Street Children
It is estimated that many thousands of children live on the streets of Peru's capital city, Lima, and the Amazonian city of Iquitos.
Life is tough and there are many dangers. But why do young people live on the streets in such numbers? There are as many reasons as there are street children.
Lima has become a destination for child migrants who leave the countryside for the city in the hope of employment and a better life. Thousands of these children (mainly boys) end up living on the streets.
Every day in Lima, Iquitos and other cities in Peru thousands of children suffer from poverty, hunger, homelessness, disease, exploitation and sexual abuse. For many of these children, the basic human rights of protection and well-being are jeopardized by poverty, environmental degradation or insufficient health and social services. Children are uniquely dependent on the will and initiative of others for help. The local authorities, lacking in anything approaching the required funding, offer little help and it is very much left to charities to reach out and befriend the youngsters. There are a number of charities, including SU Peru working in Peru with Street Children. Many youngsters, however, remain vulnerable to all sorts of dangers.