The Children
The phenomenon of street children in Lima, Peru, is directly related to poverty. Children are forced to work at a young age to feed themselves and their siblings. With the false allure of freedom and an escape from oftentimes abusive homes, little by little the children stop returning home. Instead, they sleep huddled together on sidewalks, under bridges, or in abandoned buildings. More often then not, they turn to drugs to forget the cold and the hunger. On the streets the children face abuse, rape, and death.
There are homes for these children that provide for their basic needs in an effort to rehabilitate them. Unfortunately, Peru's economic situation limits these programs. The homes are crowded and money is scarce. Unable to understand that the homes are a better option than living on the streets, the children often return to the drugs and the dangers of the street.
| 44.5% (2006) of the population and 60% (INEI, 2008) of children in Peru live below the poverty line. |  |
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Sexual abuse, violence, and emotional neglect exist at all levels of society, but children who live in maternal deprivation and in fragmented communities may feel they have nowhere to turn but the street. (The Consortium for Street Children's State of the World's Street Children: Violence report (2007) p.17). |
| One research project found that 73% of the street children they interviewed cited family violence and child mistreatment as reasons for taking to the streets (Consortium for Street Children). |  |
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The social and economic inequalities which still plague much of Peru have left the children in a vulnerable state. At risk of hunger, health problems and family instability, life hangs in the balance for many (Toybox, 2009). |
| According to UNICEF (2008) there are more than 3 million working children in Peru. Every 2 in 10 children between the age of 6 and 11 years work (UNICEF, 2008), often sent out to earn money by their parents. |  |
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The line between working on the street and living on the street is a thin one, and many are attracted by the lure of freedom and no longer having to work for their parents and live with their many siblings in a small shack. |
| On the streets children sleep huddled together on sidewalks, under bridges, or in abandoned buildings or sewers. More often than not, they turn to drugs, such as glue sniffing, to forget the cold and the hunger. On the streets the children face abuse, rape, and death. |  |