The government, in collaboration with UNICEF, operates four street children shelters or “hubs” nationwide. Each temporary, tent-based facility accommodates a maximum of 35 children, offering accommodation, food, education, and essential services.

As winter deepens in Bangladesh, with temperatures dropping and dense fog blanketing the capital, hundreds of thousands of street children face a brutal daily struggle against cold, hunger, and systemic neglect. On the streets of Dhaka, where an estimated 500,000 children live without stable homes, the season brings not just discomfort but heightened risks to health, survival, and hope for the future.

In a country of approximately 180 million people, nearly one per cent of children are believed to live on the streets, according to recent observations. Estimates vary widely due to the absence of a comprehensive national census: human rights organizations put the figure around 1.5 million nationwide, while a 2024 qualitative study by UNICEF and partners, “The Quality Study on Children Living in Street Situations in Bangladesh,” suggests it could be as high as 3.4 million. Dhaka, the bustling megacity, bears the heaviest burden, serving as home to the majority of these vulnerable children.

Late at night at the Khamarbari intersection, groups of nearly 40 displaced individuals –including many children – huddle around small fires made from burning scraps of wood and paper. The flickering flames offer fleeting warmth against the biting chill, but the bare pavement beneath them provides no cushion or protection. Children in thin, filthy sweaters shiver as they chat or try to sleep, their bodies pressed together for shared heat.

No Real Help

At landmarks like Gulistan and Kamalapur Railway Station, thousands of street children – some runaways, others orphans – scatter across the premises. Md Rabiul Islam, a 14-year-old who has never known his parents, has been sleeping there for days. “Sir, if you can, please buy me a blanket. Someone stole mine,” he quietly pleaded to a passerby.

Seventeen-year-old Md Sabbir, originally from Naogaon, has survived on Dhaka’s streets since childhood after losing both parents in a road accident. He collects scrap materials to sell, earning just enough for two meals a day – if he’s lucky. “People come and go, but no one gives us anything. Because we live on the streets, no one cares. If I collect enough scrap, I eat twice a day. Otherwise, I go hungry,” he said.

Under the Kawran Bazar Metro Station, families endure in makeshift shelters fashioned from whatever materials are available, often just mosquito nets and a few thin blankets. Seventeen-year-old Achal, a mother of two young children aged two years and two months, has lived there for years. “Winter is very cold, but living on the streets is even harder,” she shared. Despite promises from visitors who record videos and leave, she reports no real help: “No help so far from the government or any organisation. Many people come, record videos, and leave. No one actually helps.”

“They Stop Dreaming”

Health experts warn of the severe toll. Dr Alpana Jahan, an assistant professor of neonatology at Dr MR Khan Shishu Hospital, notes that these children are highly vulnerable to pneumonia, asthma, diarrhoea, and skin infections during winter, exacerbated by prolonged exposure, poor hygiene, and malnutrition. Mental health suffers too. Kazi Rumana Haque, head of the Mental Health Programme at Moner Bondhu, explains: “Children raised on the streets develop low self-esteem. Labelled as ‘tokai’, deprived of nutrition and education, they stop dreaming. This leads to depression and often involvement in crime.” Constant stress hampers brain development, she adds, leaving money as the only perceived value and increasing violent tendencies.

The government, in collaboration with UNICEF, operates four street children shelters or “hubs” nationwide – three in Dhaka and one in Rangpur. Each temporary, tent-based facility accommodates a maximum of 35 children, offering accommodation, food, education, and essential services. Outreach teams provide immediate assistance, including emergency food, medical care, and winter clothing, with recent distributions of UNICEF-supplied items.

Sirajum Munir Aftabi, Assistant Project Director of the Child Sensitive Social Protection in Bangladesh Phase II, emphasizes ongoing efforts: “We provide immediate assistance whenever necessary… These teams monitor children’s conditions, provide counselling, and gradually motivate them to access shelter and protection services.”

Causes Deeply Rooted

Yet, the scale of the crisis overwhelms these initiatives. With only 10–12 children observed in one shelter during a recent visit, capacity remains extremely limited. Many children are unaware of nearby options or face barriers like drug addiction, which complicates long-term rehabilitation.

Md Forhad Hossain, executive director of LEEDO, questions the status quo: “Why should children still live on the streets in this era? The problem is not a lack of money; it is a lack of initiative, sincerity, and implementation.” He highlights the scarcity of basic infrastructure, asking, “There are only three tents for street children in Dhaka. Why not more? Do we even have public toilets for them?”

Abu Ahmed Fayzul Kabir, Senior Coordinator at Ain o Salish Kendra, acknowledges positive steps but stresses the need for more: “The initiatives are positive, but their impact remains limited. A comprehensive, rights-based, long-term strategy is urgently needed… Most importantly, street children must be treated as rights-bearing citizens.”

The causes are deeply rooted: poverty driving families to the streets, family disputes leading to runaways, orphanhood from accidents, and lack of birth certificates blocking access to services. Many children arrive seeking better opportunities, only to face exploitation, addiction, and invisibility.

As winter grips Bangladesh, the plight of these children demands more than temporary aid. Without expanded shelters, a national database, vocational training, education access, and genuine political will, the cycle of cold, hunger, and neglect will persist, robbing yet another generation of its childhood and future. The voices of Sabbir, Achal, Rabiul, and thousands like them echo a simple, heartbreaking truth: society cannot afford to look away.