Mexico: Street Children

Many street children in Mexico have a degree of learning disability. A child with a disability is much more likely to be abandoned.

Mexican Street Children

In a relatively well off society, the child with learning disabilities is generally well cared for, usually at home within the family. In a developing country such as Mexico, the child with learning disabilities often ends up homeless, in an overcrowded orphanage, or living amongst the street kids.

Abandoned & homeless: Street children with a learning disability

Jonathan Getty, coordinator, Mexico Child Link writes: One of my first experiences in Mexico was meeting a teenager with Down's Syndrome living alone on a building site, in a half built house, with four stray dogs for company. He slept on a filthy mattress and used an empty tin can as a cup. He was surviving completely on his own, without any help from local authorities. He survived by begging for food in the Puebla bus station nearby.

The origins of street children

There are many reasons why children are abandoned & left homeless, such as domestic violence & family breakup, as well as economic migration of the parents to the United States. In Mexico City or Puebla, it is not unusual to see homeless children as young as four or five years old working in the street, selling chewing-gum, matches or trinkets.

The child with learning disability is much more likely to be abandoned because s/he cannot contribute economically to the family from an early age. Street children are very prone to abuse and exploitation in these circumstances. In addition many children living in the streets have developed problems of substance and drug abuse such as glue sniffing. Solvent abuse has been linked to permanent brain damage.

Mexico Child Link provides education, skills training and job training for ex street children who also have a learning disability.

Children with special needs are much more likely to end up on the streets

An investigation into the whereabouts of abandoned children in Puebla, Mexico

A detailed investigation carried out by our partner organisation in Puebla has shown that there are a large number of homeless children with learning disabilities living in overcrowded orphanages and children's homes in Puebla City (pop. 2 million). They lack care and attention, as well as the specialist help necessary for them to progress. They are often on high doses of medication such as tranquilisers or Ritalin which they may not necessarily need. This stems from the misconception that learning disability is an illness rather than a condition.
Without education and training they have no chance of finding employment, and will spend the rest of their lives homeless, within these orphanages, abandoned and unwanted. The aim of Mexico Child Link is to help the child or young person with learning disability to become as independent as possible. We provide a secure caring home in a family setting and help the children towards independence through a range of educational and training programmes.

Make a donation - help us provide a caring home for street children who have a learning disability. We depend upon individual donors to maintain our project work

Pangaea -extensive list of organizations working with street children.

Education and training for children who have learning disabilities