/ RAVI, INDIA /
Ravi, 7yo, wakes up every day without an alarm clock. Not only does he not have one, he doesn't even know what it is. But what he does know is that, before the sun rises, he must open his eyes and go out into the streets to collect garbage. He rubs his eyes, grabs his jacket, rests it on his shoulder, and begins to walk.
Despite the fact that India has shown significant progress in terms of economic growth, it continues to face persistently high rates of poverty and inequality.
Children in India continue to suffer from some of the harshest conditions of any other part of the world, with high rates of malnutrition (stunting), child labor, forced begging and childhood illnesses.
73% of children in India live in rural areas, with limited access to basic needs such as food, health care, education, forced labor and child marriage.
Many of the street children lack a birth certificate, they are invisible children who lack health and educational protection, and have suffered some kind of physical or verbal abuse by adults.
Adding that they live in a caste system, Dalits or 'untouchables' are the poorest and most discriminated members of Indian society. They live in conditions of extreme poverty and suffer great economic inequality and social discrimination. People who are born Dalit die within those conditions.