Scarred Feet and Mournful Eyes: Manila’s 4 Million Street Children

Manila, PHILIPPINES -- Sitting on a tattered carton, Angelika, 11, waits patiently. As soon as the commuter train unloads its passengers, Angelika jumps into the middle with hands outstretched and her fingers curled in the universal gesture of begging. Her mournful eyes are enough to merit 25 Philippines pesos, about $0.50 US, which she happily jingles with her brother when the commuters have gone.

Angelika is only one of the millions of children working on the streets in and around Manila, the capital city, and elsewhere in the Philippines. In other parts of metropolitan Manila, children collect recyclables and sell them to junkyards for a handful of bills and coins.

Rex, 10, is the son of a construction worker and attends public school. But this summer he convinced his parents to let him work so he could contribute to the family’s expenses. With a garbage bag in hand, he roams Quezon City collecting recyclable plastic bottles left by university students.

He works with his 9-year-old friend, Ericson. “His mother left him,” Rex said. “She just went away. He does not even know her name.”

With a far-off gaze, Ericson nodded and said he sleeps in public building and begs for food when business is poor. “It has been three years now since I have been left by my mother,” he said.

Manila’s street children work barefoot, and scars and wounds are evident on their feet. Rex recalled one child, called Botsok, who died last year. “He stepped on a stick and he got a fever,” Rex said. “His parents could not bring him to the hospital so he died.”

Ericson said the boys regretted not being able to attend Botsok’s funeral. “We would have to take a public vehicle, which is costly for us,” Ericson said. He said he earns just 10 to 30 pesos a day, about $0.20 to $0.63 US, while fare for public transportation costs nearly 10 pesos.

The Philippine National Statistics Office estimates that 4 million child laborers work in the Philippines, despite laws meant to prohibit the exploitation of children. The NSO also estimates that about 30 percent of those children do not receive any schooling.

They come from low-income families and their parents are unemployed, which often means the children end up working long hours to support their families, with no time for school. Some beg for coins, as Angelika does. Others collect recyclables like Rex and Ericson. Still others sell flowers to churchgoers or rags to motorists, while others jump into public buses to shine passengers’ shoes.

Despite the hardship of their lives, these children sometimes manage to squeeze some fun out of their daily routine of work. That much is evident as Angelika gently laughs while her brother wrestles with her.