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| The New York Optimist |
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Childhood Interrupted
To bring to light the extreme hardships of the estimated 100,000 children that live on and under the streets of Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia. Many children are victims of child trafficking and family abuse and were forced to escape to the street.
Three years ago I was photographing in Addis Ababa the capital of Ethiopia and I met a young boy called Bruke who had
runaway from a small village because of an alcoholic and physically abusive father and a step mother that did not want
him. Bruke, when I found him was living with his friend Oromo in a small concrete hole that was 3 x 4 x 5 ft in size that
was in the median of a very busy road. He was surviving, like so many of the street children there off left over plate scraps
from restaurants. Through an outreach center that tries to help the estimated 100,000 plus street children that live in the
Mercato market area of Addis I was also able to talk to many other children like Bruke who had escaped not just abusive
families but were victims of child trafficking and prostitution. My dream assignment would be to return to Addis and make
a detailed photo essay with audio interviews with the children that would bring to light the horrors of child trafficking and
the extreme dangers that these young children face everyday on the streets. The ultimate dream would be to use part of the
money to find Bruke and help him establish a life off the streets. If I cannot find him then I will donate part of the money
to the Forum on Street Children, an NGO that helps rescue children from the hardships life on the streets of the Mercato
area.
Please take a minute to vote for this and help me create awareness about these young children.
Deadline for voting is April 3rd. Thank you for taking the time.
To bring to light the extreme hardships of the estimated 100,000 children that live on and under the streets of Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia. Many children are victims of child trafficking and family abuse and were forced to escape to the street.
Three years ago I was photographing in Addis Ababa the capital of Ethiopia and I met a young boy called Bruke who had
runaway from a small village because of an alcoholic and physically abusive father and a step mother that did not want
him. Bruke, when I found him was living with his friend Oromo in a small concrete hole that was 3 x 4 x 5 ft in size that
was in the median of a very busy road. He was surviving, like so many of the street children there off left over plate scraps
from restaurants. Through an outreach center that tries to help the estimated 100,000 plus street children that live in the
Mercato market area of Addis I was also able to talk to many other children like Bruke who had escaped not just abusive
families but were victims of child trafficking and prostitution. My dream assignment would be to return to Addis and make
a detailed photo essay with audio interviews with the children that would bring to light the horrors of child trafficking and
the extreme dangers that these young children face everyday on the streets. The ultimate dream would be to use part of the
money to find Bruke and help him establish a life off the streets. If I cannot find him then I will donate part of the money
to the Forum on Street Children, an NGO that helps rescue children from the hardships life on the streets of the Mercato
area.
Please take a minute to vote for this and help me create awareness about these young children.
Deadline for voting is April 3rd. Thank you for taking the time.
