On a 'walk' to improve the lives of street children

Iqbal, 20, was left stranded in a busy market by his father when he was five years old. He does not remember which area he is from.

He was taken away by a couple at the market who said that they were his relatives. “They used to beat me and put chilly in my eyes if I refused to do the housework. So I ran away and somehow reached Delhi. I have worked as a rag-picker, tea seller, polished shoes, and even worked in a dhaba. But at the age of 9,I joined Salaam Baalak Trust (SBT) as a peer motivator which changed the direction of my life.”

Iqbal will complete high school in another month and has taken several vocational  trainings from NIIT.

He narrated his story during a City Walk which is organised everyday by SBT near Paharganj, east Delhi, where former street children, take people on a guided tour, share their childhood experiences and sensitise people about life on the streets in the city.

Volunteers say that this walk helps them build confidence and speak fluently in English. Child rights groups say that there are close to two lakh children living on the streets, out of which 50,000 children have no family. Like Iqbal, there are several other street children who are either studying or working in reputed companies after rehabilitation.

For instance, Nitish is now working with the Delhi Metro Corporation, Faizal has worked as a child artist in Bollywood movies, and Sonia is working as an assistant with designer Ritu Kumar.

During the walk, volunteers give an overview of how street children earn their livelihood and are exploited at different levels. Most of these children earn through begging, rag-picking and working in small restaurants. However,instead of buying food with their earnings they resort to drugs.

“Children run away from homes because of several reasons such as poverty, abuse, death, child marriage and dowry issues,” explained Tarbez, who is studying BCom in Delhi University, and a former street dweller.

Through this walk, SBT aims to create awareness about the plight of street children and how citizens can help them from being exploited, by reporting it. “In 2011 we had 4,000 participants in our walks coming from the US, UK, France and India. This walk earns a revenue of around Rs 15 lakhs a year which is used for rehabilitation,” said Poonam Sharma, communications coordinator with SBT.

Children are mostly rescued from New Delhi and Old Delhi Railway stations. “We get at least three new children everyday who are sent to the Child Welfare Commission,” said a police officer at the New Delhi railway station.

The group has started another walk from this year, named ‘Salaam Delhi 6’, in Shahjanabad Road, which will focus on exploring new areas in Old Delhi and expose places where street children hide at night.