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Description
One of Kathmandu's 5,000+ "street children" collects bottles and trash for money.

In Nepal, there are over 5,000 children who live on the streets with no adult association in their lives, and the number is growing rapidly. They are called "street children." They come mostly from the rural regions of the country, either on their own after running away from their families at extremely young ages (5-19), or through trafficking schemes. They end up on the streets by themselves where they are forced to form into gangs, ruled by older children who serve as the gang leaders, usually maintaining their authority by inflicting violence on the younger (cutting with razors, beating and rape are common). The children's days are spent begging for money or gathering garbage to sell that is used more often for drugs (or a local glue called dendrite, that is sniffed to stymie the sensation of hunger) than for food. The children are constantly the targets of beatings and rape by locals and tourists. As the economic transformations in the country lead to more psychological and literal degradations in traditional and village life, this problem with only increase, and as city growth continues to take place unmanaged, their resulting conditions and lack of alternatives will continue as they are.

| Nikon D200 | Nikkor 85mm | f5.0 |

Description
One of Kathmandu's 5,000+ "street children" collects bottles and trash for money.

In Nepal, there are over 5,000 children who live on the streets with no adult association in their lives, and the number is growing rapidly. They are called "street children." They come mostly from the rural regions of the country, either on their own after running away from their families at extremely young ages (5-19), or through trafficking schemes. They end up on the streets by themselves where they are forced to form into gangs, ruled by older children who serve as the gang leaders, usually maintaining their authority by inflicting violence on the younger (cutting with razors, beating and rape are common). The children's days are spent begging for money or gathering garbage to sell that is used more often for drugs (or a local glue called dendrite, that is sniffed to stymie the sensation of hunger) than for food. The children are constantly the targets of beatings and rape by locals and tourists. As the economic transformations in the country lead to more psychological and literal degradations in traditional and village life, this problem with only increase, and as city growth continues to take place unmanaged, their resulting conditions and lack of alternatives will continue as they are.

| Nikon D200 | Nikkor 85mm | f5.0 |