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|  | NewsVision 03/31/98 - Numbers of Street Children in Mongolia on the Increase
Reported by Phoebe Lai, Senior Communications Officer, WVI-China OfficeMONGOLIA: In 1991, there were no street children in Mongolia. Now, within a span of just five to six years, the number has surged to 6,000. Many of these children left their poor rural homes because of family violence and abuse. Now living on the streets in below freezing temperatures, these children often find their homes in stairwells, building entryways, or underground. They survive on pick-pocketing, stealing, robbing and begging.
On a bustling street of Ulaanbaatar, there are many rounded steel covers that provide the doorways to the underground homes of some 400 street children. During his recent visit to the country from March 17 to 20, World Vision International President Dean Hirsch climbed down one of these holes and talked to some of the children. Inside these cavernous pits, it is dark, damp and smelly. When covered with wooden planks and cardboard paper, the huge pipes which furnish the heating system for the city's buildings above virtually become the beds for the children.
Nine children are often crammed together in limited space. Many are in their teens or early 20's. Their rough faces already speak of the hardships they've already experienced. Yet, these children continue to harbor hopes and dreams for a better future. They talk about being able to own land, a home, support a family and hold a job. Hirsch said, "I did not find any discouragement in them. I have been impressed with the energy and the positive attitude that makes them believe they will succeed one day.The question is how long before they begin to feel defeated in their spirit."
Hirsch said further, "World Vision is committed to helping the street children locate better quarters, find a way to see that they get schooling, and to be reunited with their families, along with ensuring them that we'll help find a way for them to develop employable skills."
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