The number of street children all over the world is estimated to be as many as 150 million – a precise figure does not and cannot exist since many street children have no birth certificate. Some children live and work on the streets by day but return to their families in the evenings. Others have broken off all contact with their families and live permanently on the streets.
Street children are in constant danger and can never rest: they are beaten up, chased away and mistreated. Many try to escape from their harsh reality by taking drugs, usually cheap glue. Their undernourishment and the lack of medical attention leave their health permanently damaged. This is exacerbated by the constant stress the children are exposed to. Winning the trust of a street child is very difficult. Often, free meals or sports activities, especially football, provide an opportunity for a first conversation. But the road to reintegration is long: teenagers who have learned that only might is right find it hard to adjust to the rules of normal cohabitation.
So it is all the more gratifying when former street children regain a firm foothold, finish a training course and make new plans for the future: to make all that possible, Jugend Eine Welt supports numerous centres for street children in Latin America, Africa, India and eastern Asia. It is at these centres that the children and young people experience security and love, often for the first time in their lives.
