Help Empower Street Kids in Bolivia
Kaya Children brings new hope to children on the street in La Paz, Bolivia. You can help by providing housing, education, counseling, family support and life skills training to abandoned children on the streets, giving them a chance to reinvent their future.
Photo Gallery
The Need
In Bolivia, thousands of children living in urban areas call the streets home. They sleep in sewers, in abandoned buildings, and in trees, surviving day by day. The majority have experienced abuse and neglect, and many are being pulled into prostitution as a means of supporting themselves. Street children are notoriously difficult to count, but it is estimated that over 3000 children in the 3 major cities of Bolivia call the streets their full-time home, and nearly a million more are working on the streets by day, moving toward a full-time life on the streets (UNICEF-Bolivia). In a country of only 9 million people, the presence of so many children on the streets is a significant problem.
Children who are living on the streets are suffering. According to our regular surveys, approximately 10% of them die each year due to disease, exposure, suicide, street violence, or tragic accidents. Most are between the ages of 7 and 9 when they first begin living on the streets. On the streets, children are abused, they suffer from hunger, they often use drugs to cope with stress, and they are frequently exploited. They drop out of school and if they make it to adulthood, either become a burden on society or have children that become the next generation of street children.
About Kaya Children International
Partner since October, 2011
Kaya Children International is a young and growing organization committed to addressing the needs of children on the streets through direct service, research and advocacy. Currently, Kaya’s direct services are focused in La Paz, Bolivia and research and advocacy activities are expanding on a global scale.
In La Paz, Kaya’s direct services are provided through 3 main venues: the street outreach program, residential program, and the Kaya Center, a full-service therapeutic community program. Kaya’s street outreach and residential programs target children who are effectively abandoned and living full-time on the streets with minimal to no family contact. The Kaya Center serves the children in the residential program, as well as children heavily involved in street life who are at-risk of moving onto the streets full-time.
