...and yet, GOD feeds them.....

The reality…

The term 'street children' is hotly debated. Some say it is negative - that it labels and stigmatises children. Others say it gives them an identity and a sense of belonging. It can include a very wide range of children who: are homeless; work on the streets but sleep at home; either do or do not have family contact; work in open-air markets; live on the streets with their families; live in day or night shelters; spend a lot of time in institutions (e.g. prison). The term 'street children' is used because it is short and widely understood. However, we must acknowledge the problems and wherever possible we should ask the children what they think themselves. In reality, street children defy such convenient generalisations because each child is unique.

The Number

Nobody knows. Street children are not easy to count because: they move around a lot, within and between cities; they are often excluded from 'statistic-friendly' infrastructures (schools, households etc.); definitions of 'street children' are vague and differing. Numbers of 'street children' have often been deliberately exaggerated and misquoted in order to sensationalise and victimise these children. Street children have the right to be accurately represented. City-level surveys conducted by local organizations and supported by a clear definition are more reliable. In many countries, there is anecdotal evidence that numbers are increasing, due to uncontrolled urbanisation (linked to poverty), conflict and children being orphaned by AIDS. Most statistics are just estimates e.g. Kenya: 250,000; Ethiopia: 150,000; Zimbabwe: 12,000; Bangladesh: 445,226; Nepal: 30,000; India: 11 million (these are based on broad definitions of 'street children'). Regardless of the statistics, even one child on the streets is too many if their rights are being violated.

The Gender -Statistics

Generally there are fewer girls than boys actually living on the streets (studies indicate between 3% and 30% depending on the country). This is for several reasons. In many cultures, there is much greater pressure for girls to stay at home than boys. Research shows that girls will put up with abuse at home for longer than boys but that once girls make the decision to leave home, the rupture is more permanent than for boys. Girls are also less visible on the streets as they are often forced or lured into brothels. Even though there are fewer street-living girls than boys, they are extremely vulnerable to human rights abuses both on the street and when they are arrested. However, it is important to note that street boys are also at risk of sexual abuse and exploitation as well as girls.

Families

Relatively few street children are actually orphans (although these numbers are increasing in some countries due to AIDS). The majority of street children are still in contact with their families and/or extended families. Many of them work on the streets in order to contribute to their family's income. Those who run away often do so because of physical, psychological and/or sexual violence or abuse at home. Family breakdown is also common in the case of re-marriage and problems with step-parents. Importantly, many projects try to reunify street children with their families. However, this is a complex and frustrating task that requires much specialised counselling to address the root causes why the child ran away in the first place. Unfortunately, in many cases, reunification with the family fails, or is not in the best interests of the child. In these cases alternatives such as fostering, group homes and residential centres are needed. Street children are rarely alone, even if they have no family contact.

Protection

Ironically, street children are often at greatest risk of violence from those that are responsible to protect them - the police and other authorities. Police often beat, harass, sexually assault and even torture street children. They may beat children for their money or demand payment for protection, to avoid false charges, or for release from custody. They may seek out girls to demand sex. For many street children, assaults and thefts by the police are a routine part of their lives. Some are even killed by police. Very rarely are those responsible brought to justice.

And Finally….

Many images and stories portray street children either as helpless victims, dangerous criminals or heroic survivors. The reality is usually somewhere in between. They show incredible resiliency and initiative in the face of desperate circumstances. They have to be resourceful and strong in order to survive. But some do not survive. Others can only do so by breaking the law. We should respect their individual stories and characteristics. Each child is unique.

HELP THEM .... TO SETTLE

The movie “Slumdog Millionaire” made India proud at the Oscars and has also put the slums of the country before the world’s audience. Does government have a policy to deal with the actual issue of ever-increasing slums and the concerned problems?Even as the ‘movie on the slums’ made a huge success at the Oscars. It was another day of hard scribble existence for the people in slums, living with a hope that the movie would stir government into action.

As per the 2001 Census the slum population constitutes four percent of the total population of the country. Total Slum Population returned as per provisional results of Census of India 2001 was 40,605,418, comprising of 22.76% of the total urban population of the cities/towns reporting slums. This means that almost quarter of Indian cities live in slums. And sadly 5,531,062 (5 million) of this population are young children (0-6 age group).

The numbers for the richest state in India, Maharashtra are even worse. Almost 32% of the state’s population live in slums. And 5 million (5,823,510 to be precise) are in the financial capital of India, Mumbai. About 49% of Mumbai’s population live in slums
And these figures are ever growing. And hopes for a concrete shelter for these slum-dwellers, depends on the Government.

One of the problems associated with urban growth is the increase in the proportions of slums especially in metros, as people migrate from rural poorer sections in search of work. Subsequently, living in these congested and degraded spaces within cities. The rights of slum-dwellers to shelter, basic amenities have been marginally addressed till date.

HELP THEM .... TO BE HEALTHY

As in other developing nations, undernourishment is a burden on considerable percentage of population, the most vulnerable being the youngest of this country ¹ . India accounts for about 40% of undernourished children in the world, which contribute to high morbidity and mortality in the country ² . Most of these undernourished children are underprivileged and many reside in slums. Slums are those areas which are characterized by insecure residual status, poor structural quality of house, overcrowding, inadequate access to safe water and sanitation ³ . Therefore, slum dwellers are more vulnerable to infections which results in deterioration of their nutritional status. Hitherto, data are lacking on undernutrition ⁴ , as assessed by WHO recommended Z-score method, of urban slum children of West Bengal. Thus, the present study was undertaken to ascertain the level of underweight, stunting and wasting among urban slum children of Midnapore town in West Bengal, India.

This cross-sectional study was conducted in a slum area in Midnapore town of West Bengal, India, during November - December, 2005. Midnapore is located approximately 130 kms from Kolkata, the provincial capital of West Bengal State. All information was collected by a trained investigator (SD). Parents were informed about the objectives of the study and their written consent was obtained. The study protocol was approved by the institutional ethical committee. Information on age, sex, weight and height were recorded with the help of questionnaire. Children's age were recorded as reported by mothers and verified further with other senior members of the household. The estimated number of study subjects was calculated to be 96 by the formula: n = (z ² x p x q)/d ² . Where, z =1.96, p is the prevalence of undernutrition (50%), q = 1 - p and d is the desire precession (10%). Therefore, a total of 113 children were selected following random sampling method.

Weight and height measurements were made following standard technique  using weighing scale and anthropometer rod to the precession of 0.5 kg and 0.1cm, respectively. Underweight, stunting and wasting were defined as weight-for-age (WAZ), height-for-age (HAZ) and weight-for-height (WHZ) Z-score below -2 standard deviation from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reference populations ⁶ using EPI Info version 6.0 Software. The WHO  classification was followed for assessing severity of malnutrition by percentage prevalence ranges of these three indicators among children.

The data from the present study comprised of 113 children aged 3-6 years, of these 56 were boys and 57 were girls. Table 1 shows the age and sex distribution of the subjects. It also presents the means (standard deviations) of their anthropometric characteristics. It was observed that there was consistent increasing age trend in mean weight and height in both sexes. Girls were heavier and taller than boys at all ages.

The present study reported very high rates of underweight, stunting and wasting among the slum children. According to the WHO  classification, the severity of undernutrition was very high indicating a critical situation. These results implied that there children were under critical nutritional stress. Most studies worldwide  have also reported high to very high rates of undernutrition among slum children. The results of the present study are in concordance with these findings.

In general, undernutrition was more prevalent   among slum children in South Asia (Bangladesh and India) as compared to those of Africa (Nairobi and Mushin) and South East Asia (Bangkok). These observations are in also agreement with the earlier well documented report ⁷ that the level of undernutrition among children (not necessarily slum dwelling) in South Asia (Bangladesh, India, and other adjoining countries) are among the highest in the world. A noteworthy finding was that compared to other studies, the prevalence of wasting (32.7%) among the slum children of Midnapore was the highest.

It is well established that undernutrition continues to be a primary cause of ill-health and premature mortality among children in developing countries  and chronic undernutrition in childhood is linked with slower cognitive development and serious health impairments of later in life that reduce the quality of people  . Therefore, immediate appropriate nutritional intervention programmes are required to be implemented among slum children of Midnapore. Since undernutrition among children is prevalent in almost all the states in India  , similar studies should be conducted among slum-dwelling children of various ethnicity residing in different towns of India to determine whether there are any ethnic and regional variations in the prevalence of undernutrition. These studies should help in the formulation of health intervention and promotion programmes to reduce the prevalence of undernutrition. Lastly, we suggest that future investigations of nutritional status of slum-dwelling children also incorporate information on morbidity and mortality to better understand the relationship of undernutrition and health outcome.

HELP THEM ..... TO LEARN...

The Students of Symbiosis Infotech Campus (SIC) have come together to contribute towards providing better quality education for slum children. The group is called Prayatna and their intention is to enrich the experience that the slum children get from the government run schools that they attend.


“These children do attend their government-run schools, but they needed that extra looking after to make themselves more competent. We not only take classes for them on our campus but have also got them admitted in a good English medium school for their better education,” says Chauhan, adding, “We have to catch them young as it becomes difficult to shift them from a Hindi or vernacular medium schools to a English medium one.”


The really interesting part is the source of the funds for this activity:


Not neglecting the funds, he said that they were paying Rs 7000 per children to the school, which in turn takes care of all the needs of the children – from fees to books to uniforms. When asked about the source of funds, Chauhan explained that SIC students conduct film festivals and games through which they collect money for the children. They also collect old clothes and books from SIC students. However the noble idea was of alumni adopting the children.


It is truly wonderful that as part of their college activities the students are able to source funds and provide for a better education for the lesser privileged children of our country. We hope that this model will act as a source of inspiration for many other colleges across India to give back something to the society.

And the work just doesn’t seem to stop at providing classroom education, as the article goes on to say:


Apart from the schooling, they also have many activities lined up for the kids.”We bring them to our campus five times a week and give them classes for english, maths, science, personality development, general knowledge and so on. We also take them for games and sports. We show them inspirational documentaries,


One of the objectives with which The Better India was started is to spread awareness and create a sense of social contribution amidst our citizens. Hence, for us it is heartening to note that today’s students are already treading this path of spreading welfare! We wish Prayatna all the very best in their ongoing endeavors and look forward to many more school children receiving quality education from SIC and other similar college bodies.

HELP THEM....TO SMILE

Loneliness and social isolation are dominant motifs of city street life. Around half the homeless men and women, boys and girls whom we spoke to in Patna, Chennai, Madurai and Delhi said they never celebrated festivals, three fourths said they had no friends whom they could trust and more than half felt that they belonged to no community, even of the homeless. Sixty-two out of 85 homeless people we spoke to in Patna sadly felt they had never been helped by anyone — government, neighbours, charity — during their entire lives on the streets.

The majority of homeless people, in all cities, of all ages and gender, find one kind of solace in their loneliness in some kind of drugs or intoxication. Most street children are introduced to the easy but deadly escape from pain and loneliness offered by soft drugs early in their days on the streets. Thinners are readily available at any stationery shop for Rs. 25 a bottle. Shopkeepers know that the children who buy these are not using them for painting, but they do not hesitate to sell to the street urchins who flock to their stores. Two bottles are enough for a day for one child. They soak a rag and inhale the fumes of the solution, and it transports them to a world free from hurt and violence. But it also destroys their lungs, rendering them vulnerable to TB, and damages their brains and memory. Many children graduate to hard drugs like smack, but fortunately others are able to steer themselves away, as they know that for those who succumb to smack, it is virtually the end of the road

Sharing to survive

Street boys, cut off from their families in their village and alone in the city, tend to live in gangs, sharing everything — food, clothes, intoxicants, sleeping under the same sheet — teaching each other trades like rag-picking and recycling drinking water bottles, protecting each other from street violence and the police, and feeding each other in sickness.

They find other ways of enjoying life as well, some healthy, some less so. Street entrepreneurs have set up makeshift video parlours, especially on lanes where they sell their rags and waste. These are nothing more than a space marked off by faded curtains with a television set. For five rupees, you can watch as many films as you like. The parlours are packed with the rejects of the city, street boys and lonely migrant workers, rickshaw-pullers, head loaders, construction workers, watching raptly Hindi cinema interspersed with pornographic films. But a third of the homeless people we spoke to (and nearly half those in Patna) say they have no source of recreation at all; they could not afford to enjoy for even brief moments to savour the glitter of city lights.

HELP THEM....TO SURVIVE

Two million slum children die every year 

Our countries growing status as an economic superpower is masking a failure to stem a shocking rate of infant deaths among its poorest people.

Nearly two million children under five die every year in India – one every 15 seconds – the highest number anywhere in the world. More than half die in the month after birth and 400,000 in their first 24 hours.

A devastating report by Save the Children,  reveals that the poor are disproportionately affected and the charity accuses the country of failing to provide adequate healthcare for the impoverished majority of its one billion people. While the World Bank predicts that India's economy will be the fastest-growing by next year and the country is an influential force within the G20, World Health Organisation figures show it ranks 171st out of 175 countries for public health spending.

Malnutrition, neonatal diseases, diarrhoea and pneumonia are the major causes of death. Poor rural states are particularly affected by a dearth of health resources. But even in the capital, Delhi, where an estimated 20% of people live in slums, the infant mortality rate is reported to have doubled in a year, though city authorities dispute this.

Save the Children says millions of mothers and their babies are simply not getting the skilled medical care they need, and the poor, in particular, have been left behind.

India's state healthcare system is supposed to be open to all, offering access to government-run hospitals. The reality is that, while government hospitals often offer high standards of care, they can be overcrowded, and if they are short of the required medicines patients are asked to pay for them themselves. In the meantime, private health care has surged and now accounts for the majority of India's medical provision, giving access to world-class facilities for those who can pay or who can afford private insurance premiums.

According to the UK India Business Council, about 50 million middle-class Indians can afford private healthcare – a growing number but still a tiny fraction of the overall population – while the country still lags behind other developed countries, with only 0.7 hospital beds per 1,000 people compared with a global average of 4.

Many slum-dwellers are too far from hospitals to make use of their facilities, because they cannot afford to use private auto-rickshaws to reach them and there is no public transport. Instead they turn to quack doctors – a slightly cheaper option, but because they are unregulated and notoriously unreliable, one fraught with dangers.

According to the report, the national mortality rate for under-fives in the poorest fifth of the population is 92 in 1,000 compared with 33 for the highest fifth. The national average is 72.

The Save the Children report says nearly nine million children die worldwide every year before the age of five. India has the highest number of deaths, with China fifth. Afghanistan has the dubious distinction of featuring in the top 10 of total child deaths and of child deaths per head of population.

The charity accuses the world's leaders of a scandalous failure to meet the Millennium Development Goals, agreed in 2000, to cut child mortality by two- thirds between 1990 and 2015 and calls for a sharp increase in health spending