Bangladesh Street Children Comprehensive Help

GlobalGiving Visitors Meet Some of PEP’s Street Children

GlobalGiving sent two experienced persons to visit with PEP and help with suggestions for mapping, digital communications and fundraising. They spent the full days of July 29 to 31 with the Dhaka PEP team. On the 29^th field staff from the four districts where PEP works explained about their activities and held discussions with Melanie Simon and Hannah Weston. On the 30^th morning 9:00 of the street children came to PEP’s office to share with the visitors about their lives and PEP’s assistance to them.

The children shared about the reasons why they live on the streets, their difficulties, their work of selling recycling plastics and metal, their problems for food, health treatment, clothing and their physical abuse by night-watchmen and other adults who look down on them. They also explained about the valuable help they receive from PEP and their hopes for their future life.

The photos below show the meeting of Melanie and Hannah with several youngsters at the PEP office and a photo of 10 year old Hridoy, whose case study is provided below.

Case study of Hridoy:

My name is Hridoy. I am 10 years old. We are three brothers, no sisters. My father left us many years ago and my mother is mentally sick. We have no home; I live in the street. My elder brother (stepbrother) is married and busy with his own family; he does not take care of us. My younger brother stays with my mother in the street; they walk here and there and try to manage food by begging or collecting plastic items.

A few years ago, I have seen a foreigner (we call him Brother) who was distributing breakfast in the early morning to the poor street children in the Town Hall area. I also joined there to take breakfast and continued since then in every morning. Not only having breakfast daily, I was also provided with various types of assistance by Brother and his organization PEP. They have arranged medical treatments for me whenever I fall sick. I was treated twice for dog bites. I had breath problem and Brother and his NGO PEP arranged medical treatment to recover from this breath problem on June 10^th of this year. Now I am feeling very well. I have received warm clothing couple times during the winter season. I also join “Open Air School” run by PEP twice a week and learned many things.

After taking the breakfast, I used to collect plastic bottles and other plastic items from the street. I sell them with Tk. 14 ($0.17) per kilogram. I can collect around 3 kilograms per day, earning Tk. 42 ($0.5). I used to buy food with this money for other two times of the day.

I express my deep gratitude to Brother and his organization PEP for helping me and other hundreds of street children who need various supports badly to improve their lives.