The Street Children Surviving the Slums of Dhaka

By Shannon Lane @Shannonroselane

IN the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka, thousands of children live on the streets and work in life threatening conditions in order to survive

Scroll down for the full story

Comments

Many of the children are uneducated and don't got to school

Some 43 per cent of the population in Bangladesh is currently living below the international poverty line. The number of slums across the country is staggeringly high - around 14,000, of which more than 3,000 are in Dhaka city.

The extreme poverty of the slums forces families to send their children to work in low-wage, dangerous jobs as they rely on the children’s financial income to survive.

Children from as young as five years old are employed

Danish photographer Jan Moeller Hansen photographed the children of Dhaka from 2010 to 2012, and lived in the city for five years.

He said: "Many street children have lost contact to their parents and other family members. Some have run away due to exploitation, abusiveness, violence and other hardships in the families.

Many of the families in the Dhaka slums moved here in search of a better life

"They live and sleep on the streets with great insecurity and in fear of threats from adults.”

Bangladeshi laws state that children from the age of 12 are allowed to carry out 'light work' for up to 42 hours a week, provided it does not interfere with their education. The minimum working age for full time work is 14.

Photographer Jan Moeller Hansen witnessed the poverty first hand

However, according to the International Labour Organisation, nearly 3.5 million children in Bangladesh between the ages of five and 15 are actively working, with a staggering 1.2 million of these engaged in life threatening and hazardous work.

One third of children living in the slums of Dhaka, spend more than 60 hours a week working illegally, with many of them employed by the country's clothes manufacturing industry.

The children are forced to work dangerous and life-threatening jobs for their families

Many of the poorest children, some without families, try to earn a living through begging, collecting garbage, roadside tea stalls, breaking bricks or pushing rickshaws.

Many families rely on their children for financial income

Without school or an education, some street children are also involved in petty crime.

The photographer said: "Many are also exposed and easy subjects of traffickers. Some street children living on their own might also fall victim to human organ trade.

One third of children in Dhaka spend more than 60 hours a week working illegally

"The slum children also risk being attacked by police, criminals and other slum dwellers in the urban jungle.”

Many of the poorest families of Dhaka, migrated to the capital in search of work and a better life, but face discrimination such as lack of social security and health services.

The poorest families face discrimination such as lack of social security and health services

Charities and schemes are trying to tackle the extreme poverty of Bangladesh by managing poverty in slums, improving education, increasing inspections, fines and the effectiveness of regulations on business operations.