Life in the slum of Dhaka/2

Dhaka, Bangladesh. Mother and son at the Manda slum. Around the capital city of Dhaka, huge shanty towns made of iron sheets and plastic have sprung without any electricity, gas or water, let alone a sewage system, surrounded by piles of garbage where undisturbed dogs, goats and cows scavenge for food. The slum dwellers either barely subsist or endure long daily travels to reach the “real” city in search for work. Their children have become almost invisible because they are unaccounted for: unregistered at birth, kept out of school, they contribute to the family income by doing random and often hazardous work, living in the streets where they are further exposed to violence and abuse from adults.