Their living conditions are abysmal. They sleep under bridges, in railway stations, in derelict or half-built houses.

They depend on charity or on doing jobs like collecting newspapers from the streets. They even scour the rubbish for something to eat. If they can, they get work running errands, shining shoes or as street-sellers - any work they can find. Sometimes there is no alternative to prostitution.

Both small children and youngsters are extremely vulnerable: 75% of them are addicted to drugs, tobacco, alcohol or gambling…

Due to the insanitary conditions in which they live or work, they are vulnerable to diseases such as tuberculosis, Aids, and skin infections. Of course, they are also liable to suffer accidents.
They have no rights; no one is there to speak up for them. Nobody protects them, takes care of them or even listens to them.

They live by themselves, alone on the streets.


1.The street-children are our over-riding concern. Street-children have no choice but to grow up fast. They must fight every day simply to survive. Many of them ran away from their families, from physical abuse, alcoholic parents or simply from poverty.

They rely on themselves, since no one helps them or gives them support. Most of them work in the most basic jobs or those that require no skills such as: collecting garbage, shining shoes, washing cars, collecting any kind of waste paper or selling water bottles in the train stations.

Their need for food and other basic necessities comes to dominate their existence. To find food they scour the rubbish, beg, or go to religious centres that can give them something to eat.

They are at permanent risk of abuse or exploitation. Even though most want to live within the law, they are easily forced into criminal activity. Local gangs force them to share their earnings and take advantage of them. The police may arrest them because they are considered petty criminals.

Street-children get into bad habits like smoking or using drugs from a very young age. Some of them are sexually abused not just by adults but also by their own peers.

The street girls are sexually abused routinely and forced into prostitution.

They are vulnerable to Aids and other diseases (skin infections, lung disease, tuberculosis, Hepatitis B.) due to the poor health conditions and lack of access to medical facilities. They suffer from psychological problems induced by depression, anxiety, stress, guilt and insecurity.

Due to their way of life they never attain any social status. Their existence is tolerated — no more. They live in a vicious circle, looking for the protection of the local gangs in order to make a living. They face the miseries of poverty at an unusually young age. The result of this is that they have no childhood and their prospects for the future are blighted.

The street-girls live under worse conditions than the street boys. Local gangs take them from one train station to another and force them to prostitute themselves. Some of them live miserable lives in communities close to the stations. In exchange for food and shelter, they are forced into the sex trade, without any protection. They live in fear, which affects them psychologically and emotionally. They lose all self-esteem. They have no prospects for the future.

Their situation demands urgent action.


2. Child labourers make up another important group for us. They live the life of an adult, working long hours and making very little money. Their working conditions affect their health as well as their mental development. Many of them are living away from their families and cannot get a normal education that could offer them the possibility of a better future. One of the main reasons there are so many children in this situation is because of the large number of poor and indebted families in rural India.

More than 73% of the children are forced to work, either by their parents or by other members of their family. The unregulated urban labour market is supplied by an army of young children, working as servants, dishwashers in restaurants or bars, car parks and even in child prostitution - anything they can find. These children must work extremely hard to eat and are liable to suffer physical abuse at the hands of their bosses.
In short, they work many hours to earn a pitifully small amount of money under appalling conditions.

3.The third group that we take care of is made up of children from poorer communities. Many of them are from other parts of India. Most came with their families and now live on the street or in slums. The number of people living in overpopulated areas, insanitary conditions or simply on the streets is increasing at an alarming rate.

The children that live on the streets are so used to this uncomfortable way of life that they can suffer from claustrophobia when they move to an institution. Members of poor families depend so much on one another that they need any money they can get to survive. Instead of going to school, these children must work and earn money for their families.