SOS Children: Street Children
Even for a children charity which faces with so much of the world's heart-ache, few things are more upsetting than young children having to beg and forage an existence in the gutters of a large town or city. Unfortunately, such children are so commonplace in many large cities that people become blind to them. Sometimes their parents have been driven by the needs of other siblings and poverty to abandon their own child. Sometimes they have been left alone as orphans, in some places like Zambia this may well be by HIV/AIDS.
On one thing we can all agree. For whatever reason these young children got there, now they need our protection and help. If we do nothing, they will have no childhood at all and may well not survive.
We highlight here some of the charity's projects supporting street children. Read how in Zambia the epidemic of HIV/AIDS has ruined so many homes. See how in Bolivia such extreme poverty makes suffering a part of everyday life, and the local police force see street children as there to exploit, not help. Learn about how in Colombia local businessmen stop at nothing to "clean away" children they regard as simply a dirty nuisance. Read about Kenya where life is short and dirty for street children. All of these things are true, but remember that when you go to sleep, SOS Children is still working to help these children worldwide.
Would you like to learn more about the work of SOS Children or about how you can help street children around the world? For information about specific projects or the worldwide work of SOS Children, please contact rachel@soschildren.org.