Reaching out to children at risk of turning to a life on the streets

There are many factors that might result in a child ending up on the streets: Poverty, abuse, being orphaned. (You can read about them in more detail here). A child who is affected by any one of these factors is what we call a ‘child at high risk’. Toybox believes that prevention is better than a cure, and so we have developed a highly successful method of engaging with and supporting these vulnerable children. This method involves a network of small organizations that provide a place for the children to come and receive the help, love and care that they may be lacking. The project staff are all trained and resourced so that they can provide the right support for those children that need it most.

A Short Step

Many thousands of children across Latin America live at high risk in the poorest communities. Unsupervised, neglected, undernourished and often abused, the lure of the apparent freedom that the streets offer is a great threat. It is a short step from being a high risk child to a street child.

What Toybox projects can do is to prevent ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors becoming too strong. By engaging with these underlying factors, we are tackling the problem at its root – while the child is still only at risk, rather than after a child has been living on the street for some time.

Toybox project leaders have many amazing stories to tell – stories of hope and love – stories of children being given relief from the difficult situations they live in. By helping fund, support and resources these projects, Toybox is able to impact the lives of hundreds of children on a daily basis.

Click here to see a full list of Toybox Projects

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Go on to: Family Work - Ambassadors - Josue's Story

“Now I can say I’ve started a new beginning… after what I´ve lived, I didn’t think I could do well, but now I can study and even though it is difficult for me, I will make an effort because I want to do things right; people love me here, they don’t beat me, it is a new beginning for me, now I am ok”. Roberto, Guatemala

“During the past few years, we have seen great miracles, families who have been restored through the message their children have passed on to them. Children who have arrived to the project in very serious health conditions have recovered, parents who have met Christ and who have changed the way they treat their children, and children who have developed very useful future skills. All of this shows us that it’s God’s will for the work with the children in this area. God has put us right in this area of work to be a light. The fight is hard, but it is possible with God.”
Project Director of ‘Moises’, Cochabamba, Bolivia