Mongolia’s Street Children

Mongolia is a young country. More than half of its 2.4 million people are under 25. Some of them are homeless. Their numbers are growing. This is a new social ill.

Mongolia is one of the world’s poorest countries, where one out of every three people live in poverty. Poverty has been increasing in recent years as Mongolia has been moving towards a market-oriented economy. Many people lost their jobs in the process and could no longer support their families. High unemployment among men often led to tensions with their families, straining relationships between fathers and children. Alcoholism is also a problem.

As a consequence, many kids ran away from home to escape tensions or because their parents could no longer care for them.