MANILA, Philippines – Eight-year-old Christian seems like an ordinary child who should be in school like many children of his age.

But the boy only finished Grade 1, and spends most of his time at the wet market either carrying sacks of vegetables or peeling onions to earn some money.

“Huminto kasi ako. Pinahinto ako ng nanay ko,” he said, referring to his grandmother.

His usual routine at the wet market starts at 12 midnight and ends around 7 in the morning.

“Minsan P80, minsan P100. Pinambibili ng pangkain. Nagsasaing kami,” he said, when asked about how much he gets paid from his jobs.

Christian is just one of the hundreds of thousands of street and street-working children in major cities in the country.

“We estimate 250,000 street children at the moment, scattered throughout cities and 50,000 of them highly visible, spending most of their days and nights on the streets,” according to Vanessa Tobin, country representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Tobin said hunger, sickness, deprivation of a home and education are just some of the things that children on the streets have to deal with.

“This situation puts them at risk of substance abuse, alcohol abuse, sexual abuse, violence and exploitation, sexually transmitted infections, HIV and AIDS, street fights and gang brawls,” Tobin said.

Mobile education, child protection

On Tuesday afternoon, mobile phone manufacturer Sony Ericsson, its sister company Ericsson, and SM Supermalls, presented UNICEF with a mobile IT van to support its Mobile Education and Child Protection Program for Children on the streets of Manila.

Like Efren Peñaflorida’s pushcart classroom, the mobile IT van contains teaching materials. It is also equipped with a laptop and mobile broadband access and other communication tools. Sessions can be conducted right where the children and their families can be reached.

“The Mobile Education and Child Protection Program for Street Children is very innovative and involves the local government and non-government partners (NGOs) working together to give these children a second chance. The partners target areas with a high incidence of street children and provide direct services to street children and their families,” Tobin said.

UNICEF’s partner, Lingap Pangkabataan, will man the van with trained street educators and social workers.

“The van will provide street and street-working children and their families access to quality basic education through alternative learning system, psycho-social services and referrals for case management, child protection and education,” said Lingap Pangkabataan’s Cathyrine Eder.

Eder said the mobile IT van will initially benefit street children and their families from Quezon City.

“Iikot siya within Quezon City. We initially identified 5 areas. These areas may maraming street and street-working children such as Cubao, C-5 Katipunan Extension, and sa tapat ng Ateneo and along Kamias-Kalayaan and East Avenue near BIR,” Eder said.

Tobin added that there is no “quick fix” in addressing the needs of street children. “To offer a permanent solution, leaving the children protected and cared for takes time and multiple interventions”.

Share the Fun campaign

The van presentation culminates the “I-Share Ang Saya” campaign that let the public experience unlimited entertainment embodied in Sony Ericsson’s Satio, Aino and Kita handsets.

“Our goal was, as our campaign put it, to Share ang Saya. After spreading the smiles, we wanted to spread the joys of mobile entertainment. Our entertainment expos displayed a new line of concepts that embodied this mission. Each one, the Satio, Aino and Kita, offered the best in music, movies, gaming and imaging. They also presented buyers with the unique opportunity to be part of this worthwhile project–The UNICEF Mobile Education and Children’s Protection program,” said Sony Ericsson General Manager, Dennis Manzano.

Manzano said Sony Ericsson and Ericsson jointly donated P1 million for the purchase of the van. SM Supermalls helped raise additional funds by putting up donation bins at “I-Share Ang Saya” entertainment exhibits.

“It is this kind of collaboration that will surely bring our children closer to getting the kind of future they deserve,” Manzano added.