Street Smart: Free childcare for children of Mexico City's street vendors

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03:25

The United Nations says some 20-million children in Mexico live in poverty. Many are in Mexico City, where their parents find work as day laborers or street vendors. Often, the children have no place to stay while their parents are working. But a state-funded kindergarten is providing some with food, care and education. CGTN's Alasdair Baverstock has details.

Early morning in Mexico City, and it's business as usual. Across the capital the traffic roars, as the locals wash windscreens, merchants take deliveries from heavy trucks, and workers are noticeably unprotected in the streets. It's no place for children, as mother of two, Reina, knows only too well.

REINA SANCHEZ STREET VENDOR "My children have had many accidents here. My daughter Alison fell more than a meter off a concrete ramp when she was two years old, and my son Cristian has been runover by a motorbike."

ALASDAIR BAVERSTOCK MEXICO CITY "The safety of children, working alongside their parents in the streets, is a growing concern. Data from 2015 shows, on average, 21 pedestrians were killed every day on the streets of the capital. On top of that immediate danger - there's the developmental risks to young kids who inhale exhaust and pollution. Now, the city government says it sees a solution."

This is a state-funded kindergarten, named 'Boys and Girls Out of Harm's Way', aimed specifically towards parents like Reina.

Every day the center's social workers collect the kids in the capital's most impoverished districts and teach them reading and writing skills.

As well as getting kids off the streets, the program serves a second purpose: offering a formal education to children who rarely attend school. The exposure to a formal education is vital.

MARIANA LIZET SOCIAL WORKER "The majority of the kids haven't attended any school at all, so it's a big challenge as a teacher. We try to plant that seed, that they can change their perspectives on life. That they can be different people, they can be whoever they want. People who don't just love their work, but love life."

Throughout the day the children attend class, exercise in the playground, and get three square meals.

Doris Ortiz is a child psychologist, and says the stabilizing factor will be vital for the children's future.

DORIS ORTIZ CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST "The impact will affect their entire lives. They should grow up in healthy, peaceful environments, and obviously if this can't be achieved they can't develop psycho-emotionally or socially, which limits their chances of being successful as adults."

Month after month, the children here continue to grow. It's a trend, teachers say, will give these kids a chance at having a better life than that of their parents. Alasdair Baverstock, CGTN, Mexico City.