These forgotten and forsaken children are considered a scourge and an embarrassment by many of India’s upper class. They are often disparagingly referred to as “slum dogs.” A woman in the Bible tells us that “the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from the master’s table.” We cannot and must not allow these precious children to be relegated to the status of a dog. They certainly deserve more than the crumbs, the leftovers, the garbage that falls from the table of others.

India has a large population of children who live on the streets from the time they are very young. Abandoned by their parents or left alone because of the death of one or both of their parents, these children wonder the streets during the day begging for food and try to find a safe and warm place to spend the night. The lucky ones find other street children as their only source of companionship. Others are not so lucky and are often taken advantage of by others who force them to beg for money. Doctors sometimes amputate limbs, disfigure faces and perform other physical deformities for a modest amount of money from gangs who kidnap them and force them to beg.

According to  UNICEF, Human Rights Watch, and the U.S. State Department, approximately 60,000 of these innocent children disappear each year. Many are sold into the sex trade by human traffickers and are passed from one abusive relationship to another. And, many of these children are supplied opium or other drugs to keep them from escaping the tyranny of their captors.