Stories from The Street

In India, almost 23 million girls drop out of school each year once they start their period. (BBC 2020). In this episode we speak to Sanjay Gupta, Founding Director of CHETNA in India. Sanjay talks us through the everyday challenges faced by girls living in the slum communities in Delhi when it comes to managing their period. Where there is a lack of clean toilets and privacy, poor access to running water, plus stigma and taboos to be tackled, CHETNA has been actively taking on the challenge of what girls on the street have asked them for support with – period poverty. CHETNA has been engaging with local girls and their families to provide them with not just sanitary products, but an open forum to discuss and learn more about periods, good hygiene and looking after themselves, and combatting the stigma that exists around the sensitive subject of periods.

An estimated 90 percent of the world's school-aged children have had their education disrupted by the pandemic, according to UNESCO. We know that before the COVID pandemic, 1 in 5 children and young people around the world were not in school. That's an estimated 263 million children missing out on an education (UN, 2018). What will we see next for street children who already had so many barriers to entering education, what will the impact be on their learning and their future?

In the third episode of our podcast series we talk to Toybox CEO; Lynne Morris and Director of Marketing and Fundraising at Toybox; Naomi Lewis. Why these two guests? Lynne and Naomi have been a big part of the Toybox journey when it comes to birth registration projects, part of our Toybox community which has registered more than 6,200 children. Introducing us to birth registration and looking into the reasons why 1 in 4 children around the world don't have a birth certificate, we'll explore what this means for street children, their families and their futures. Lynne and Naomi share with us their experience of meeting mothers registering their children in a Guatemalan prison and the huge significance completing the official identity process has in young lives. Questions, suggestions or want to know more?: @toyboxcharity Support us: https://toybox.org.uk/support/donate

In the second episode of our podcast we talk to Naomi Opiyo and Emily Malcolm from the Toybox International Programmes Team to find about the effect of the global pandemic on street children. We'll find out what's changed, how Toybox and our overseas partners have responded, including some of the innovative solutions to combat the challenges 2020 has brought to street life. Join us to find out what life has been like for children who live, work or depend on streets around the world. Questions, suggestions or want to know more? @toyboxcharity

Nobody really knows how many children are surviving on the streets. A UN estimate states that there are 150 million, but the reality is likely higher as street children are often not registered at birth and numbers are said to be rising each year. Brought to you by The Toybox Charity; The Stories from The Street podcast is real talk from real people when it comes to the unimaginably tough world of street children. We'd like to see the spotlight on street children and speak up for those who aren't being heard. Featuring honest and open discussion about the challenges faced by street children in 2020. Questioning whether the world is moving in the right direction and at the right pace for street children, is anyone listening? We are in this for the long term to see that street children find the help and support they need to build a life away from the dangers of the street, the vicious cycle of poverty and to have the childhood they each deserve. Guests share their first-hand experiences of working alongside street children and their families in the cities, the slums, the refuse dumps as well as the achievements and the success stories which fill us with joy, plus of course the utterly heart-wrenching realities of life for a child on the street. Toybox exists to see a world with no street children, together we can make a difference. -- Don't forget to subscribe through your favourite podcast provider so you don't miss the next episode! Questions, suggestions or want to know more? @toyboxcharity Support us: https://toybox.org.uk/support/donate