Street Children in Brazil

Every morning seven million children set off to work on the rough streets of Brazil. Whether it is polishing shoes, cleaning windscreens or selling drinks at the traffic lights under the blazing sun, something has to be done for a little income.

It's hard to define what a Street Child is. 83% of them in Rio de Janeiro have a mother, a father or some form of relation, and the majority, a fixed address. Yet home may be any sheltered place in which they can spend the night.

Physical/Sexual abuse, lack of love and lack of money are all prime examples of situations which generates a sense of confidence in a child/teenager to leave home and lead an independent life on the streets. They are all vulnerable to every kind of abuse and murder. In Rio de Janeiro, 605 teenagers/children are murdered every year (at least 2 every 3 days) either by the police, drug dealers or shop owners who shoot them for stealing; although sometimes policemen themselves teaches a child to steal so they can then take the money.

In every 100 street children, 12 boys and girls loose their lives before reaching their 18th birthday. They fall asleep every night wondering if they are going to live to see the sun rising the following morning.

Younger kids many times work for drug dealers as traffickers, they carry guns (or some form of weapon) and are not afraid to use them. This is an on-going process, they are used over and over again. It is believed that only 10% of the 'Street population' free themselves from death and jail. One of the reasons being the fact that their addiction to crack and cocaine may lead them to vicious crimes such as an 'armed robbery'.

Girls who have also made the choice of running away from home sometimes get so desperate for the money that they prostitute themselves from the tender age of 12. If they get pregnant then they are left with no choice but to give the baby up.

There is a great deal of poverty, crime and drugs on the streets of Brazil but the children's lives don't always have to have sad endings. There have been cases in which the person was sent to a place where they were able to get help, an education and a good job later on, sadly this happens to the great minority but at least this little bit of hope exists.

Mariana Barros wrote this article at the age of 15. Mariana and her brother and parents left their country (Brazil) in 1993 to come to Britain as missionaries. They live in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester.