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.
