Street Children in the Philippines

“Ang Kabataan ang Pag-asa ng Bayan” – Dr. Jose Rizal

                 

       Street children, here in the Philippines, are the most widespread group in the country. These are the poor or homeless children who live on the streets of a city or town. This includes under-aged individuals who frequently stay or hang out on the streets and are unsupervised. 

       They are so prominent that if you ask any Filipino if they have seen or witnessed street children they would most likely say, yes. I bet it could go as far as to say that if you ask a Filipino what they envision from the word street children, there will be recurring descriptions. When we think of street children we often depict them as having a brownish tone due to constant exposure to the sun, wearing dirty ragged clothes/naked, inadequate hygiene, hanging out with other street children, having a carefree attitude, and sadly being unsupervised by their parents. 

I think we can all agree that these are some of the things that come to mind when we think of street children, which should not be the case. It is disheartening to know that we are so used to street children here in the Philippines that they have become their own “ethnic group” in a sense. It is sad but it is the reality of the current situations and problems our country is experiencing. 

           Let us dig deeper to further increase our knowledge of the situation and maybe come up with a solution. According to a 1998 report entitled "Situation of the Youth in the Philippines", there were about 1.5 million street children in the Philippines. This was back in 1998, 23 years later imagine how many street children are in the country today. According to a child care organization called the Stairway Foundation, there are three different categories of street children. 

First are the Children on the streets, they make up 75% of the street children in the Philippines. These are the children that have livelihoods on the streets or loiter around the street. They have homes to return to and even attend school. These are the street children that are often in the streets but still have families that take care of them.

Second, are the Children of the street, they make up 25-30% of the street children in the country. They live on the streets and make groups with fellow street children. Some may have families that take care of them or mistreat them. These are the street children we are most accustomed to and the main cause for concern.

Last are the Completely abandoned children, they make up 5-10% of the street children in the country.         They have no families and are entirely on their own for their survival. These are the children who are abused and whose rights have been violated because they don’t have parents to protect them. 

Abandonment and lack of supervision of children lead to problems for the street children and the community they belong to. This includes an increase in poverty, exposure and spread of drugs, child prostitution, health risks, diseases, and many others. That is why we must apprehend the problem before it becomes worse. 

       What are things we can do to help? A helpful aid in the fight is by supporting organizations that focus on helping the street children. Organizations that establish charities and shelters, providing counseling, food, clothing, and religious instruction in an attempt to help street children. They say that prevention is better than a cure, then what’s a better form of prevention than providing children with proper education. Through proper instilling of education, we are showing the street children what is right for them and showing them that there are people who care. Dr. Jose Rizal said that “Ang kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan.” Then why are we abandoning the hope of the Philippines?