Poor youth in the region often begin working even before age 10 to help feed their families, selling things in the street or sorting through urban trash for recyclable goods. Some work to escape drug use and violence at home, only to be exposed to the same in the streets, where many end up living—all leading to intense alienation, extremely low self-esteem, and the partial or total rupture of their relationships with family, school and communities. These children are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence, including rape and commercial sexual exploitation. Violence against children is largely ignored by the public and government officials, which makes its eradication all the more difficult.

This program successfully involves families, community members, public officials and the youth themselves in removing children from living and working in the streets, in preventing commercial sexual exploitation, and in helping survivors of sexual abuse heal physically and emotionally.