YOUNGSTER'S OF THE STREETS!

Photo by: Lorenz Marzan

Despite the promises of change and growth for the country there are still many Filipinos live in poverty.

One of the issue of this is a huge number of street children roaming around the street here in the Philippines. People will cross kids begging for food, money and help. Being ignored by many as if like they have already been rejected by the society. But despite with those problems, these kids somehow shown me the different livelihood of their existence. I came across a little girl who is sitting on top of scraps of boxes. Seeing her caught my attention, as she was seemingly looking from afar, her eyes that supposed to be filled with joy and happiness were replaced by a very empty expression. I wanted to approach her, to know her story and ask why she was sitting alone. However her quietness held me back. I cannot tell what a girl with that age is thinking, I do not want to conclude that she lives in a miserable life. But there were times that children growing up with poor peer relations with their own family could develop to a more subsequent emotional and compulsive behavioural problems, street children more than anyone else. They are, indeed, one of the reflections of the many social problems we have in the Philippines. If people would notice they can be divided into several groups. We have street children who are out on the streets because their parents are unable to send them to school due to extreme poverty. The only options for the kids are to just go on the street and beg for help. There are street children who are out on the streets because they don’t have family members, and have been abandoned so they are left to fend for themselves. There are also street kids who are out on the streets because their family life is not at peace, they have been physically hurt or they have emotional problems in the family, which they can't handle so they are trying to escape on what is happening in the family and run away from home. Several groups are reflecting various social issues and problems that we have in the country.

Photo by: Lorenz Marzan

I was walking around with my camera when two kids approached me with their faces full of glee and ask me if I could take a picture on them, which exactly what I did. As I took a picture on them I was amazed to see the happiness and satisfaction on their eyes despite their poor status in life. The two boys keep asking what I was doing with a camera, and I replied with my intention to capture something unusual and interesting while I was outside that I could use for my project. However, while I was talking to these kids there were some people who interrupted the conversation, saying that I should be careful that those kids might steal my camera. I had no reply. I do not know why they keep on judging someone just because of their low status in life. However, suddenly the kids replied to what those people said - that they are not what they think they are, just because they are somewhat called beggars, they still know what is right and wrong. I was speechless, but happy with what I heard. Some people find street children irritating, but looking at the reality that everyone is struggling for life and they are just like us doing anything to survive in everyday of our lives.

Street children is a reflection of us as a nation and as a whole. What we are trying to do with the problems that we have is increasing - generally because the population is also increasing. It does not mean that the government is not doing anything or we as private citizens do not know anything about it. In the government, the Department for Social Welfare and Development’s (DWSD) primary focus is to take care of such social problems and issues. There are also Non-Government Organizations (NGO), private corporations with corporate social responsibility initiatives. There are even international organizations like, The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) who focus on things like hunger, poverty, educational issues for kids, so I am sure there are a lot of effort that go into addressing the issue of street children in general. However even if there are issues, the fact that remains that at large, these efforts are not enough. Either they are not really working in a sense, or there is still a lack of awareness, or there is indifference among individuals. But I think if you have efforts like this coming together, it's important that it has to be sustainable and has to be in the long run. It's also important to understand that feeding street kids at least one time can solve the issues and problems. In fact we have to address the issue at their roots, which are family problems, poverty, hunger and others. If only these government and non-government organizations, private citizens and corporations would all come together and put together their efforts then the effects would have much more impact. However, it is easier said than done. Because again people are already indifferent to the situation, it is already given that there are street children and they are just there, and always taken for granted just like that. People are not aware, but are indifferent and go on about their lives, which is something that we cannot blame anyone for, because they also have their own lives and families. We cannot just put them into one person. So put forward sustainable efforts, like addressing issues at the core and there would be a little less number of street children in the country. There are efforts but not enough to really eliminate the issues, said Ms. Raychelle Artuz – Director of Center for Service-Learning and Community Engagement at Malayan Colleges Laguna.