Thoughts on Street Children

            The problem of street children is mostly prevalent in  developing countries like the Philippines but we certainly don't have a monopoly on this issue since a number of what we call developed/industrialized countries have a street children problem of their own though not on a scale as high compared to the third world (Read: developing) countries.

            Why? It is because of a well-structured, amply-funded social programs rendering basic and support services to target groups such as street children.

            Can we lick the problem of street children here in the Philippines? Maybe we can, maybe we can't.

            There are scores of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) tackling the problem of the seemingly increasing number of children on the streets and yet it seems they're hardly making any dent at all. We're not belittling the work of the NGOs, on the contrary , their doing a great job. But maybe with a firm commitment from the government and a little more help from the private sector we could considerably alleviate the problem of the street children in Metro Manila's urban sectors and other cities as well.

            A cursory glance when you travel to urban communities would make you wonder, "Whatever happened to the government's program on street children?!" There are still a considerable number of them out in the streets begging, sniffing glue, and other activities deemed by society as out of norm.

            Of the so many points cited in the foregoing discussions, poverty alleviation is one aspect the government should focus on. With the economic upliftment of families opportunities for the proper development of the child towards becoming a productive member of society would abound. Lest we be judged as being passive and always putting the blame on the shortcomings of the government there are volunteering programs implemented by NGOs where we could offer our services in whatever way we can. 

             One such NGO is the Tuloy Foundation which offer street children adequate food, clothing, shelter, healthcare and basic education, particularly from elementary to high school. They also help the child pursue vocational courses after finishing secondary school.

              One way we could help in this aspect is to sponsor a child to further his/her studies up to collegiate level. Maybe we could set-up a small business where they could work during the daytime and go to school at night, practically paying for their studies with their wages and at the same time learning the value of work and hard-earned money. Funding for this proposed program could be sourced from government or private financial institutions sensitive to the issue/problem of the street children.