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Today, both developed and developing countries are facing the problem posed by street children. The world often tries to forget or ignore them, and sometimes even denies they exist. As the big cities grow, so will the number of street children; so deprivation which begets frustration which begets violence will also grow; and so a worldwide socioeducational problem emerges. No country and virtually no city anywhere in the world can escape the presence of these so-called street children. In this article the phenomenon of street children as a rapidly growing socioeducational challenge is analysed.
INTRODUCTION
The scene is common and painfully familiar; a busy street lined with shops displaying the latest in fashion and electronic equipment, welldressed people going in and out, the sound of vehicles whizzing by, expensive cars, the flash of neon lights. At night big cities come alive and urban life reaches its peak. But, in the background, children huddle in corners, or walk about aimlessly, dirty, dishevelled-a pitiful sight. Some are selling cigarettes, peddling lottery tickets or flowers; some are just loitering and others are asleep in city arcades. As night progresses, these children are seen gambling, smoking, sniffing solvents, taking up with locals or tourists for a night of "big money," taking on odd jobs to get some money to ease their grumbling stomachs or to take home to starving family members (Childhope, 1993).
Street children, the offspring of today's complex urban realities worldwide, represent one of our global family's most serious, urgent and rapidly growing socioeducational challenges. No country and virtually no city can escape the presence of these so-called street children. In some parts of the world, they have been a familiar phenomenon for many years. In the last decade this phenomenon has grown at an alarming rate throughout Asia and Africa.
Contrary to popular belief, street children do have a function in society (Baizerman, 1990): Their ongoing presence functions to reaffirm each person's pre-existing prejudices about families, substance abuse, street crime, and birth control. They reaffirm usually unstated notions about the incorrigibility of children or their inherent resilience. They contribute to the affirmation of theological notions of sin, corruption, and other evils. They define moral boundaries and in part, the unsympathetic nature of contemporary society. They are...