It’s no easy life out on the streets

There is nothing more touching than the sight of a bleary-eyed kid with a smudged, dirty face stretching out her hand to you at a traffic signal begging for alms… or maybe trying to sell you balloons or trinkets as she struggles to earn a living. These are the street children of India with some estimates putting their number at 4 lakh to 8 lakh across the country while the actual numbers could be much, much higher.

Driven out of homes or fleeing because of poverty, abuse, domestic violence, parental alcoholism or separation, they live on the streets or in slums and shanties waiting for better times to come along, which rarely happens. Most of these kids end up in the recycling profession – they turn rag pickers picking and recycling plastic cups, paper and metal.

Many earn a handful of money washing cars or by engaging in petty vending. They are others who fall prey to illegal activities like picking pockets, stealing, drug peddling or prostitution. Living on the streets is a daily battle – they are victims of illiteracy, drug abuse and unemployment and are an easy target for torture by goons and even the cops; and the experiences they go through make them even more cynical of societal efforts to rehabilitate them.

A couple of days ago, there was a report that efforts by government agencies succeeded in rehabilitating around 23,000 of these street children; one can only laugh at these efforts as the number of kids who are saved from the streets does not account for even 10 per cent of the total number out there fighting for survival. These social welfare initiatives try to get the kids enrolled in schools, integrate them with families and provide vocational training to help them eke out a livelihood of their own.

But considering the fact that the number of kids staring at you from the roadside seems to be increasing by the day, one is sure that these measure are too little and too late In an ideal situation, a kid should not be seen on the streets begging for alms or on roads, working as rag pickers or even washing cars.

They should be in school, learning about everything that should matter to a young citizen, keen on absorbing all that matters for a fruitful life. They should be provided nutritious food like every other kid and never made to feel the absence of a loving and caring family atmosphere. Considering the excruciating experiences they have been through at a young age, efforts should be made to counsel them and ensure they do not carry the haunting memories into their later years.

And no effort should be spared at providing gainful employment after they complete their education, so that they are not pushed onto the streets once again. Is this all wishful thinking in a country where grinding poverty destroys the innocence of millions of kids? Absolutely not for the young are the future of a country and they of course include those who by force of circumstances, are not able to secure the best of living facilities or education.

The formulation of a comprehensive national scheme with enough funding to make sure no kid is left to fend on their own on the streets is something on which no political party would find any reason to disagree with.

Shockingly, there has hardly been any debate on these hapless little beings that are forced into a life of penury, torture, deprivation, loneliness and suffering for no fault of their own. Their future has to be saved, for it’s inextricably linked to ours.