Street Children in Bangladesh

Street children are the children of the poorest people in Bangladesh. Street children live, grow up and work on the margins of the society in a state of neglect and deprivation. They lack protection, education, affection, care and proper guidance from adults.

In 1990, the government estimated there were about 1.8 million children on the streets of Bangladesh. About 215,000 children (including 100,000 girls) were thought to be in Dhaka City alone. Twelve years later, there are probably several million children on the streets in Bangladesh. Most of them work as vendors, car-cleaners, newspaper-sellers, beggars, helpers in garages/ rickshaw repair shops, rag pickers, and in other informal areas. They are often involved in dangerous and hazardous jobs.

There are many reasons why the numbers of street children are growing. These include the spiraling growth of urban population at 7 – 9 % per year, rural poverty and migration to urban centers, unemployment, landlessness, river erosion, family conflict, law and order situations, and the disintegration of traditional family and community structures.

The Ministry of Social Welfare of the Government of Bangladesh, with UNDP financial and technical assistance, is implementing a pilot project (Appropriate Resources for Improving Street Children’s Environment, or "ARISE") targeting children who work and live on the street without families –the– most vulnerable category of children.

ARISE works with partner NGOs to run Drop-In-Centers where street children are provided with shelter, education, skills development, medical treatment and psychological counseling, the project aims at promoting policy dialogue to introduce changes in the policies, laws and institutions to create congenial environment for healthy physical and mental growth of the street children.

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