They work the streets for 12 hours, then return to the shelter at night. At times, though, they don't make it home. Those who stick with the shelter sleep five and six to a mattress. They roam the stadium in gangs. Glue addiction is one of the biggest problems, social workers say.
Kids openly sniff it from baby food jars or plastic cartons in the city's streets.
Tony says, pulling out his baby food jar. ''It makes me feel good, more or less. Disease rampant Disease is a constant menace for all the children, those in the shelters and those living in makeshift shacks near the river where their homes once stood. Mosquitoes bred in the stagnant water carry malaria and dengue fever. The dirty water, where people bathe and children play, spreads hepatitis. It's not difficult to understand why.