Ever encountered a child, dressed in rags, who runs over to your car with a beseeching look in their eyes, the minute you pull up at a traffic signal? Or, a minor with a handful of matchboxes, who clings to your car window and wouldn’t let you go till you have bought something? Or, one in the street who offers to polish your shoes? Chances are, you’ve seen them way too often while driving down a busy road or in the peripheries of a mosque or a crowded marketplace, with or without an elderly escort. These children, who come from very poor households, are out even after dark, which particularly renders them vulnerable to all kinds of abuse, violence and drugs. They are forced to lend a ‘helping hand’ in a (usually) large family. Some of them never went to school, while others were pulled out very early so that they could start contributing to their family’s income. Their own future and place in the universe remain a question mark.