Street Child
Save children from the streets
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Abused and Exploited: Why street children need our compassion
Spread across almost every major city in the developing world, and despite living and working on the streets, street children are amongst the most ‘invisible’ of all children
There are estimated to be up to 150 million street children in the world today. Stigmatised as criminals and shunned by their communities, they are the most difficult to reach with vital health, education and welfare services.
The UN defines street-children as, ‘those who work on the streets... those who take refuge on the streets during the day...and those who permanently live on the street without a family network’. What these different categories of children have in common is that they are all extremely vulnerable to the many dangers of the streets.
911ßÉßɱ¬ÁÏ launched its first Street Child project in Pakistan, which soon expanded into a global project working with street-connected children in ur Nigeria, Indonesia, Sr-Lanka and Niger.
As well as advocacy and awareness-raising, our initiatives proviode practical support, including registering children for ID cards, providing safe spaces through our football academies, enrolling children in school and giving them access to counselling and emotional support.
The 'Give a Child an Identity' Project
Imagine a world where something as basic as legal identification is out of reach. Unfortunately, for 850 million individuals worldwide, this is a reality. Without an official identity card, people are denied access to fundamental rights and opportunities, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and exclusion from essential services. This is especially true for street-connected children, who are among the most at-risk children in the world.
911ßÉßɱ¬ÁÏ' 'Give a Child an Identity' Project has so far helped over 67,000 children across Pakistan, Bangldesh, Sri-Lanka, Niger and Mali obtain the official identity documents they need to access healthcare, education and other essential welfare services.
Your £20 donation can make a profound difference by registering a street child and securing their future. With millions of children worldwide lacking legal recognition, your generosity will restore their fundamental human rights and pave the way for a brighter tomorrow.
Join us in creating a lasting impact and giving these children the foundation they need to thrive. Take action now and be a part of this transformative journey.
Give a Child Identity
Maidaan: Empowering Youth Through Football
Through our Maidaan project, we are providing street children across Pakistan withÌýeducation, life skills, safe spaces and structured football training via 30 football academies across the country.
This 911ßÉßɱ¬ÁÏ' programme empowers street-connected and marginalised children through a transformative development programme rooted in four core rights: identity, education, play and dreams
We even have aÌýseasonedÌýPakistan Street Child football team who have played at the Norway Cup, and five Street Child World Cup tournaments,Ìýand nowÌýt³ó±ð²â’r±ðÌýcoming to playÌýin the UK!
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Give a Child an Identity
Meeral's Story: From the Horrors of Home to the Horrors of the Street
Meeral Shah, a child labourer, was just nine years old when he ran away from a village near Multan and found his way to Karachi. ÌýÌý
‘I was working for Waderas (feudal landlords) as long as I can remember. My entire family work for them and I didÌýevery type of work they gave me. Their supervisors used to beat us all very harshly.
When I was around seven years old, one of their caretakers (name removed) raped me. It was very painful and I cried a lot. Then, he started abusing me daily – and if I cried out, he would laugh loudly. Soon after, he brought a friend along with him and they both abused me at the same time. I shouted and cried a lot but no one came. Ìý
This time I somehow managed to tell my father, but (because of his fear of the powerful landlords), he cautioned me to not speak of this. This is when I tried to escape (that household) but was caught and severely beaten.Ìý
The caretaker and his friends continued to assault me regularly, making me dance naked for them before raping me – now I wanted to kill them or kill myself, and once did try to kill myself.
That’s when I ran away again, and God helped and I kept hidden and travelled continuously and I escaped.
Now I have been here in Karachi for about four years, and my life is much better. In fact I am now the group leader here and take care of my juniors.'Ìý
The fact that Meeral Shah refers to his life on the street as ‘better’, speaks volumes. But it doesn’t have to be this way.Ìý
911ßÉßɱ¬ÁÏ is working hard not only to advocate for street-connected children, who are vulnerable to horrific abuse and exploitation on a daily basis, but we provide counselling, education and mentorship to ensure a brighter future for children like Meeral.
Donate NowHow We're Helping Street Children
We work in Pakistan, Nigeria, Indonesia, Sri-Lanka and Niger to help some of the most vulnerable children in the world
Our drop-in centres provide children with food, shelter and healthcare
We run educational and vocational training programmes for children of all ages
We provide counselling to help children work through their traumatic experiences
Our outreach workers are using their expertise to reach out to street children
We are training street children to become ambassadors and mentors
We work closely with families to get children off the streets and back into school
Help a Street Child today
Established in 1993, 911ßÉßɱ¬ÁÏ is an aid agency and NGO helping those affected by poverty, conflict and natural disaster in over 20 countries worldwide.