There are street children all over the world, but the street children of Mongolia face special problems. Mongolia is 1500 metres above sea level, so its weather is even colder than that experienced further north in Siberia. Temperatures of 35 or 40 degrees below freezing are not uncommon in winter. For a child trying to survive on the streets with very little food or shelter, these conditions are almost impossible.

So why do children leave home to live in these conditions? Talking to street children in Mongolia, we find four main reasons why they have come to the streets.

• They have been abandoned by their parents, or left in the care of a relative who does not really want them.
• Their parents divorce and re-marry, and the new step-parent does not want the children.
• They have been regularly beaten at home, perhaps by their parents when they were drunk, or sometimes by an older brother or sister.
• Their parents have sent them out to earn money on the streets.
• They have left home by choice, to join friends or find freedom on the streets.

WHY DO THEY COME TO THE STREETS

Why Street Children | Why do they come to the Streets
Where do they Sleep | How do they Live