Causes With Sidebar

05 Dec, 2018

Violence and Abuse

Tens of thousands of children of all ages are victims of violence and abuse across many societies and countries, whether it is Memphis or Peshawar. In Peshawar Pakistan, kids as young as 4 years are living on streets having beared the brunt of of violence and abuse stemming from decades of conflict and societal injustice. Many a times these children are poverty stricken and face negligence from their parents as well as the society due to which they take refuge on streets and have little or no contact with their immediate families. Living in streets exposes them to various forms of abuses from their peers or handlers that ultimately have a grave impact on their fragile hearts and minds. Sexual abuse and exploitation is one of the biggest threats faced by the street children of Pakistan. If statistics are to be considered, around 90% of the 1.5 million street children of Pakistan are subjected to sex trade out of which only 20% cases get reported. The notable point here is that boys are as much vulnerable to sexual abuse as girls. Furthermore, there is an exponential increase in the cases of instances such as kidnapping and violence and a consistent decline in the number of cases getting reported. Poverty, parental negligence, lack of awareness, declining legal protection and poor living conditions also subject the innocent children into drug abuse and trafficking thus making the conditions all the more precarious. Violence in their daily life is a risk that constantly keeps hovering over the lives of these innocent children and they continue to be marginalized and ignored as a social group which continues to push them away from the mainstream society. Keeping in mind the proper development and their entry into the mainstream society, collective efforts of the government and the individuals need to be made. We, as a community, are trying to help these children to live a ‘normal’ life away from the brunt of all the ills that they face.

04 Dec, 2018

Child Labor

Poverty breeds desperation. Desperation leads to a question of survival. Families that live in abject poverty are forced to send their children, as young as 6 years old, working street side jobs, mines, agriculture etc. If numbers could speak, approximately 150,000 children live on streets in Pakistan and are exposed to a multitude of life threatening situations. 13.5% of homeless children in the age group of 15-17 years are exposed to hazardous work! Lack of regulation, government and societal negligence makes it all the more difficult to confront those who pander in such practices. In many instances children are the fodder that feeds and sustains the survival of businesses. The term “child labour”, defined by International Labor Organization, as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development. While root cause is poverty, our aim is to first protect and provide a safe heaven to children so that their childhood can flourish and at the same time create awareness in society towards the plight of these innocent kids.

03 Dec, 2018

Physical Exploitation

Urban societies in many parts of the world have seen rampant growth of many malice’s including physical exploitation of the most vulnerable. Children that are abandoned, orphans and homeless are the most destitute. As the magnitude of the problem worsens society is in denial that these children exist amongst us. The sexual exploitation is not limited to girls alone, young boys - many a times referred to as street boys - are forced into sexual exploitation. These are children hiding in plain sight and we fail to see them. They are everywhere, by the garbage dumps, under the bridges, by the truck stops and road side stall and yet they go unnoticed. A generation that could be lost, if we do not intervene collectively as a society.

02 Dec, 2018

Homelessness

Whether it is Memphis or Mumbai, Philly or Peshawar, homelessness is a reality that affects millions. People don't live a homeless life by choice, people live on streets because they have no place else to go. Approximately 1.5million children live on streets of Pakistan. Once they are on streets they fall prey to prostitution, drug abuse, drug trafficking and a host of other crimes. There isn’t an iota of security for these innocent souls. Every human being deserves food, shelter and clothing, these children are deprived of their God given rights. We want to be their Spark of Hope and with your help we wish to provide them with an opportunity to live fulfilling lives.