Importance of the education of street children in breaking down the poverty in India

Every child has the right to education. 

A challenging scenario for adults, street life is a deadlier struggle for children. Living within the city, they are unable to enjoy the comforts of urban life; moreover, they barely have access to necessities like food, clothing, and shelter. The primary cause of the increase in the number of street children in severe poverty. These poverty-ridden families procreate to add more hands that can supplement their existence financially through begging or engaging in some form of labour. They cannot comprehend that this conviction lurches them further into the clutches of poverty; while they continue to believe otherwise. Education of street children in India thus becomes crucial in breaking the poverty trap!

Children on the streets are kept away from educational opportunities because their parents are unaware of its benefits; however, various non-governmental organizations have made significant efforts to redress this problem. Street children have been exposed to unsympathetic realities at an early age, thus compromising their innocence, which sometimes makes them difficult to work with. Therefore, any interaction, programme, or activity designed to help them will have to have an impactful one, serving a larger practical purpose. 

One of the nation’s best child rights NGO, Save the Children, runs centres in Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai to help street children by providing them with education. Along with education, these children are also given psycho-social support and counselling. In Mumbai, Save the Children takes learning right into the streets through a ‘Ride to School’ programme, which uses a Mobile Learning Centre with benches, blackboard, a library, games, and a TV-DVD player that provides them with a classic school environment. This initiative is an attractive proposal to encourage them to leave their life on the streets behind.

Another successful programme by Save the Children was carried out in collaboration with Aviva Life Insurance called Street to School. Under this programme, nine educational activity centers were set up between Delhi and Kolkata for the street and working children. It provided children with a year of education before being sent off to mainstream schools. Additionally, this programme also provided them with food, unconventional education, leisure activities, arts & crafts, music and dance, life-skill workshops, health care, and therapy.

The sheer number of street children who are in need of help is staggering. Help and support at an individual level will also make a huge difference in the lives of these children.