There are children living alone. Alone in dark allies, scared, hungry and usually high on whatever inhalants or drugs they can find. These are the millions of children living on the streets in Latin America. You've heard about them or perhaps seen them on the news. It is a problem that is very real and growing everyday. Where do these kids come from? Why is there no place for them to go? What will happen to them? These are the questions we all ask when we see such heart wrenching images and hear their stories.

They begin as victims in their own homes of neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse and extreme poverty. Eventually they leave for the streets in hopes of escaping their problems, only to exchange them for others such as sexual exploitation, drug addiction and crime. Life on the street is hard. The street children sleep in sewer tunnels, rooftops, doorways or parking garages. Theirs is a life of unrest, for they are constantly on guard for fear of being attacked by the local authorities or by other gangs. It is not a life that any human being should have to live, much less a child.

Unfortunately, most cities in Latin America have no adequate youth shelters or other infrastructure in place where kids like these can go. The only hope these kids have is survival, their only dream is to not go hungry and their only chance is that someone, somewhere will help them.