My name is Louisa. I was 14 years old the day I found myself on the street.
I was at the market with my grandmother. She told me to wait for her here.
When I realized she wasn’t coming back, I knew she had abandoned me.
Who are the children in street situations?
Being a “child in a street situation” can mean different realities:
- Sleeping on the streets and having no contact with your family;
- Living on the streets with your family;
- Alternating between the streets and shelters;
- Spending most of the time on the streets and going home at night.
These girls and boys all have different stories, but the street plays a central role in their daily lives and significantly shapes their identity.
When it got late, I got scared.
I went to the town hall to explain my situation, but they did nothing.
They thought I was a thief.
How do we perceive these children?
To survive on the street and in the face of the indifference of the authorities and adults, the children are forced to beg, sell goods and services, hang out or sleep in forbidden public places.
In the collective imagination, children in street situations are seen as a nuisance, even a threat.
It was the first time I slept outside. I took refuge in an abandoned house.
On the street, you don’t sleep well. The police chase you away. You have to keep changing places.
Violence and discrimination
The children who depend on the street for their survival are the most vulnerable to violence and discrimination.
It may be at the hands of adults, for example law enforcement or local residents, but sometimes also of others in the same situation.
Rejected, excluded, these children can rely only on themselves. They lose trust in others.
Before being on the street, I lived with my grandmother.
As I suffer from a chronic illness, all the money was spent on me.
My family could no longer afford to pay, so I was abandoned.
Why does a child end up on the street?
The street is often the result of a combination of factors:
Complex family situations characterized by violence, poverty, rural exodus, migration and isolation, among others.
Difficult social and political contexts such as armed conflict, deep social inequality, discrimination or inadequate social policies.
I, too, would like to help other children who are in this situation.
They are seen as thieves.
If you talk to them, you will understand they have love.
Children in street situations can be found in every country of the world. Not necessarily referred to the same way everywhere, they are more or less visible. First and foremost, these children are victims of a system that fails to protect them. Like all other children, they have rights.
Our conviction
We are convinced that children are the future of our societies and that each child has resources and knowledge, whatever their difficulties.
Our commitment
We are committed to giving a voice to children in street situations, protecting them and supporting them in achieving their life goals. The Fondation Apprentis d’Auteuil International (FAAI) and its international partners are working to ensure their rights are respected and that other children do not end up one day on the street.
Our demands
Respect them, protect them
- Fight discrimination and violence against children just because they live on the street.
- Raise public awareness of the rights of children in street situations.
Listen to them and
give them access to their rights
- Ensure that children in street situations have access to all their rights, including shelter, sufficient food, identity papers and access to free health care and education, etc.
- Provide a supportive environment for children to be heard and to participate fully in the decisions that affect them.
Support families and civil society
- Help parents and families ensure the necessary living conditions for their children’s development to prevent street situations and as a condition for their reintegration into the family when appropriate.
- Work closely with associations to develop appropriate solutions and support them in their mission to protect and integrate children in street situations.
In line with General Comment No. 21 of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, we recommend that States adopt comprehensive strategies aimed at the prevention, protection and reintegration of children in street situations and allocate the necessary resources to this purpose: