Street Children: Why they would rather battle living on streets?

Most children who are experiencing in poverty are living on the streets of the cities or even in towns. In the world, it recorded around 100 million children are cited to be street children. When walking on streets, you can see group of children sitting on the pass, or some are walking and asking for alms, coins or food they can ask for their hunger. Let me share to you in this post about my advertence to children, I do love children, yes seeing them is a joy to me not because I am a teacher I have to love children, I am not forced to like them but because they do have space in my heart. And I am citing about the “street children”.

There are so many street children in the Philippines where government are trying to give aid and yet there is still a rising of population in this section.

According to what I searched from wiki, defining Filipino street children has three (three) categories:
(1) children on the streets
(2) children of the streets and
(3) completely abandoned children.

ON STREETS which means they work on streets but they go home after working. OF STREETS which means, they make a home on the street. COMPLETELY ABANDONED, they have no family ties and they are on their own to survive. Anyone would be down in the mouth seeing them on streets.

Cebu City is one of the oldest cities in the Philippines where the first Spanish settlement begun, having a population of 798,634 (city only) in the year 2018 by wordpopulationreview.com as surveyed. This city has great places to visit but one thing the government are battling, one of the problems in the cities and in our society. I mentioned to my previous post in my photo entry, https://steemit.com/streetphotography/@iamqueenlevita/street-photography-or-siblings, that there are factors why children were pushed on street, (1) poverty (2) family relationship factors (3) peer-gang influence. These are the factors why we should take a look also in our society.

Children of streets, they are making the street their home where the place is complacent for them.

Taking some long walks on the street is a bit exhausting especially when the sun is striking you hard. I was with a friend (miss @ninyea) in downtown area getting some information about this topic of mine. I really want to grasp this information and want to observe how they handle this kind of situation. Walking there on the pass early in the morning, quiet and the sun is so bright. Saw those kids in group sleeping beside each other. Wondered, how did they survive sleeping at night,for sure it's really cold, without a mat, blanket and pillows. Are they comfortable with that?

This place for them maybe is their safe haven what we call because they can stay here and survive a night, I pictured it out that they are used to staying in this area. You can see benches in that park, for them it is indeed their beds already, how's it like to stay here? It's hard and I know it's sorrowful for me to see this kind of situation.

Children on streets, they stay and work on streets for longer hours but they go home after working in order to help augment their family's income.

They sometimes sell stuff like key chains and accessories or even a sampaguita flower bracelets just to get some money. Some of them are studying but need to work before or after school so they will have an allowance to buy for supplies needed for their projects in schools.

Completely abandoned, they have no family ties and they are on their own to survive. This shows how they live on the streets, with a carton mat and just a bag and no family's support.

During nighttime, they tend to get some place where they can sleep to survive the night. Looking at this carton mat that is placed by the street and near the bridge with uncared teddy bear and dusty blanket shows how they settle in this place knowing no four walls, no roof and proper ventilation to protect them, in short there isn't a comfort for them.

Some government programs aim to assist the children or even families on streets. These government organizations and non-government organizations offer them help. They try to understand the situations to simply offer protection, residential care or even temporary drop-in centers.

One of the examples is this place, Parian Drop-in Center in Cebu City. I have visited this place twice when I was in college volunteering to help children and back when I had my studies for my degree. This place and the program supports children who are living on streets, they try to offer shelter to stay as well as a temporary stay for children. They don't only cater children on streets but also children who are victims with physical abuse and in need of special protection. Some children are brought here for them to stay safe rather than staying on streets but only days they would stay and they escape, one of the reasons is that the routine, they are not used to doing such routines in the center whereas on streets, they can do whtever they want to do and they feel as if they are very comfortable with it.

There is this Cebu City Task Force on street children, they also provide programs and services. Drop-in Centers or Home centers are safe for them rather than staying out side. But they would battle living on streets, I have asked some children on the streets what are the reasons why they prefer to stay, they don't like doing routines or activities in centers, they are free to move outside the streets.

These kids grew up in this environment, it's normal for them I guess but what we need is an organization and an aid or programs from the government to help them. I want to convey the other sides that some people have tendencies not to look at other dimensions.I just want to reveal and show people to see the other side of life that they might not have seen and would want to see.

Thank you for checking and reading my post.
Till next time. :)