God's Call: Catholic Order Provides For Street Kids [in Ecuador]

[Dale_M]

In many developing countries, urbanization is leading to a huge problem — a rapid growth in the number of street children. They often flee their homes to escape abuse or just to earn extra money. Social services agencies have had limited success dealing with the problem because there are so many causes, from domestic violence to poverty.

A couple of years ago, Ayobi was worried about her son Mario, who was just 13 then. With her limited income from selling home-cooked food, there wasn’t much money around the house.

Gradually, Mario gravitated toward the streets, trying to earn his own money. He stopped going to school. This is a familiar pattern here. Kids eventually abandon their families entirely, and some end up in prostitution. So Ayobi took a difficult step — she asked a shelter for street kids to take him in.

Ayobi turned to a Catholic order that has taken a special interest in the plight of street children: the Salesians.

npr.org/2011/03/23/134054852/gods-call-catholic-order-provides-for-street-kids