Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Children at streets

Miséria S/A by Flipe SO
When I ever talk with someone abroad and they are interested to know how Brazil is like, they use to ask me regarding Homeless Children, when I was in LA and San Francisco where I could find homeless people, but no one children with them, I could realize how different it is outside Brazil.
Yesterday, I found at newspaper that our city had finished the first serious research about Homeless children, I could find some facts regarding this very sad situation in São Paulo:
  • There are 1842 children living at streets, 1040 live outside their home to get some money
  • 55.9% sell candies at street crossings, 21.6% perform some kind of service like washing windscreen, polishing shoes or juggling at traffic lights and 15,6% begging
  • As people pity situation of very small children at streets, most of the beggers are smaller children
  • Work at streets and begging, at general, generates US$ 12 Million dollars a year, 4 out of 10 cars use to give some kind of tip. Social work people associates directly success at working and begging on streets to perpetuate this kind of situation here.
  • Children leave home because of violence and abuse, they don't like also public shelters because those places do not provide many things to do
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