CRF

Why Does the CRF Exist?.

The United Nation’s Declaration on the Rights of the Child says,“Society owes the child nothing less than the best it can give”.

Echoing the UN declaration, the Philippine government professes to aspire to a child-friendly society. The Philippine National Strategic Framework for Developmental Plan for Children (2000-2005) states that children should be “nurtured and allowed to grow and develop in dignity, protected from threats to their well-being and free to express themselves and participate in their development. The plight of Filipino children is a reflection and a direct effect of the crisis besieging the Filipino families.

Over the years, the problem of street children in the Philippines has worsened, reaching alarming proportions. Ibon Facts and Figures June 2001 (a locally published review), presents statistical data which shows that more and more children are seen on the streets; helpless victims of substance abuse/addiction, prostitution and child trafficking. Most are mistreated, malnourished, not attending school, victims of war, displaced due to demolition, and victims of man-made and natural disasters.

The criteria utilised to define the term “street children” is dependent on economic, political and social factors; consequently they vary from year to year and from country to country.Therefore, it is difficult to arrive at precise statistics on the number of street children.  Recent studies by the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that the number of street children ranges from 80 to 100 million worldwide. In the Philippines, a country with over 90 million inhabitants, approximately a million and a half children fall into the category of street children.

Entire families abandon their villages in search of a better life in the capital, where sadly they end up populating the poorest areas of Metro Manila. The children eventually pay the price, being forced to work on the streets and in the dump-site areas. Others are forced to beg or prostitute themselves in order to bring what little they earn back to their parents who are either incapable of work or simply prefer to be supported by their own children.  Aside from the risks of living on the streets, these children are always confronted with dangers such as drug abuse, prostitution, jail and diseases like AIDS, hepatitis, tuberculosis, scabies and mental health disorders; not to mention the many children who die because of contaminated water and precarious hygienic conditions in which they are forced to live.  It is blatantly obvious that we, as a society, are not doing enough to protect the next generation of adults. 

The CRF, in partnership with the PJC, is working to improve the living conditions of the street children in Metro Manila; we ask that their rights be acknowledged and that their voices be heard and taken into serious consideration.