1. Street children in Nepal
1.1 Overview[i]
There is no factual history related to the street children in Nepal. When and in what condition were they found? There is no answer to this question in the records maintained by any organization. Since there hasn’t been any in-depth study about street children, there is no concrete information related to them. Even organizations, which have been working for years for the welfare of street children, do not have an answer to some of these questions: why were they called street children? How did they start living on the streets? Who took the first initiative to rescue them?

Let alone the past, these organizations don’t even possess a current statistics of these children. A survey conducted by CWIN[ii], in 2002, stated that there were almost 5000 street children in Nepal, with almost 1000 to 1500 children on the streets of Kathmandu. No proper studies were conducted thereafter. The data presented by different organizations seems to vary, which makes it difficult for one to trust the reliability of such data. Similar surveys were conducted by other organizations working for street children. According to CWSN[iii], there were 250 street children in Pokhara. Similarly, a study conducted by UPCA[iv] showed that there were 200 children each on the streets of Dharan and Biratnagar. And according to CPCS[v], there were 200 children each on the streets of Narayanghat and Butwal.

Though there isn't a concrete factual history about street children, it has been estimated that Nepali children have been living on the streets for the last 25 years. It has also been found that various national and international organizations started paying attention to street children around the same time. Therefore, international organizations have been working, in collaboration with Nepali organizations, for street children for over two decades. Presently, the number of organizations working in the street children’s sector has increased. Given the two and a half decade history of street children in Nepal, and the presence of so many organizations, including JAFON, working in this sector, the outcome of the initiatives taken so far does not look satisfactory. In fact, many organizations started working without the knowledge of what the street children needed. Findings reveal that almost Rs 300 million has already been spent in the name of street children. This is not an ordinary amount. Furthermore, if we go into the detailed calculation of the corporal investment of various national and international NGOs, then the actual investment may even exceed the amount mentioned above. Why, in spite of such a hefty investment, could the problem of street children not be solved? This is a serious question.

Given below is a list of some organizations working for street children in Nepal, together with their work stations:

- CWIN: Kathmandu and Pokhara
- CPCS: Kathmandu, Narayanghat and Butwal
- SAHARA: Kathmandu
- Voice of Children: Kathmandu and Lalitpur
- Sath-Sath: Kathmandu
- CWSN: Pokhara
- SATHI: Lalitpur
- UPCA: Dharan, Biratnagar and Inaruwa
- Diyalo Parivaar: Narayanghat
- Bal Watawaran Kendra: Kathmandu
- CAPCON: Lalitpur
- CCC: Butwal
- Jagaran Manch Nepal (JAFON): Lalitpur

If we look at the present scenario, we see that the number of street children is increasing instead of decreasing. Few years ago, the prime reason for children coming to live on the streets was poverty. Slowly, the situation is changing, and so are their reasons for living on the streets. Children have taken up a life on the streets because they have been ignored by their parents, disturbed by family dispute and influenced by friends. There are even instances of children from affluent families finding a home for themselves on the streets.

Many children came to live on the streets after 1996, as families were displaced from their homes because of the conflict between the Maoists and the State. Consequently, they were forced to leave their villages, their children following them, and migrate to towns and cities like Kathmandu and Lalitpur. Therefore, these cities in particular saw a drastic increase in the number of street children. Also, during the conflict, children who were above 11 years of age were recruited from the villages, by the Maoists; they were also suspected of being Maoists and were harassed by the army. While many of these children chose to move to towns and cities, some were forced by their parents to take such a move. In the absence of proper job opportunities in the city, street life served as an easy option for the survival of these children.

The children from such displaced families, especially with a weaker economic standing, took up a life on the streets. They became accustomed to living on the streets, so much so that they did not want to return to their villages, even though the situation there improved later. The attraction of the city was so profound in them that in spite of financial crisis, they were not willing to leave the streets.

Their parents were busy earning for the family and often did not have the time for their children. The children also worked during the day, and in the name of helping their parents, they ended up on the streets. This meant that there was danger that they would be influenced by other street children to become permanent street children.

In the present context, there are two types of street children in Nepal. One category of them spends the entire day and night on the streets. The other category spends the day on the streets but returns home during the night. Some continue to live permanently on the streets even after they reach 20 years of age. As they have been living on the streets for a long time, records of such children and youths exist with most organizations. But it is difficult to estimate the number of children who spend their day time on the streets and return home in the evening. Even some of these children stop going back to their families once they make friends with the more permanent street children.

[i] The author’s opinion in this section is the same as in the original Nepali version
[ii] Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Centre (CWIN), web: www.cwin.org.np
[iii] Child Welfare Scheme Nepal (CSWN), www.childwelfare.org
[iv] Under Privileged Children Association (UPCA), www.upca.org.np
[v] Child Protection Centers and Services (CPCS), www.cpcs-int.org