Cambodian children lives are under threaten

Cambodia  currently  has  a total  population  of  over  14 million  people  and  has  one  of the  youngest populations in Southeast Asia: with 41 per cent aged 18 and under, and more than a third between the ages of  10  and  24.  Three  decades  of  war  and  conflict,  a  post‐war  boom  and  an  average  low  life expectancy are reasons for this imbalance in demography. 

While economic growth has propelled in the last decade, still 28 % of Cambodians live below the poverty line, having to survive on less than $1,25 a day, with children being the most vulnerable group. At these time of  global financial  crisis, the Asian Development  Bank  estimated that  an  additional  2 million people  in Cambodia may have been forced  into  poverty  as the  cost of  living (food, fuel  and other commodities) have risen. As a consequence, an increasing number of women and children in Cambodia have been working in the informal sector in order to survive ‐ for lower wages, poorer conditions, and greater risk of exploitation and trafficking. 

Without  a formal social welfare system, there  are  concerns that the  crisis will reverse the  positive economic trends and push more Cambodian children into poverty, increasing their risk of ending on the streets.

In Cambodia, street children are primarily found in urban areas as cities are considered to have better economic  and  employment  opportunities  by  migrants  from  the  provinces.  Based  on  information gathered  by  the  Cambodia  Street  Children  Network  (CSCN) in  2008, more than 5600 street children were counted in 6 Cambodian cities in one day. This number obviously only indicates the actual number of children living and/or working on the street. However, the exact number is not known. Factors like seasonal fluctuations, regular migration and changing political and economical situations affect the actual number of street children. 

The impact of street life on children and youth is significant. Unstable lifestyles, lack of medical care, lack of education  and  inadequate  living  conditions  increase  young people’s susceptibility to exploitation, unsafe migration  and  trafficking,  substance  abuse,  chronic  illness,  sexual  violence  and  sexually transmitted diseases.

Please see the video of the Transformer Actress Roise Huntington-Whiteley talked about the child life in Cambodia:

"Seth didn't choose to live here it's all she could afford. She didn't choose every single day surrounded by phial and disease. Seth didn't have a choice but you do" Roise Huntington-Whiteley Said.