Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Street Children of Dhaka, Bangladesh

UNICEF defines street children as, "those who are of the street and on the street." In this study, the term street children refers to those children of 5 to 14 years of age who earn their living on the city streets and stay there for most, or all, of the day. They may or may not have parents or legal guardians. On a study says- street children were categorized into four groups: children of 5-14 years of age who work on the streets the whole day and 

a) live on the streets without any family
b) live on the streets with their family
c) return to another family; and 
d) return to their own family.

Of the 300 street children 84% were boys and 16% were girls. The median age for boys was 12 years and girls were 7 to 8 years. The younger age for girls was largely because of the sexual harassment that the adolescent girls usually face, which force them to work in other sectors. Most of the street children work in the informal sector and their working hours vary widely.

An important observation from a survey was that 91% of these street children who generally work for the whole day are virtually dependent on their income on a daily basis. Less than a third of the children are able to earn a poor sum of 20-30 taka per day. Almost all of their income is usually spent for food with little or no savings. A significant number of the respondents (65%) contribute towards the income of their family.

Photo taken on Zial Uddan, Dhaka
Photo taken on Shadarghat Launch Terminal, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Photo taken on Kamrangirchor, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Photo taken on Kamlapur Railway Satation, Dhaka, Banglaesh
Photo taken on Airport Station, Dhaka Bangladesh.
Photo taken on Airport Station, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 
Photo taken on Kamlapur Station Dhaka, Bangladesh.
A recent report by the Arise NGO, funded jointly by the Bangladeshi government and the United Nations, says that those three out of 10 urban children live in difficult circumstances and are involved in dangerous jobs. 

Reports due to be published imminently by Save the Children and the United Nations Children Fund will reach similar conclusions.

They are both expected to point out that a growing number of children in Bangladesh are being sucked into begging or prostitution.

3 comments:

Ruby said...

It's always sad to see such things happening. In cases like this I blame the parents. My opinion is that if one can't afford to have a family, then don't plan on having one yet until he/she knows that he/she is financially secured. Because in the end, the child is suffering. These kids need to be in school and although they can go to school for free, their families throw them in streets and wait for money.

Atik Ullah Sayeed said...

@ Ruby: its true but, they believe that if more child they will help their parents at their old age. more child more earning source.

NRabbee said...

They are little angels walking on earth protected by the city and Goddess