Street Children’s Haven
WHAT worse plight could there be for young children, than to not have a home?
However, there are hundreds of such youngsters with no shelter, no one to care for them
and no one to give them any guidance in life. They can be seen in virtually all major
cities of the world and Kathmandu too has a significant number of such forlorn youngsters
more well known as street children. Here too, they can be seen roaming around different
parts of the capital city in small groups and they can be identified by their dirty and
unkempt appearance. In the cold biting winter nights, they can be seen huddled together
seeking the warmth of each other’s body, and perhaps there is no one who doesn’t
get moved when seeing such young children in such dire straits. However it is encouraging
that efforts are being made to help these street children through different ways. Just the
other day a "walk-in-centre" for street children was opened at Chettrapati by
local NGO with the help of Planete Enfants, a French INGO. The children can just barge
into the centre and rest, have tea and even take a shower in the centre.
It can be presumed that the street children are living this hard life not out
of choice. They must have tried to escape from one hardship or the other or some may have
been lured into the street life by their peers. While encountering them in the streets,
one sees only the hard exterior of these children, but it can easily be imagined that
these youngsters too are no different from our own young offspring. they too must be
bewildered, frightened and in need of love and care. It cannot be said the centre, like
the one opened at Chettrapati can provide love like other children get at home, but it can
at least offer the street children some place where they can have some semblance of a
normal life and even seek guidance. It can be a opening through which they can lead a new
and more hopeful life. There is nothing more divine than helping other human being,
specially young children who have no one to call their own. It can be hoped the newly
opened centre will open doors to a new life for many of the street children of Kathmandu.
Last, but not the least, what must be pointed out herein is that the problems that the
street children are facing are the challenges of all the national, regional and
international non-governmental organisations working in the country and geared towards the
educational and socio-cultural uplift of these unfortunate children. As such, it looks to
reason for all of them to not only work unitedly, but also come up with a common strategy
to ameliorate the problems faced by the nation’s street children.
Other Story
|
