As climate change intensifies, its effects are being felt most acutely by those already living in incredibly vulnerable situations – including street children. In this reflection, Emilie Hunter, Toybox’s Head of Individual Giving, shares stories from our partners and the children they support:
As the world around us shifts, I’ve found myself pausing to reflect on how I live, the choices I make and what needs to change to protect what matters most.
Recently, our partner in India shared a story about a group of children in a slum community during a fierce heatwave. As water sources dried up, they noticed local birds were suffering too. So, they went onto the streets, gathered broken, discarded pots and filled them with water.
In Nepal, during heavy rainfall, children living along the riverbanks formed rescue groups. They guided elderly neighbours to safety and carried younger children in their arms. After floods in Kenya, despite all they had lost, a group of young women shared what little they had to help a mother among them bury her child.
In Guatemala, children are planting trees to protect their communities from landslides. In El Salvador, young people are leading workshops to show their peers how everyday actions can tackle climate change. In Ethiopia, children are organising community clean-ups and promoting recycling.
Some say resilience isn’t something we are born with, but something we build. It comes from the connections we have with others, the meaning we find in experience and the ways we take care of each other.
Street children’s lives daily lives demand adaptability, creativity and hope. The very qualities we all need to adopt in a changing climate. In their stories, we see not just survival instinct, but intrinsic kindness – shaped by all that they have gone through.
As the impacts of climate change deepen, street children show us that resilience is about nurturing what remains. Their courage calls us to protect the future they are already working to build.
Pictured above: Emilie Hunter, Head of Individual Giving at Toybox
