Tuesday 13 August 2002

Street Kids

Title – Street Kids
Date – August 2002
Location - Ulaan Baatar - Mongolia

The streets of Ulaan Baatar abound with kids, with a welfare system that all but collapsed when the old Soviet Union fell and the funding dried up over night, there is very little for them to turn to for help. Some offer to shine shoes, some sell bird seed at the temple and unfortunately others are forced into petty crime. Some actually long to get caught and taken to gaol where at least there is some heat and they can escape the extreme cold that can plague the country.

It is easy to understand the different reasons behind crime, through greed, addiction and sometimes necessity. As a module of our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop we consider ways to reduce the risk and train those attending in low impact physical techniques to defend themselves when they encounter an aggressive situation.

Beyond The Blue maintains a particular interest in Mongolia. The Christina Nobel Children’s Foundation through their operations in Mongolia, work with street kids and children from poor families, to offer support and assistance in escaping the cycle of poverty. The invaluable work the Foundation carries out, helps provide opportunities to the children of this amazing country.

Some of the Street Kids of Ulaan Baatar are forced to live in the city’s sewer system, sleeping on top of the hot water pipes to stay warm and to stay alive. Temperature in the city regularly drops below -35C in the winter months and this is the only way they can survive. For more information we urge you to visit The Christina Nobel Children’s Foundation web site at
www.CNCF.org

Please visit our website at
www.safegapyear.com

Image – ©Peter Mayhew

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