introduction

Street children is a term used to refer to children who live on the streets of a city. They are basically deprived of family care and protection. Most children on the streets are between the ages of about 5 and 17 years old, and their population between different cities is varied.
Street children live in junk boxes, parks or on the street itself. A great deal has been written defining street children, but the primary difficulty is that there are no precise categories, but rather a continuum, ranging from children who spend some time in the streets and sleep in a house with ill-prepared adults, to those who live entirely in the streets and have no adult supervision or care.
A widely accepted set of definitions, commonly attributed to [amnesty international) divides street children into two main categories:

1. Children on the street are those engaged in some kind of economic activity ranging from begging to vending. Most go home at the end of the day and contribute their earnings to their family. They may be attending school and retain a sense of belonging to a family. Because of the economic fragility of the family, these children may eventually opt for a permanent life on the streets.
2. Children of the street actually live on the street (or outside of a normal family environment). Family ties may exist but are tenuous and are maintained only casually or occasionally.

Street children exist in many major cities, especially in developing countries, and may be subject to abuse, neglect, exploitation, or even, in extreme cases, murder by "cleanup squads" hired by local businesses or police.

Street children exist in all of Nepal’s major cities and towns. As the population grows, and urban poverty spreads, the number of children living and working on the streets is increasing. Because of the extreme nature of their situations and lack of adult support, many street children are misused and exploited. Ultimately, most of these children remain trapped in the vicious cycle of street life, and often with very limited support.

Due to the current political situation and recent armed conflict, the number of street children has increased. Though there is no current, reliable estimate into the number of children living on the streets, it is clear that numbers are considerably more than they were before the conflict situation escalated – much of this is a result of the large number of displaced people from village areas across Nepal.

There are obviously many hardships that street children face, but one of the greatest challenges is the general misunderstanding by society. Street children are negatively viewed and stigmatized by many people, and often labeled with the derogatory term "Khate." Ultimately, this social misunderstanding makes it extremely difficult for street children to leave the street and become respected members of the community they live in.