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“Home is where the heart is.” Where does this leave those who have no home?
It is sad when unfortunate circumstances or poor choices leave a man or
woman without a home. It is tragic, however,when an innocent child is forced
to live on the street for no reason other than their place of birth.
At least 150 million children worldwide are believed to live at least part of the
time on the streets. 3 “The present day numbers of street children in single cities
like Calcutta may be equal to the total population of those cities in the 19th
century.” 4
Homeless children in Brazil number around 12 million.5
That is a city the size of Mexico City nearly filled with
homeless children!
Enkhbold, now 10, lived on the streets for more than three years. Enkhbold’s
mother left when the children were young. His father was imprisoned for theft.
Enkhbold, aged 6, and his sister, aged 13, ended up running away. He was
wandering alone on the city streets, cold and bored,when another boy asked
him to join his group in an underground tunnel. Enkhbold was the youngest and
smallest of the 10 children in the tunnel so they nicknamed him “Youngst.”
Although the tunnel was cramped, dark and stinking, it was still the best option
for him. Enkhbold made a living by begging and using the money to buy bread
and ice cream, and sometimes a candle to light his way in the tunnel. One
winter’s day, social workers from World Vision provided the group with hot
meals. Soon they asked if he would like to live in the street children’s centre.
Enkhbold thought, “I don’t know what the centre is like, but as I do not like living
in this hole, I better go with them.” So he did and the Light House became his
new home.
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