LITERACY DRIVE AND REHABILITATION OF THE STREET CHILDREN OF KOLKATA: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY

Book excerpt: Street Children are the casualties of economic growth, war, poverty, loss of traditional values, domestic violence, physical and mental abuse. Every Street Child has a reason for being on the streets. While some children are lured by the promise of excitement and freedom, majority are pushed onto the street by desperation and realization that they have nowhere else to go. In many countries Street Children are named after their main survival activities. What is obvious is that Street Children are poverty stricken and their needs and problems are a result of wanting to meet basic needs for survival. They go through the struggle of providing themselves with basic things such as food, shelter, heath and clothing. Providing targeted interventions that meet the needs of Street Children requires an understanding of who they are, what they need, what they do and how they can be identified. (Shukla P.C., Street Children and the asphalt life. 2005)