Findings reveal that street children did not have fixed places for sleeping at night but slept in places they felt pretty secured. They survive with the money they earned daily, and take food from the street food vendors or sometimes by stealing or begging food from hotels or restaurants.
Regardless of the reasons given for children living street lives without any family or social support, they all are exposed to harsh living conditions, malnutrition, diseases. In addition, many innocent children become subjects of sex abuse, alcohols and drugs and are recruited by organised criminal gangs.
Street children can suffer from mental health issues
Street-connected children often suffer from depression, anxiety and trauma, which then may lead to substance abuse and a risk of suicide. The stigma and social exclusion faced by street-connected children has a negative impact on their mental well-being.
Many street children come from structurally disadvantaged homes with poor living conditions. Parental loss through deaths or shortages of housing force children onto the streets in order to survive.
There are estimated to be around 120 million children living on the streets in the world (30 million in Africa, 30 million in Asia, and 60 million in South America). Often victims of all kinds of abuse, these children still have rights…
According to the Local Education and Economic Development Organization (LEEDO), some of the street children are addicted to drugs and die on the streets. Some are trafficked through various cycles. Organs of traffickers are sold. They are victims of various kinds of torture.
Street life is also associated with psycho-social distress; like depression, mental disorder and suicide. In response to the alarming and intensifying problem of street children in Africa, many researchers, scholars, institutes, and universities have tended to study and document this issue.
Children are found living on the streets for many reasons, including difficult or dangerous living situations at home, often cause by parental unemployment, alcoholism, violence and abuse.
UNICEF has defined three types of street children: Street-Living, Street-Working, and Street-Family.
Positive coping strategies include carrying personal belongings of passengers, engaging in various petty businesses, shoe shinning and doing errands of persons. The study indicated that most children try to survive engaging in these positive or socially acceptable coping strategies.
Some children go through stressful things. Some have faced loss, trauma, or hardships. Some go through serious health conditions. These things can lead to sadness or grief — and sometimes to depression.
Males made up 55.9% of people experiencing homelessness; females made up 44.1%. 23.0% of all people experiencing homelessness were aged from 12 to 24 years.
A majority of people experiencing homelessness long-term in Australia are found in the large cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. It is estimated that on any given night approximately 116,000 people will be homeless and many more are living in insecure housing, "one step away from being homeless".
Childhood is a critical time, affecting our health, development, and setting the foundations for the rest of our lives. Sadly, around 19,400 children aged 0-14 are homeless in Australia.
Homeless youth are often called street kids, or urchins; the definition of street children is contested, but many practitioners and policymakers use UNICEF's concept of boys and girls, aged under 18 years, for whom "the street" (including unoccupied dwellings and wasteland) has become home and/or their source of ...
Their home life may be burdened by the disadvantages of poverty, neglect, abuse, unemployment, substance abuse, health complications, disability and mental illness. This cycle of events causes some young people to feel there is no other option, but to leave.
Increased danger of abuse and violence. Increased chance of entering the criminal justice system. Development of behavioral problems.
Child wasting refers to a child who is too thin for his or her height and is the result of recent rapid weight loss or the failure to gain weight. A child who is moderately or severely wasted has an increased risk of death, but treatment is possible.
The function of the suffering child is as a scapegoat for all the negative that usually permeates a society.
Many children in India already lack access to proper nutrition, education and medical services. These conditions in tandem with family violence urge children to seek better lives for themselves, often away from home and on the streets of large nearby cities.
It's estimated that more than 600,000 children live on the streets in Bangladesh, of whom 75% are in the capital of Dhaka. In a country ranked 135th on the Human Development Index and where 50% of the population live below the poverty line, these children represent the absolute lowest level in the social hierarchy.
Street play creates new opportunities for socialising and friendships. These are often across age groups, or with children that go to other schools. Playing out also increases contact between children and adults, helping to build up familiarity and trust.
Street Child is a UK charity, established in 2008, that aims to create educational opportunity for some of the world's most vulnerable children.
Part of a Street Family: These children live on sidewalks or city squares with the rest of their families. They may be displaced due to poverty, wars, or natural disasters. The families often live a nomadic life, carrying their possessions with them.