Street Children Of Tarlac City: Towards A Proposed Action Plan

This study aimed to evaluate the status of street children in Tarlac City. The result of the study would serve as basis for the proposal of an action plan. Descriptive method of research was utilized in the conduct of the study. Interview and questionnaire were the main sources of data.Purposive sampling was used to identify the respondents of the study. The subjects of the study were the street children working and living in the City of Tarlac. Forty (40) street children were interviewed in the study. The finding of the study revealed that most of the street children often engaged in begging for money or food in the market, the church, and fast food chains. Unlike the identified beggars, street children involved in selling goods were not engaged in any other activity on the streets. Scavenging, being a barker, a vulcanizer helper, and a jeepney terminal street sweeper were the other engagements of the street children. The most frequent reasons why children engaged themselves into street life were to earn money to buy food, to help their parents earn money, and to earn money to finance their education. Other reasons why children engaged themselves in the street were to buy things that they needed, to buy medicine and to buy things of their own choice. Key Words: Street Children, Street Life, Poverty Policy