Tarakeswar.
Apart from offering the usual lessons, the organisation
also tries to develop moral and ethical values among the students. The schools also
provide vocational training to the children. Many of the students have gone
to secondary schools after passing out from primary school. Begging menace on the increase The Hindu, Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 29, 2006 hindu.com/2006/04/29/stories/2006042921390300.htm [accessed 27 May 2011] [accessed 13 December 2016] Street children,
who form a sizable segment of alms-seekers in city, are vulnerable to wanton
cruelty, sexual exploitation and drug abuse. A majority of the street
children are hooked to chemical solvents such as petrol, liquid shoe-polish
and adhesives that contain addictive substances. Inhalation of
petrol fumes is a common addiction seen among the street children. The street children
procure shoe-polish, thinner and adhesives which contain turpentine from
shops and inhale them to get a high. A dream come true for street kids Bindu Shajan
Perappadan, The Hindu, www.hindu.com/2006/04/26/stories/2006042604040200.htm [accessed 27 May 2011] It was like a dream
come true for 52 street children and working children from Street children now direct traffic as
policemen AsiaNews/UCAN, At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 27 May 2011] Former street
children now direct traffic on the busy roads of INDIA-AIDS: Street
Children Are Most Vulnerable Bijoy Basant
Patro, InterPress News
Service IPS, NEW www.aegis.com/news/ips/1997/IP970902.html [accessed 27 May 2011] www.ipsnews.net/1997/09/india-aids-street-children-are-most-vulnerable/ [accessed 13 December 2016] Uma (not her real
name) was nine years old when she was first raped by a gang of homeless boys
at the New Delhi railway station, where she also lives. She said it happened
over and over again after that, until last year she became pregnant and
delivered a stillborn child on the platform. Information about Street Children - India [DOC] This report is taken from “A Civil Society
Forum for South Asia on Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Street Children”,
12- 14 December 2001, At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 27 May 2011] Street Kids India Expedition Street Kids India Expedition SK'i.e -- funded by Singapore International Foundation
SIF At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 27 May 2011] Kolkata is the
capital city of the state of Sexual Health in
Slum & Street children India, Research & Intervention Streetkids-Sexual and
Reproductive Health SRH www.streetkids-srh.org/project.php [accessed 27 May 2011] apps.searo.who.int/pds_docs/B0508.pdf [accessed 13 December 2016] Since 2001 an extensive
research & prevention / intervention program on sexual health and teenage
slum & street children in India has started. Street
Children Of Nigam S., PMID: 12289892 [PubMed - indexed
for MEDLINE] U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12289892?dopt=Abstract [accessed 28 May 2011] www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12289892 [accessed 13 December 2016] 90% of street
children are working children with regular family ties who live with their
families, but are on the streets due to poverty and their parents'
unemployment. The remaining 10% are either working children with few family
ties who view the streets as their homes or abandoned and neglected children
with no family tie CDB is the first bank initiated and run by
street & working children [DOC] The Children's Development Bank CDB At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 23 September 2011] The Children’s
Development Bank’s (CDB) 400 account holders -- mostly "rag
pickers" and street-children -- own and run the bank from its
headquarters at a night shelter for homeless children. Many of the children,
some as young as 10 and 11, sell newspapers, boxes of tissues and other wares
at traffic intersections. Some work on daily wages. Others collect waste and
then sell it for recycling. BBC News, 27 August, 2001 news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1502820.stm [accessed 28 May 2011] His idea was
simple. He installed a computer on the wall of his south Railway cops' bid
to reform street children Neil Pate, Times News Network (The Times of
[accessed 19 September 2011] Touched by the
plight of city urchins, many of whom are forced to live on railway platforms,
the Government Railway Police (GRP) have started holding evening classes in
hygiene and primary education for the children. Marathi and Hindi primary school texts form
the basis of this extraordinary platform.
A majority of the urchins have fled their homes to escape ill
treatment and poverty. Most of them
make a living as rag pickers, shoeshine boys or hawkers. The most disturbing problem, however, is
that nearly 90 per cent of them are addicted to inhaling toxic vapors of
chemicals such as thinners and whiteners. Oxfam in India -
The street children of Mysore Oxfam content.espressoeducation.com/espresso/modules/www/pshe/www_oxfam/oxfam/org/coolplanet/kidsweb/world/india/indioxf2.htm [accessed 9 Aug 2013] Some children in 25/09/2003 - Summer team big hit with Welshpool Baptist Church WBC At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 28 May 2011] “We taught at the Street Children Of At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 23 September 2011] An estimated 35,000
street children live in Street kids find
joy with Miss India Times News Network (The Times of articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2003-11-01/mumbai/27208649_1_street-children-street-kids-sunsilk-femina-miss-india [accessed 28 May 2011] timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Street-kids-find-joy-with-Miss-India/articleshow/262917.cms [accessed 13 December 2016] Ms Vashi said that she was glad to be associated with Project
Mainstream which takes care of 19,000 street children, providing meals and
vocational training for them. A business analyst herself, Ms
Vashi said that Project Mainstream’s effort to
improve the lot of these children and make them independent was particularly
impressive. Why Become a Rag-Picker or Street Child? Street Children Ministry www.dcmcares.co.in/streetchildren.html [accessed 9 Aug 2013] THE
RAGPICKER'S DAILY ROUTINE - As a street child,
between five and eighteen years of age, these children earn their livelihood
by polishing shoes, washing cars, finding parking spaces, rag picking
(recycling garbage), selling lottery tickets and news
papers, etc. They also work as coolies and helpers in automobile
repair shops, construction sites, and hotels. Their average earnings vary
between 15 Rupees to 20 per day, while the more experienced ones earn 25 to
40 Rupees. However, these are the lucky ones. The Girls are forced into
prostitution at an early age. Arising
at dawn, the rag picker children start their rounds. With feet bare and backs
aching, they carry the heavy gunny bags that contain the day's pickings.
Sometimes on foot they travel over 20 kilometers each day for the best
pickings. Their clothing is filthy, tattered, ill fitting, and wholly
inadequate for protection especially, when the weather is wet and cold. Life
is very hard as they rummage (competing and fighting with stray dogs and
cattle) through every filthy garbage heap in the city and railway stations.
All recyclable garbage is collected and sorted: paper, plastic, bottles,
bones, metals and rotting discarded food thrown out by households and railway
passengers. With this they fill their bags and often their starving bellies.
If the day's collection is bad, they resort to stealing for survival. If
good, they rush to the nearest wayside shop to ease their hunger. All
have regular scrap dealers to buy their loot. They receive a meager pittance,
and sometimes this pittance is withheld to repay a previous enforced loan.
Some days they starve. If a better price is negotiated by another dealer, the
child is frequently beaten and tied up. However
the issue of greater concern is related to their pattern of spending, where a
major part of their income is spent on drugs, alcohol, solvent abuse
(sniffing solvents), and gambling. They frequently become involved in street
fights. With little money and too much freedom, they are vulnerable and fall
prey to any number of situations that threaten life and soul. Late
in the afternoon they resume their second round of collection. Then after
sorting and selling their loot, they spend their nights on the streets or in
graveyards, where they are exploited and abused. Older rag pickers and
perverted people give them drugs or threaten them for sexual purposes, thus
exposing them to A.I.D.S, and many more sexual and life threatening diseases. A
rag picker is not a beggar. He works hard and considers rag picking a
profession of choice. It enables him to earn money, daily, and offers him
ample amounts of free time. They are very loyal and protective of each other,
sharing food and money. The rag picker is proud and feels that he is master
of his own life.
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