Kids for Thought

For the five previous years before coming to Australia I lived in a small country named Dominican Republic, with a population just over 10 million, in which more than 35% of the population is under 15 years of age. The public education system is one of the worst I've ever seen in my life, kids in year 4 or 5 struggle to read simple textbooks or to explain simple mathematics concepts. Kids that go any ahead end up frustrated because they can't understand a thing the teacher is talking about, cannot read the books that they are required and so they simply give up. For them there is nowhere else to go but the streets, they figure out (or are forced by their parents) that is the only way they can do any good to the world since they failed at school. They throw their future into the garbage for a few coins every day, most of them probably won't get any more than 30 pesos every day; if they are quite lucky and meet some generous people they might get to 50 pesos (less than 1.50 U$, that would barely buy them a light lunch and a juice for the whole day).

If they fail to bring any money home, either because they had to expend it to eat something so they wouldn't faint from hunger under the hot sun or because they weren't lucky enough to get some people that were generous to them they are likely to be beaten up by the parents, so after a few times they just figure out there is no good on going back to their houses and end up living in the streets, get involved with using and dealing drugs, they end up hopeless... nowhere to turn... no one to rescue them... What can they do? Is not all their fault, is not like they chose to be bad and disobedient kids, they are scared and have nowhere to turn and in their vulnerability the only comfort they can find is that of acceptance by those who are also rejected.

That is the destiny and future of many kids not only in the Dominican Republic, but around the world, millions and millions of kids go through similar or worse scenarios every day. My question is simple: What are we personally doing about it?

Giusepe S Moreno