Street children to get new home
The abuse and exploitation that children begging and living on Delhi roads face during night may be over, to some extent, as soon they would have a home of their own. Delhi would be one of the first states in the country to be covered under Integrated Child Protection Scheme of the Central government, initiated from the current financial year. The Women and Child Development Ministry has selected Delhi along with three other states to launch the scheme from mid-this year.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram allocated Rs 95 crore for the scheme in is first year and WCD officials expected the allocation to rise to Rs 2,000 crore by 2012, the end of the 11th five-year plan. "One state from northeast and one each from north and south India and Delhi would be covered," a ministry official told Hindustan Times. The ministry expects the allocation to be made to Delhi by middle of 2007 once the Expenditure Finance Committee approves its proposal. Once that happens, the government estimates that Delhi would get a sizeable share from Rs 95 crore because of its 5 lakh street children, highest for any city in India.

Now who will care for me
During a rail accident Banwari, a nine year old street child, most of the time living in and around the railway stations in cities i.e. Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Bikaner, Mumbai, Delhi etc. has completely lost his right leg. Earlier to this he was engaged in petty job of picking and selling water bottles for fulfilling his livelihood means. Doctors, para medical staff and attendants of other patients in the hospital ward are kind and curious at this situation of child. Now Banwari is alone and helpless to find answers that where he will go, what he will do, who will care for him and many such questions…………….

We at Taabar, along with our partner organizations have found and observed that issues around the problems of street children needs to be raised and bring forward to appropriately sensitized and educate civil society, communities, governments, policy makers, funding agencies and concerned departments etc. Considering the same, VOICE OF STREET CHILDREN The News Letter has been conceived and developed. Being its first edition, your feedback will definitely provide us necessary support and suggestions to present it more effectively in its coming editions.


Key points about 'street children' are:

1	They are defined by the United Nations as children and street children for whom the street has become their home and/or source of livelihood, and who are inadequately protected or supervised by responsible adults.
2	They are mostly boys. Girls are more likely to become involved in domestic work or selling sex.
3	There are 'push' and 'pull' factors which cause children and street children to be on the street. Parental death due to HIV/AIDS is an increasingly important 'push' factor.
4	Street children are vulnerable to many problems. They are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection as a result of survival and commercial sex.
5	There are many examples of programmes which are working effectively with street children. Key principles have been developed from that work.