Street children

Collecting recyclables on the streets is the only way for children to survive.

There are about 100 million street children around the world.

Most of them are teenagers, but some are as young as seven or eight.

On her own, a child with no food or shelter.

Some children leave their families because of extreme poverty or violence. Some are orphaned or abandoned. They have no support, they don’t go to school, and they must fend for themselves.

To survive, these children often end up begging or working for little pay in dangerous conditions. They are vulnerable to exploitation or abuse. Some, particularly girls, get coerced into the sex trade.

Myanmar: the situation

Myanmar is in South East Asia, and is formerly known as Burma.

Out of Myanmar’s total population of 47 million, almost half – 21 million – are children and adolescents. This contributes to a widespread problem for the country to provide adequate care for the young:

• 1.3 million babies are born each year. 92,000 die before the age of one.
• 138,000 die before the age of five.
• More than one in three children under the age of five are malnourished.
• Tens of thousands more suffer from preventable diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and diarrhoea.
• One in four children does not go to school.

Myanmar's economical and political hardship continues to push children onto the streets. Without help, these children struggle to survive and find themselves in vulnerable situations.

How your monthly contribution helps

Your support helps to rescue and care for street children, including:

• Providing shelter, food, education and support.
• Providing skills training for older children to improve their chances of employment.
• Working with the United Nations, non-government organisations and local governments to implement greater care and services for street children.