Hope for the Children of the Str

Hope for the Children of the Street

VOLUNTEERS of Faith... hits today

WORKING TOGETHER TO SAVE THE STREET CHILDREN

HCS- About Street Children

"First and Foremost, we are here to share the Gospel of Christ with those who have not heard. "

Great numbers of Brazil's most destitute people live in the slums of the big cities, the so-called favela, where the infrastructure, especially the drinking water and drainage systems, is deficient. Slum dwellers squat on land to which they have no legal title. But since this is mostly unused and unusable public land — hillsides, swamps, lagoons, rubbish dumps, and so on — they are not likely to be evicted.

Where these impoverished people live within sight of the pleasant living conditions enjoyed by the privileged elite, social tensions and the potential for conflict grow. The streets of large cities such as Manaus, Belem, & Sao Paulo are increasingly the scene of confrontations between rich and poor. Those who are unable to make a living as vendors of newspapers or lottery tickets, shoeshine boys, guards for parked cars or the like, are often forced to earn a living illegally. Even within the slums there is virtually no place for solidarity: when someone else's existence is a threat to one's own, self-interest comes first.

Extreme population density and crowded living conditions in the slums, combined with the struggle to survive, generally lead not only to social disintegration but also to violence within the family and to broken families. This makes the situation even more difficult for children and young people, and at least partly accounts for their increasing presence on the streets. The growing number of children who work on the streets, or even live there permanently, is one of the most pressing development problems world-wide. But of Latin American countries known to have “street children”, first and foremost is Brazil, where their numbers are estimated to have reached between 10 and 12 million. Along with suffering hunger, being undernourished, and being exposed to disease, probably nothing contributes more to the loss of human development potential than a childhood and youth spent outside the institutional framework of family and school in the usually hostile environment of the street.

1.)The largest category consists of children living in absolute poverty. These children grow up in an extremely underprivileged social environment. They lack the most elemental means to meet basic needs and usually receive hardly any or no parental care, because their mothers (who are often the only parent) are forced to seek some means of subsistence. In the absence of day-care facilities, the children, even toddlers, are left on their own. This exposes them to a high risk of starting an early “career” on the street.

2.) As a next step, these children are forced to fend for themselves at the earliest possible moment, and they may even have to contribute to the family income. They thus become “children on the street”, working as shoeshine boys, vendors of sweets, lottery tickets, newspapers, etc. They clean the windshields of cars stalled in traffic, perform little stunts, and so on. To improve their meager daily take, they may also beg — and if this is not enough, they steal. Tragically, child prostitution and drug-dealing are prevalent financial attractions as well. The children often cannot go home in the evening and frequently spend a few nights on the street, either because their working day is too long and home is too far away, or because they do not have enough money for the bus fare. They may also be unwelcome unless they bring home enough money. This is why it is not easy to differentiate between them and the “genuine” street children.

3.) “Genuine” street children or “children of the street” are either orphans or children who have been turned out or abandoned by their parents. But most of them have run away from home. The street is not just their workplace, it is their home. In this final stage the rupture between the child and adult society is complete. Because they live in a complete legal vacuum, these children are acutely exposed to repression and exploitation — often by public police officers. They buy tolerance by prostituting themselves, stealing for the officers, or giving them part of their income or booty. At any time they can be reminded that they have acted illegally; they can also be expelled, abused, or even killed.

Whatever category one may be talking about, the phenomenon of childhood on the streets has to be seen in the broader context of the “street population” as a whole. The cities of Brazil and Latin America teem with displaced and homeless people who had to escape from arid rural areas because it was no longer possible to survive there. But living space in the congested cities is scarce, and the notion that a dwelling place in the slums is free of rent is wrong. There, too, groups exist who “control” the space available and collect money for it. Many rural migrants cannot even afford a shack.

The distinction between “children on the streets” and “children of the streets” should not obscure the fact that the step towards becoming a “genuine” street child is very small

DID YOU KNOW?

There are between 100 to 150 Million street children worldwide.

More than 1.4 Billion children are growing up in non-Christian settings.
Children ages 10-14 working outside the home number more than 73 Billion.
Each minute of each day 8 children die from preventable illnesses like tetanus and pneumonia.
More than 8 Million babies die each year before reaching their first birthday, primarily from disease and inadequate care.
300 Million children live in health or life-threatening slum conditions.
More than 1 Million children are lured, forced or sold into the child prostitution industry each year.
A third of the worlds population consists of children under the age of 15, - 85% of those live in the developing world.
Over the past ten years, wars have killed 2 Million children, disabled up to 5 Million and left 12 Million homeless.

NOTE: This does not include the recent tragedies in the East, Central America and on the Gulf Coast.

FOR THE RECORD: It is hard to give perspective to a number as large as 100 to150 Million. This is more than all the children, 15 and under, living in the U.S. , Canada and half Western Europe combined.

Street Children: An Overview

There are an estimated 100 to150 million children who live and work on the streets in the developing world, more than 18 million in Brazil alone. Most of these children (75%) have some family links but spend most of their lives on the streets begging, parking and washing cars, selling trinkets ,or shinning shoes, to supplement their families income.

A majority never go beyond a forth grade education. The remaining 25% live full-time on the streets, often with a group of other children. Known as "Crianças da rua," they sleep in doorways, parks, abandoned buildings, or vacant lots. Since it's hard to get a regular job with no permanent home, many resort to petty theft and prostitution to survive.

Most street children in Manaus Brazil where we work are addicted to shoe glue or other inhalants. This takes away their hunger, and keeps them high, helping them to detach from their hard existence on the street. The cost of this addiction is high, most develop physical and psychological problems. including hallucinations, kidney failure, pulmonary edema, and irreversible brain damage. Abuse, physical, emotional, and sexual by parents, or step-parents is the most common reason for children to leave their families.

Many we have talked to say although life on the street is bad, it was worse when they lived at home, and they will never go back. The problem of street children must be looked at in its wider context. Most people, understandably, fear and despise these children, but rather than being perpetrators they are the victims of a larger set of economic and social problems which have led to increased poverty and desperation. It is also important to recognize that the current situation is not the fault of these children. They have been led astray or forced, through poverty and hunger, into street life. Begging, stealing, parking rackets, terrorism, sniffing of glue, taking drugs and so on, is the only way of life they know. Although these activities must not be condoned, one has to admire these children for their ability to survive and make the most of the harsh, hopeless conditions in which they find themselves. They are, after all, some of the youngest, most under-privileged and vulnerable individuals in this society.

We believe that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is empowering us and others like us to intervene in the lives of these young children. It is a task which we wholeheartedly accept.

Pray for us as we take the Gospel of Hope to the
Children of the Streets.

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Brazil: tragedy of street children

                      BY: TIMOTHY BANCROFT

        Abused, confused, lonely and abandoned, children take to the streets to find a safe refuge from abuse by parents or step-parents. In a life without hope from the moment they are born, they soon find that they have nowhere to go, no-one to turn to and no life to live. These are the street children of Brazil. Those in Brazil have perhaps the worst plight of Latin America’s 40 million street children, a figure translated into 100 million around the world. Sexually abused in deplorable living conditions, sold or rented by the day as sexual slaves to pedophile tourists jetting in for a “sex holiday” from European countries, Italy being one example recently identified, the children have only one option – the door. This door leads out onto a life which never really starts because the children never start to live.

     With only themselves to depend on, these solitary figures close themselves away from the outside world, retreating deeper and deeper into themselves into the hermetically sealed recesses of their terrified minds, with one unique objective in life : survival. Glue sniffing is an alternative to hunger and the hallucinations it produces a welcome respite from the nightmare of their daily existence, for such is the correct term. With time, the children will be exposed to other drugs, crack being the most easily available. By now probably brain damaged from years of malnutrition and drug abuse, these children fall into the vicious circle of needing to take drugs to escape from their hellish reality, needing to feed their addiction and needing money to feed it.

    The only way to make money is by stealing and/or selling their bodies to sex tourists. It is, after all, a continuation of what happened to many of these children at home, sold in many cases by their own families. The poverty of spirit demonstrated by these people is perpetuated by the poverty of morals shown by the tourists and the businesses which operate this sickening trade. Let there be no illusions – there are people, not just in Brazil, making handsome livings from this barefaced evil, creatures who, instead of trying to contribute towards a better planet and the eradication of slavery of this type, openly foment it.

    There are voluntary organizations which offer support, lodging, counseling and health care for these children and fortunately, there are success stories in their rehabilitation. Unfortunately, there are only too few working to this end.

    The fact that these street children exist is not only a shame for Brazil. It is a shame for the whole of mankind, that supposedly cultured animal on the threshold of the space age, that in the last thirty years, the global Gross National Profit of the world’s 20% richest countries has risen from 76.2% to 82.7%, while that of the poorest has fallen from 2.3% to 1.4%. It is a shame that the filth which exploits these conditions is allowed to co-exist on the same planet.

LIFE on the Streets of Manaus... One Child tells His story.

Living on the streets means you never go home. The street is my home, and the other street children who live there are my family. Every night I roam the streets, in the area of town where many rich people go to eat at restaurants. I beg them for money, or for food as they come out. Without any stoves or ovens, the kind of food I eat is limited. Sometimes there is a sidewalk cafe that has a television outside. I love to watch, until the owner runs me off. Usually I will not try to sleep until early in the morning, it is safer to stay awake at night. Here in Manaus, it rains for months at a time, I get very wet and cold. I try to find places to get out of the rain. Vacant lots are good if I can find enough cardboard to build a small house. I usually sleep with my girlfriend, we can stay warmer together. Many times police destroy our simple house, when they catch us sleeping, they beat us or shoot at us. I can run quick. Sometimes I make a little money by doing odd jobs, such as shinning shoes, carrying groceries, washing cars, or keeping an eye on peoples cars while they are shopping or eating. Most of the time I beg for money. When a lady or girl wearing jewelry walks by me alone, if I think I can get away, I snatch their necklaces and run. Later I sell them, or give them to my girlfriend. The only place to take a bath is in the river, or vacant buildings that still have water. There used to be public fountains in the parks here in Manaus, but to may people used them for bathing or going to the bathroom. Now they are all empty. I do not have a change of clothing, I wear the same clothes over and over, every day. Having clean clothes and taking a bath would be a luxury. I do not go to school. School is too expensive. I can not afford the required uniforms, books and materials. The street is my classroom. When I get sick, I am at the mercy of those who live on the streets with me. Life is so hard , most of us turn to drugs to make it bearable. I have learned to live with many bad things, and I have to be satisfied with the little I have.

The STREET is a Frightening Place......
Every day we have to endure the stares and insults of people who walk the streets. Some people walk to the other side of the street to keep from meeting us. Others just plain ignore us by not looking at us or pretending we don't even exist. "NO" is the word we hear most often, because that's how most people respond when we beg them for something. Sometimes we are abused. Drug dealers, and other adults, and even other street children, abuse us because most of us are alone. We have no one to care for us. Because we live on the streets, we see lots of crime. From time to time, we are involved in it. Some street children sell drugs or work for drug dealers. In fact, it is not unusual for the police to hunt us and shoot us. The street is a frightening place to be. It is not a safe place for children to live.

Confessions Of A Street Child

If you visit Manaus, where I live in Brazil, you might see me. I might approach you and beg you for money, food, or clothes. Or when you are not looking, I may even steal something from you. I am very good at it. Perhaps I even offer to carry your packages or luggage. I may offer to shine your shoes or carry your groceries Into the hotel or condominium where you are staying.

I am a child who lives on the street. There are many of us. People refer to us as street children. I am more fortunate than most street children. I do have parents who love me. I can go home at night without fear.. Home for me Is a plywood shack In what you would call the slums.

My family once lived in the interior of Brazil. Life there was hard. My parents struggled to provide the things that our family needed. After hearing that work was available in the city, they packed the few things we owned and moved.

However, life here is as bad, if not worse, as living in the interior. Although they have tried, my parents, like so many others, have not been able to find work in the city. So we, children, leave early every morning and work the streets, begging or stealing whatever we can to help make life more bearable for our family.

I am a Child of the Street.

OPEN YOUR HEART. LET GOD SPEAK TO YOU . THESE THINGS SHOULD NOT BE SO.

Street Abuse: a never ending Danger

Every Night could bring disaster for one of our Kids.....

.......We need your help! June 1998

Every night when we go to meet our kids, we feel this tightness in our stomach. It comes from the awareness that some of our kids probably have been beaten during the night by police or others who think these children are no better than vermin. We are trying really hard to work out a relationship with the police here that will help stop the unnecessary beating of children. This morning at Sunday school, two of our youth told us that they had spent the last several days in jail. Beating on the hands and feet is the usual treatment for kids like ours. They are picked up in the early hours of the morning, easy targets while they try to catch a few hrs sleep. The average Brazilian looks at our kids as a sad problem, but they do nothing to help, and they definitely do not want our kids sleeping or hanging out close to their houses or place of business.
Our kids must walk for 25 min. from the Centro part of town to get to our church. Many nights they get into fights with neighborhood boys who do not want glue-huffing street kids on their block. We have lost about 12 who think the trip is not worth the danger. We hope that with more Volunteers, we can go back to the streets to feed these children also. We need committed people, Married, or single who want to help us serve these children, and share their Faith about our GOD and His son JESUS. This is an URGENT REQUEST.. If you think God is calling you to work overseas as a missionary, and you would like to join us in this hard but rewarding work with the street kids,..... please get in touch with us. We could use 4 full time people NOW! We need teachers, doctors, counselors, cooks, anyone who is sure God is calling them to His service .......below are the photos I took last week of one of our Kids who had just made a profession of faith one day before.

Just one example of abuse . (from our first year in Manaus- 1998)

Daniel works at a bread kitchen a couple hours a night. In return for this the owner lets him sleep inside. This kitchen is just around the corner from the BUFFALO restaurant Daniel also parks and washes cars that come to eat at the restaurant. This is usual work for a street kid. While washing a car in front of the Buffalo, Daniel was attacked by three drunk men . One of them had a baseball bat and hit Daniel on his legs, arms, back, hands, and finally in the head, knocking him out. He woke up in the hospital, and spent two day there before he was released. The first night he was back on the street, the same men came looking for him with a gun. They told some of our other kids that they were going to shoot him and anyone else he was with. We have allowed Daniel, and 4 other of our kids to go to our land and live with Paulo, the son of the man who donated us the land. These young men are helping us to get ready for our volunteers from the USA, that will be coming in June.

These Children really need your help, Will You please consider coming to help us?

UPDATE ON DANIEL: IN Dec. of 99 after spending 5 1/2 months at our FIRST HCS Boy's camp, Daniel made a decision to return home to live with his family. He had made Christ his personal Savior in June of that year. Since then he has found work and is helping his family out with the bills. We are very happy for him and his reunion with them, and with our Lord. God is good!

New Update: Feb 2002. We ran in to Daniel in downtown Manaus. He is still working, has gotten married, and has two small children. We met his daughter and she was a real cutie. God is good to His kids!!!

11/07/2007---Daniel as far as we know is still doing fine. A good indication : we never see him on the street at night with the others.

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