Homeless Boys Line African City Streets

"Young and Homeless Fill Africa's City Streets" - no mention though of UNICEF, or any other organizational outrage, over the fact that the vast majority of these are boys. That's because, quite predictably, no one seems to care nearly as much as they would if these kids were predominently girls. And people wonder why Africa is plagued by problems with violent, angry young men. Excerpt:

They are part of an unprecedented and growing phenomenon of homeless youths in Africa's exploding urban centers, according to studies by UNICEF and Save the Children. There is no reliable estimate of their total number, but studies indicate it could be as high as 1 million.

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Now, nearly every major African city has its own name for them. In Khartoum, they are called "the children of the market." In Nairobi, they are known as "glue boys," because they sniff glue out of old bottles, holding the rims to their lips as if they were whispering into the neck. In Kinshasa, the capital of Congo, they are called "the desperate children" -- barefoot boys who shine shoes, banging a stick with a bottle cap to attract customers.

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