1. Abbas Raza;Asad Zahid;Hammad bin Noaman;Maryam Alavi;Moiz Zafar;Rimsha Farooq;Samad
Hanif;Syed M. Ammar
IN COLLABORATION WITH THE SCHOOL OF LEADERSHIP(SOL)
BORN TO THE STREETS

2. Table of Contents
Type chapter title (level 1)..................................................................................................................1
Type chapter title (level 2)...............................................................................................................2
Type chapter title (level 3)...........................................................................................................3
Type chapter title (level 1)..................................................................................................................4
Type chapter title (level 2)...............................................................................................................5
Type chapter title (level 3)...........................................................................................................6

3. Chapter 1
Invisible Little Soldiers
If you were toname a thingthat wasvisible,yetinvisible because we chose toignore it,tosuchan
extentthattheywere basicallynon-existentforus,whatwouldthe title forsuchbeingsbe?Considering
the situationof the world,howsolittle peoplegive themanyattention,botherwiththeirwell-being, the
worldhas titledthem,‘streetchildren.’Throughoutthe worldyouwill findinvariousregions, especially
inthird worldcountries,abundanceof streetchildren.Somuchsothat, evenUNICEFcan onlygive an
estimatedamountaboutthe numberof childrenthere are.
If we take intoconsiderationthisissue fromaworldlyperspective,we wouldn’tbe able tograspthe
numberof streetchildrenthere are inthe word,whetherabandoned,orphanedorsimplybornintothis
particularlife,we canfathomthe magnitude of thiscurse thatis bestowedonthisplanet.Childrenwho
begfor food,steal forsurvival orsimplycrawl throughlife daybyday,till theycanno longerclingon.
We simplychoose toignore these childrenthroughoutthe world.
The worldlyaspectisa rather large one to comprehend,andnotone we can eliminatebutwe canat the
veryleasttry to playour role inour ownhometowns.Forexample,WE(the conductorsof the activity
that will be mentionedlateron) canplaya minute role instartingupan activationorrather followingup
on work many NGOshave initiated.WithassociationwithSOL,we have decidedtocarryout an activity
to showthe childrenwhoreside onthe streetshow toenjoythemselves,onagranderlevel as
comparedto theirdailylifestyle,andhow thislifestyleisevenattainable forthemif theytake the riskof
optingforeducation,ratherthanroamingthe streetscarryingout the activitieswhichtheydo.
Thisprojectwas conductedthroughbothprimaryandsecondaryresearchwhichwe will tryto convert
to facts andfiguresonto thisreport.For our primaryresearch,we conductedinterviewsof street
childrenandresearchtechniquessuchasparticipantobservationandfocusgroupdiscussionswere
employedtocollectthe data.Forthe secondarydate we searchedthe internetforstudiesthathave
beendone previouslyonthe streetchildren.
Withthiswe aimprojectwe aimto come upwitha conclusionasto what mightmotivate these children
to opt foreducation.Whatmighthelpthemtogive up the begginglifestyle andinsteadgotoschool.In
a researchconductedinRawalpindi,itwasconcludedthatonlyabout27% streetchildrenactuallygoto
school.Thoughthe samplingsize wassmall andthe percentage canvarydramatically,the resultsof the
researchcan be seeninthe table below.
Table 1 Numberof ChildrenAttendedSchool
AttendedSchool Numberof Children % age
Yes 23 27
No 61 73
Total 84 100
Whenquestionedaboutthe reasonsastowhytheydidnot attendschoolsthe mostpopularresponse
was thattheirparentscouldnot affordit,the properreasonsand the resultscanbe observedinthe

4. table below.
NotAttendedSchool Numberof Children % age
Fear of Corporal Punishment 27 32
Parent’sCan’tAfford 45 54
Don’tlike study 12 14
Total 84 100
Thus we can getthe slightestideaof whatthe situationislike whenitcomestostreetchildrenand
education.Buildingonthis,throughoutthe reportwe will trytoconclude whetherourtechnique of
tryingto persuade kidstooptfor educationthroughfunfilledactivitieswouldhave anyeffectonthe
childrenornot.

5. Chapter 2
Bleeding Street
Bhai,hamari majboori hai,humaur kia kar saktayhain?Translated:thisisour burden;we can’treallydo
anythingaboutit.Have we everponderedwhatthe lifeof astreetchildmightbe like?Didwe ever
considerwhere theyresideandhowtheygetthroughthe day?Majority of mankindis,simplystated,
selfishandrightfullyso.We tendtoworryabout ourfamilyandourselvesandundoubtedlythere is
nothingwronginthat, or at leastthat iswhateveryman or womanwill agree to.Intoday’sworldthere
are onlyveryfewpeople ororganizationswhodevotethemselvestootherwitha pure heart,without
any badintentions,andthoughtheymayhelpthe poorandunprivileged,eventhese peoplecannot
understandthe dailystrugglesthe streetchildrengothrough.
As a part of ourproject,we tookoff to the fieldtofigure outwhatstrugglesastreetchildgoesthrough
everyday.Thoughmostrefusedtoanswerindetail infrontof the camera,we didget few tinybitsof
detailsoutof themand extractedthe restfromwhatwe observed.The general opinionamongthe
childrenwe talkedtowasthat theyare forcedto do thiswork,theyhave to earnto feedtheirfamilies
and to survive ona dailybasis.The poorkidshave to live inslumsandbegformoneyeverydayand
thoughwe couldnot reach toany conclusionwhethertheyare forcedintobeggingbya certainmafiaor
whatnot, we didconclude thatwhatevertheyearned,theycertainlydidnotgettokeep- whetheritwas
takenawayby theirparentsor some otherparty,whichat thispointwe are obliviousof,we can
conclude theirearningwere nottheirstokeep.
Whenquestionedabouteducation,oracademicbasedgeneral questionsyou’dexpectan8 yearoldto
know,majorityof themcouldn’tanswerandwhywouldtheyevenbe able to?Theywere throughand
throughdeprivedof education,be itfora certainreasonor another,theyjustdidn’tattendschoolsand
were deprivedof eventhe mostbasicof knowledge.
Thoughtheymay not be booksmart, theydefinitelyadaptedtothe streetsandwere alotmore street
smart than majorityof middle classkids.Havingtogetthroughthe dayon the streets it’sonlynatural
theywouldadaptsome sort of shortcutto get thingsdone.Thoughthisisonlya conclusionwe derived
fromtheiranswers,fromourperspective thisisafact.
We maybe blessedwithall the luxuriesof lifeandyetwe choose toundermine themandbe ungrateful,
whereasthese childrenrejoice atgettingafree meal orearninga bitmore moneythantheyregularly
get.Theytrulyknowhow tocherishwhatwe wouldclaimthe smallerjoysinlife.Comparedtothe life
theyhave to leadonthe streets,andif we compare itto middle classkidsof the same age group, we
shouldbe ashamedasto howgreedywe reallyare.We argue or shoothese childrenawaywhenthey
begfor 5 rupees,butyetwe buythe middle classkidscompletelyuselessthings.If asa societywe could
evendonate rupees20to a childperday,it wouldcostus just600 permonthbut the kidwouldbe able
to eat at leastsomething,evenif justaroti everyday,andthere can be nogreater happenedthan
knowingyoumade a difference insome one’slife.

6. Chapter 3
Sole escape
A typical dayof a childlivingand/orworkingonthe streetsrevolvesaroundhimgettingupearly
morningandgoingabout hischoresand income-earningactivities.He maythenspendsome time
playingandinteractingwithhisfriendsonthe streets,andatnight,returnsto hishome,knowingthathe
has aheadof him a seriesof similardays. Whenquestionedabouttheireducationandreligious
affiliation,itwasobservedthatthe childrenhadminimal knowledgeregardingthese,andshowedlittle
or no interestinacquiringit.
From a groupof at leasta dozeninterviewees,onlyone childclaimedtogoto a Madarasa, and even
thenhisschedule wasveryirregular. He wouldvisitwhenhe could,andif there came a needforhimto
insteadearnor workfor hisfamily,he wouldchoose thatovereducation.The restof the children
showednominal interestinbeingschooled.Whenaskedaboutthe founderof ournationQuaid-e-Azam,
the questionwasmetwithblankstaresandconfusedlooks. Onbeingaskedif theyrecognizedthe man
whose picture isonthe Rs.10 note,one of the childrenmeeklyreplied“paisewale aadmi”(“the man
withthe money”).Infact,some of themwere quite unaware of whatthe word ‘country’meant,and
that theylive inacountry calledPakistan.
Thisdeprivationof basicknowledge caneasilybe attributedtotheirlackof educationandformal
schooling.Ashardlyanyof themhave attendedschool,theyhave beenleftinthe darkaboutwhatone
wouldconsidertobe basicinformationthattheylearnatan earlyage. Theyhave beenbroughtupin
such a way thattheydo not regardeducationasanythingof significance,seeingitasan optional and
often, anunnecessaryaspecttheyhave learnedtodowithout;anadditional burdenontheiralready
difficultlives.Whenaskedif theywishtogoto school like all the otherkidstheysee dressedinuniforms
everyday,a fewof themvoicedtheiragreement,but the majorityshowedindifference andreluctance
towardsthe idea.Theyhad,it seemed,made themselvesquitecontentwiththeireducational
deprivation,notrealizingtheirownpotential andthe wonderseducationcoulddotoone’slife.The
problem,then, liesnotonlyintheirinaccessibilityof propereducation,butalsointheirattitude towards
obtainingit.
However,itisan undeniable factthatthe majorityof the streetchildrenare devoidof education
because theirparentsare unable toaffordit. Asshownin the documentary,amotherof five young
childrengave anaccount of why she andher offspringhave takentothe streetsandmade ittheir
permanentmeansof occupation.Fearof beingframedforthieveryandotherdomesticcrimesbythe
inhabitantsof the upperclasshasmade her spendnearlyall herlife asa beggar,insteadof workingasa
maidin somebody’shouse,andherchildrenfollow inherfootsteps.She admittedthatwhile she would
like tosee herchildrengoto school,the costsof textbooksandtuitionfeesisfargreaterthanwhat the
familycanafford,evenfora governmentschool,andthusshe hasno choice butto letthe kidsstay at
home and/orworkon the streetswithher.Furthermore,gettingenrolledinaschool alsorequiresthem
to submitofficial documentssuchasbayformsand copiesof theirNICs,whichagainisa costly
procedure,therebyhinderingtheirpathtowardseducation.

7. The childrenalsoexpressedtheirlackof religiousknowledgewhenquestionedaboutit.The
intervieweeswereamixedgroupof HindusandMuslims,the latterformingthe majority.However,
althoughtheyclaimedtobelongtoa certainreligion,theywere hardlyaware of itsbasicbeliefsand
teachings.Whenaskedif theycouldrecite the Qalma-e-Shahadat,the childrenwereonce again
uncertainof whatto say, displayingtheirignorance of the firstpillarof Islam.Similarly,theyhadlittle
conceptof the prayers(Namaaz),andwere unable todescribe the methodof offeringthem.The Hindu
childrentoo were notverywell informedabouttheirreligiousbeliefs,atraittheysharedwiththeir
Muslimcounterparts.
Once againthe lack of schoolingcanbe attributedtowardstheirlimitedreligiousknowledge.In
mainstreamculturesincludingourown,the school isseenasa keyinstitutionforthe socializationof
children.Inmostschools,religiouseducationisofferedwhichenablesthe childrentolearnthe basicset
of valuesandbeliefsearlyon,andformsthe foundationof theirreligiousknowledge.Asthe street
childrenare deprivedof properformal schooling,theydonotinternalizethesereligiousbeliefsthe way
school-goingchildrendo,andsoreligionisanotherchapterof theirlivesthathasremainedlargely
ignored.
Of course,it’snotentirelybecauseof the lackof schoolingthattheydo nothave strong religious
affiliations.Crippledunderpovertyandfacingamultitude of problems,these childrenhave grown
rather cynical aboutthe existence of aSupreme Being,anattitude theymayhave pickedupfromtheir
parentsat home.Theyclaimto believe inGod/sandcall themselvesthe followersof acertainreligion,
but inmostcases these are justwordstheyhave heardfrom theirfamiliesandthose aroundthemover
and overagain,and have come to repeat.Youngas theyare,withouthavingbeenexposedtoproper
religiousscholarsorpeople whocouldguidetheminthe matter,theydonotfullyunderstandthe
conceptof religionanddonotdeemitof muchimportance.
Povertyhasmostdefinitelyplayeditspartinthe developmentof these younghumanbeings.Livingin
the conditionstheydowithnoproperaccommodationandsanitationamongstotherthings,theyhave
had theirprioritieslaidoutverydifferentlythanthe childrenbelongingtothe middle/upperclass.
Havingbeenmade responsible forearningatsucha youngage,educationandreligiousbeliefsplaya
veryminorpart intheirlives.Forthem,itismore about survivingthe presentdayandearningenoughto
keepthemfromstarving.Whethertheyare forcedtoworkfor theirliving,orwhethertheyspendtheir
day idly,theyhave beenlivinginpovertyforfartoo longto have toomany hopesfortheirfuture.Thisis
one reasonwhytheydo not realize whattheyhave beenmissingon,and have grownaccustomedto
theirpatterns.Althoughsome doseemwillingtogoto school if providedwiththe opportunity,mostof
the streetchildrenhave become hesitant,evenindifferenttowardsthe idea,preferringtocontinue
livingtheirlivesthe way theyalreadyare.
Childrenenduponthe streetsfora numberof reasons,manyof whichare rootedinfamilyinstability
and poverty. Inthe regionwhere we work,childrenmostoftenleave homebecause theyare fleeing
instabilityorhave beenrejectedandabandonedbytheirfamiliesforvariousreasons(disabilities,
disease ordisobedience). Manyof the childrenwe have workedwithhave lefttheirhomestoflee
domesticviolence,abusiverelativesorneglectfulfamilies. Othershave done sobecause theirfamilies
live insevere economicdistress,eitherinrural villagesorcityslums,andare unable to care forthem. It
isnot uncommonthat parentsinextreme povertywillencourage olderchildrentoleave home tofind
‘work,’whichmayinclude begging,sellingscrapmaterialsforrecyclingorprostitution. Manywhoflee

8. extreme povertytojoinstreetlife oftendosounderthe impressionthatitwill provide themwithmore
opportunityandeconomicadvantagesthantheirhome livescouldoffer.
Life onthe streetsprovestobe treacherousforchildrenwhofindthemselveswithoutanywhere elseto
call home and childrenbecome extraordinarilyresilientinordertosurvive. Manyare ‘adopted’by
gangs,who formand functiontosatisfyamuch neededsense of ‘belonging’forchildrenwithout
familiesorothersupportsystems,andare accordinglytrappedincyclesof criminal activityandviolence.
At one pointor another,mostturnto substance or drug abuse inorderto endure the harshnessof the
streets, whetherthatbe threatof violence orhazardousweatherconditions(extremecold,rainstorms,
etc.).
Overlookedbysociety,theyare atbestdisregardedandatworst dehumanized. Because theylack
identificationdocuments,streetchildrenare oftentargetedinwaysthatperpetuate grossabusesof
humanrights. Most streetchildrenare subjectedto,orat a minimumhave witnessed,unreported
police brutality(shootings,chainwhippings,sexual violence andsoforth). Othershave beenforcibly
removedfromthe streetsbypolice officersin‘round-ups’andtakento‘youthdetentioncenters’that
fail to meetinternational humanrightsstandards. Inorderto feedthemselves,manychildrenwill work
inunsafe andexploitative environmentsthatexposethemto the dangersof childlabour,sex slavery
and humantrafficking. InUganda,the prevalence of witchcraftalsomakesstreetchildrentargetsfor
kidnappingsandchildsacrifice rituals. For‘unregistered’children(those lackingproof of birthor
identity),all are susceptible toabductioninone formoranotherbecause there isnoproof of the child’s
existence beforetheirdisappearance.
All streetchildrenlackaccesstobasicnecessitiesandrights. Perhapsmore importantly,theylacka
healthyenvironmentinwhichtheirworthanddignitycanbe affirmed. Overtime,moststreetchildren
become sodesensitizedtotheirenvironmenttheyare content – if not determined –to remainonthe
streets. Withoutexternal support,manywillgrow upto become homelessadultswhohave primarily
beenexposedtolifestylesof poverty,violence andaddictionwithoutthe opportunitytodiscovertheir
individualvalue orpotential.

9. Chapter 4
Undercurrents
Psychosocial adjustment refers to the outcome of the social, psychological, environmental, and
relational issues encountered during the development of an individual. Throughout life, various social
and psychological issues are dealt with which produce an impact on the mental/emotional well being
of an individual. Theoretically, if these issues are dealt with positively, in a healthy, supportive,
nourishing environment, they result in a well- adjusted individual. On the other hand, if these issues
are not adequately handled, or dealt with in a negative, unsupportive, impoverished environment, the
mental/emotional well being of the individual is compromised. Therefore, many factors influence
these issues and how they are experienced, which in turn determines the resulting level of
psychosocial adjustment. Many ‘street children’ demonstrate notable psychological and physical
resilience and adaptability issues. The necessity of their daily existence may even drive
development of some cognitive functions, such that they outperform children from more conventional
backgrounds. They are exposed to violence and abuse and are frequently exploited. The lives of the
so called ‘street children,’ cry out for attention from psychologists. The levels of potentially
psychologically toxic factors that such children are exposed to is shocking. One of the most common
observations is precocious and pernicious substance abuse by street-connected children.
When children were first asked through the FGDs to describe their health statuses, most of them
stressed their health to be “fine and better than their peers”. Such findings correlate with previous
research made on street children in Egypt. Street children often view the types of illnesses or
diseases they experience as “minor or normal” as long as they can move, work, and run. Sickness to
them often means “inability to move or work”.2
Discussions on the health/nutrition issue indicate that street children do, in fact, suffer from various
health problems. When queried in depth about their health conditions they began to complain of
respiratory problems due to glue sniffing, cigarette smoking, and skeletal problems due to violence.
Most of the sample of street children complained of the following health problems, which are often
viewed by them as “minor health problems”:
• Headaches,
• Heart pain,
• Chest pain,
• Abdominal colic,
• Renal colic,
• Back pain,
• Blood in the urine,
• Shortening breath on running,
• Cough,
• Wounds and bruises,
• Diarrhea,

10. • Dental problems,
• Fever, and
• Discharge from the ear.
In one study of 124 abandoned children (mean age 14) who lived and worked on the streets of La
Paz, Bolivia, 58 per cent reported alcohol use, 40 per cent reported glue sniffing and 88 per cent
reported the abuse of paint thinner. Similarly, in Ecuador, a study of homeless children who were in
contact with neither families nor care agencies (also mean age 14) reported even higher levels: 98
per cent reported cocaine use and 98 per cent reported solvent abuse. In Medellin, Colombia, a
study following DSM-IV criteria estimated that 58 per cent of the street connected children (mean
age 15) they surveyed met criteria for substance dependence
Havingto go throughthe rigorouspath of life,the mentalityof these childreninPakistandevelopsina
mannerthat a middle classchildof the same age couldhardlyinterpret.Inmostcases high levels of
hopelessness, depression, self-harm and suicide among groups of street children in Pakistan and
different parts of the world can be observed, though here we only focused on Pakistan, Karachi to be
precise. A child was asked, why do you beg for money, doesn’t your dad do work? His response was
that his father only gets high and the son needs to bring in money for his drugs or else the father
abuses his mother and him. Due to this fear he not only stays on the street all day, he claims that if
he had the guts to kill himself, he would. It would be easier than this current lifestyle.
Having to live in the streets has caused these kids to adapt in various ways and adopt a mindset
which would be unexpected of children of the middle of higher class. Psychologists have deduced a
few details according to which these kids who adopt the need for day to day survival, street
smartness to get around, of course this excludes of course the need to avoid the physical abuse
they face and the hardness of daily life.
Due to lack of supported psychological reports about the children, we decided to compare a child
from the lower class/ street children from a child from middle class. The middle class child does not
have to worry about where his next income is coming from, he knows that his father will earn the
money for him so he can stay home all day and not have anything to do, where as a child from the
lower class has to wake up in the morning where they are dropped off to the location allocated to
them by a system setup by mafia where they usually either sell something on signals or go car to car
begging for money. If you were even to ask a middle class child if he could go car to car even to ask
a simple question, in most instances they’d say that it would hurt their pride if they were to do that.
The street children have to resort to stealing if nothing else for survival, be it simply pickpocketing or
larger scale home robberies with accordance to groups, they mentality from a middle class kid is
completely different.
According to psychologists who have studied street children in other parts of the world have
concluded that the street children have positives, mentality wise, by living on the streets. These
positives are such that if you were to ask them to give alternative uses to items, they would be more
likely to come up with alternate uses than children who are compared to them, spoon fed.
In one study, 36 boys (mean age 14) who had spent at least six months living on the streets of La
Paz or its neighboring city Al Alto, Bolivia, were compared with a similarly poor group (but without
experience of street living) on a battery of cognitive tests. It was found that the homeless group were
not significantly impaired on any measures, and on one measure performed significantly better than
the comparison sample (Dahlman et al., 2013).

11. Psychologists and others working with or studying the lives of street children must resist dual
temptations – on the one hand seeing everything as victimization, demanding sympathy, and on the
other hand romanticizing their lifestyles. But how can we reconcile these observations, of multiple
and complex problems, exploitation, violence, trauma and drug abuse with notable strengths,
resilience and adaptability? One of the reasons for this contrast is the inappropriate use of the term
‘street child’. It is simply used to categorize too many different life contexts under one convenient
expression.
The lives of poor children in Latin American and other low- and middle-income countries often differ
markedly from many of those in the richer, more developed countries. In a globalised 21st century,
psychologists must stop focusing solely on their local contexts and consider the psychological lives
of adults and children around the world. It is not enough for the study of child development in poor
countries to be left to the psychologists in those countries.