There are no comprehensive available statistics on the actual number, living conditions, needs and interests of children living on the streets in Bangladesh, however more than half of the 64 million children in Bangladesh live below the international poverty line.

Cities in Bangladesh are overcrowded with dense slums, squatter settlements and pavement dwellings, each home to thousands of children. Increasing rural poverty and corresponding urban migration continue to swell the numbers of people living in urban slums and on the streets. Problems of rural unemployment, landlessness, river erosion, natural disaster, family conflict and weak law and order cause rural families to leave their homes in search of better prospects in the urban centres. This movement contributes to the disintegration of traditional family and community structures and results in an increasing number of children being exposed to deprivation and abuse in urban areas.

Thousands of children on the streets of Bangladesh are being denied their rights according to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which recognises that every child is entitled to a standard of living adequate for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development. Bangladesh was one of the first countries to sign the CRC in 1990, but there is still a long way to go before all Bangladeshi children can access these rights.

Education is essential to breaking the cycle of poverty. Government, UN agencies and NGOs alike are all working hard across the country to ensure that every child receives their right to an education. But more is needed. Much more. Which is where we come in.