Homeless Kids Need Support from Society and State

Homeless children are found begging on almost all roads across Dhaka city. This is very painful to see that small boys and girls who were supposed to attend schools at this age are seeking money, selling flowers and asking for food on sidewalks and around traffic signals all over the major cities of our country. Most of these boys and girls have no idea where they hailed from while we don’t know at all how these kids take food, where they live, whether they have parents or not. It is often said by people that these boys and girls are controlled by gangsters who make money by engaging these children with begging and worries are frequently expressed that these youngsters fall victims to physical abuse and they are forced to do illegal things by their masters every now and then.

Particularly girls who move around the roads and streets of Dhaka city often face tremendous risk of being misused by underworld racketeers for different illegal activities. Most of these girls come from families who are devastated by poverty, natural disasters and for other perilous reasons. They arrive in Dhaka for survival but in most cases we know nothing about their parents. It’s very shocking when we see them begging for just one or two taka moving from one vehicle to another as long as the traffic signal is red. Nobody knows where these girls go for shelter at night. It leads us to questions about the roles played by the concerned government authorities like social welfare department and the ministry in charge of looking after helpless girls. We have not yet seen any remarkable initiatives by the administrative wings to rehabilitate these girls and boys who have no home, no regular meals, no educational facilities, no proper clothes and no access to healthcare. Sometimes we see eminent citizens speaking at seminars, conferences and other programs on the importance of providing food, clothes, shelter, medical service and education for street urchins but most of the ornamental words from the speakers of such events do not come true. Most of the rhetoric about children rights in our country does not get materialized unfortunate it sounds though.

There is a term called corporate social responsibility. In brief it is known as CSR. Reputed organizations from both the government and private sector are under moral obligations to extend helping hands for the betterment of homeless children. These children are always suffering from constant woes, lack of food and shortage of safety. There is no one to care about the wellbeing of thousands of unsheltered children roaming around Dhaka city everyday. Sometimes these street children are subjected to drug abuse, sex crimes and other unlawful things which are often reported by television channels and newspapers. No sustainable action has been yet taken by the higher authorities to rescue these jeopardized boys and girls from their ill-fated circumstances as a result of which the numbers of underprivileged children are rising continuously. It seems to be the fact that we are too occupied with our own daily life and we have no time to take a look at the plight of these luckless children or to think about doing something to help them out.

In many cases these endangered children are forced to do child labor in factories, workshops and households around the country where they face physical assaults and verbal humiliations almost everyday. Reports about torture on small children including girls at workplaces and homes are often published by newspapers which jolt people for a while but we forget about it just after a few days. The practice of humanity, love and compassion is vanishing fast from our mechanized society which is really alarming. All children irrespective of social classes deserve to go to good schools, eat healthy food, put on proper dresses and to receive medical support. If we cannot establish these basic rights for all children we should think twice while calling ourselves “civilized”. All children intend to take delicious meals and have fun with their friends in schools but boys and girls who have no home and no money they cannot afford it.

All slums and shanties of Dhaka and other big cities of Bangladesh are packed with countless numbers of children who have been leading their life through incredible hazards and nightmares years after years while no one is coming up with any sort of assistance. Dhaka city has become congested with innumerable shopping malls, dazzling food courts, expensive apparel stores but none of these business enterprises ever open their doors to these poor boys and girls for a single day to let them enjoy a little time without paying any price. Everyone is so preoccupied with business profits and moneymaking that nobody’s conscience ever wakes up to do something for homeless children. People who have a lot of money can do a great deal of things for upgrading the life of street children. At the same time government offices as well as private organizations should also make the best of their efforts to put a little smile on the innocent lips of impoverished children.


Mahbubul Islam is a lawyer and former
Secretary of World Peace Council.