Surviving the Streets: The Plight of India's Children

According to research from the UNICEF, there are more than 400,000 street children existing in India. They live on the streets and take on the full responsibilities of caring for themselves. Moreover, they are becoming more vulnerable to many dangers such as chronic diseases and abuses in their society. To us, a family is a matter of course. However, to these street children, a family is a strange word. They have been homeless since they were born and never had a feeling of being at home. The book A Long Way Home, by Saroo Brierley, is a story about a street child, Saroo, who born in India. Saroo’s parents comes from different religious backgrounds. His mother, Kamla, is a Hindi, while Saroo’s father is a Muslim. Accordingly, his father took a second wife and left his family when he was a baby.

They live an almost feral existence and explore the local area for food and job opportunities every day. Moreover, one fateful day, Saroo begs his older brother Guddu to take him along on an adventure. His brother agrees with it and brings him to the station. At the station in Berampur, Saroo asks for some rest because he is tired. Therefore, Guddu allowed him to relax on a bench while he needs to take care of some things. However, when Saroo wakes up, Guddu is gone. He decides to sleep on a more comfortable train car bench. When Saroo wakes up the second time, he finds himself trapped on a moving train. After a long journey, the train finally pulls into Kolkata station and leaves Saroo alone. In this story, Saroo is a five-year-old child, although he needs to face the sudden obstacles, he can still come through bravely and find the way