There is something special about children. No matter how difficult their lives are, their eyes shine with curiosity and they are always ready to offer a sincere smile.
Today we met with Salaam Baalak Trust, an organization that strives to protect and aid children that live and work on the streets to reach their full potential.
Iqbal, who as a child lived and worked on the streets, was our guide for the day. He walked us through the backstreets of
Salaam Baalak has an office, or checkpoint, by the railway where kids can get medical attention and two meals until 2:30pm, but must return to the streets to spend the night. Also they have a shelter where kids can stay 24 hours, providing them with a sense of security and family as well as providing basic education. For kids to stay at this shelter they have to commit to stay for a minimum of 3 months- which most kids do not accept and end up back in the streets. Fortunately, Salaam Baalak personnel like Iqbal, are using their testimonies to reach out to these kids so they can take advantage of the much needed services offered by this organization.
We also learned that most boys start working as rag-pickers selling plastic bottles and other recyclable items for a few rupees. With this money kids play video games and buy drugs to help them forget about hunger and any physical pain they may endure. Girls do not last long on the streets. As soon as they set foot on the train platform, brokers are waiting to snatch them and sell them into prostitution- sometimes for a few rupees, other times in exchange for a couple of bottles of alcohol. I keep on picturing these girls being taken away; over and over again, trying to figure out a way to stop the vicious cycle.
Lots of thinking to be done…
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