They have no twitter army, no righteous war being waged for their rescue. They are visible; they are out there on the streets. From ruthless lanes of Dhaka to dangerous dark alleys of Rio, tens of millions of children the world over are daily fighting hunger, violence and abuse just to survive and scratch a living on the streets.
As the world marked the International Day for Street Children on April 12, children in street situations served as a grim reminder of how one of the most marginalized and vulnerable groups in the world continues to be deprived of their basic rights; failed by governments, institutions and societies.
The overwhelming neglect of street children is evident by the fact that we do not even know how many of them exist. There has never been a credible assessment of street children's numbers nor any collective effort to address the issues that continue to blight the lives of millions driving them onto streets.