"Street children"..a word thats enough to give us goosebumps..but for many of us its just a word but for many of the poor children its the harsh reality which they face everyday..
They live on streets which are noisy,smoky,smelly,crowded and chaotic.On the footpaths scruffy kids who beg,steal,shine shoes andsmear car windows in an effort to make a few rupess is a common scene.Boys,living on the streets have many jobs to do..pick pocketing,working on fruit stalls etc.
Though India is said to be a developing economy and it has lots of money but stll the 80% of the population lives on less than Rs 100 a day..HARSH REALITY!
The different jobs that these kids do..they can earn upto Rs 200 a day but there's a catch..you know what??..Street children have no place to keep the money where it won't be stolen,by adults,by bigger kids and sometimes by the corrupt police.They have to spend everything they earn everyday so there's no chance of saving and because of this these kids spend all their money on almost everything negative..be it drugs or getting involved with sex workers..they do it all which later on leads to harsh consequences but no one cares about it because they are "BRAIN WASHED" right from their childhood.They are taught that "studies" are a burden where all the freedom and entertainment they get will be lost!
And girls on street..the fate of the girl child on streets is even grimmer than that of boys.Almost all of them are quickly scooped up by brokers who sell them into prostituition.Police barely bother about those kids..they get their commission even from these poor kids..Now what else can be expected from the police????...
I am not telling that the government doesn't help these kids..they do! They provide these children with food and also give them shelter in dharamshalas and government school at night but the problem is that the level of curroption is so high in India that only a few amongst these lakhs of children gets benefited from these facilties.
Apart from all this the worst part of their life is "SLEEPING ON THE STREETS"..Its too scary,there's alwayz a fear that some vehicle would run over them and they will be dead.Infact sometimes accidents do happen and they loose their life for no fault of theirs at all.
We say that the crime rate has increased so much but do we know the actual reason for it??..The reason is that these children when grow up..most of them get into drug business and other illegal activities and who is to be blamed for that??..The government..the police or we the common masses..??...Well..nobody knows the answer..i guess!
Its not like no one is trying to help out..There are many NGO's who try their best to help these children.Many children who are forced in this world are rescued and properly treated.NGO programmes has helped sensitize visitors..foriegn and Indian alike to the problems of street children.Street kids who have gone through the trusts programmes are today living a very prosperous life by getting into some of the prestigious jobs ranging from engineers,doctors and the list goes on..
But still the situation is very grim.Although the government gives away money to these children still the status is as bad as always and eventually the government is going to run out of money and their situation would remain the same..
So we the common people should also contribute our bit for their upliftment.We can volunteer to work in shelters and programmes in our respective areas.Donate funds or supplies to organisation that work with the street youth.We should also educate ourselves..our peers..colleagues..family members about these issues.
There are nearly 18 million street children in our country "jinse unka bachpan cheena jaa raha"..
I know we can't help everyone..
But everyone can help someone..right???...
-Sheerin..
P.S : This post is based on the conversations i had with one of my friend "KALYANI BHONGLE" who works for an NGO and had spent a day with some of the street children of Mumbai.All the ideas and experiences are solely of her.
They live on streets which are noisy,smoky,smelly,crowded and chaotic.On the footpaths scruffy kids who beg,steal,shine shoes andsmear car windows in an effort to make a few rupess is a common scene.Boys,living on the streets have many jobs to do..pick pocketing,working on fruit stalls etc.
Though India is said to be a developing economy and it has lots of money but stll the 80% of the population lives on less than Rs 100 a day..HARSH REALITY!
The different jobs that these kids do..they can earn upto Rs 200 a day but there's a catch..you know what??..Street children have no place to keep the money where it won't be stolen,by adults,by bigger kids and sometimes by the corrupt police.They have to spend everything they earn everyday so there's no chance of saving and because of this these kids spend all their money on almost everything negative..be it drugs or getting involved with sex workers..they do it all which later on leads to harsh consequences but no one cares about it because they are "BRAIN WASHED" right from their childhood.They are taught that "studies" are a burden where all the freedom and entertainment they get will be lost!
And girls on street..the fate of the girl child on streets is even grimmer than that of boys.Almost all of them are quickly scooped up by brokers who sell them into prostituition.Police barely bother about those kids..they get their commission even from these poor kids..Now what else can be expected from the police????...
I am not telling that the government doesn't help these kids..they do! They provide these children with food and also give them shelter in dharamshalas and government school at night but the problem is that the level of curroption is so high in India that only a few amongst these lakhs of children gets benefited from these facilties.
Apart from all this the worst part of their life is "SLEEPING ON THE STREETS"..Its too scary,there's alwayz a fear that some vehicle would run over them and they will be dead.Infact sometimes accidents do happen and they loose their life for no fault of theirs at all.
We say that the crime rate has increased so much but do we know the actual reason for it??..The reason is that these children when grow up..most of them get into drug business and other illegal activities and who is to be blamed for that??..The government..the police or we the common masses..??...Well..nobody knows the answer..i guess!
Its not like no one is trying to help out..There are many NGO's who try their best to help these children.Many children who are forced in this world are rescued and properly treated.NGO programmes has helped sensitize visitors..foriegn and Indian alike to the problems of street children.Street kids who have gone through the trusts programmes are today living a very prosperous life by getting into some of the prestigious jobs ranging from engineers,doctors and the list goes on..
But still the situation is very grim.Although the government gives away money to these children still the status is as bad as always and eventually the government is going to run out of money and their situation would remain the same..
So we the common people should also contribute our bit for their upliftment.We can volunteer to work in shelters and programmes in our respective areas.Donate funds or supplies to organisation that work with the street youth.We should also educate ourselves..our peers..colleagues..family members about these issues.
There are nearly 18 million street children in our country "jinse unka bachpan cheena jaa raha"..
I know we can't help everyone..
But everyone can help someone..right???...
-Sheerin..
P.S : This post is based on the conversations i had with one of my friend "KALYANI BHONGLE" who works for an NGO and had spent a day with some of the street children of Mumbai.All the ideas and experiences are solely of her.
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