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suffer the worst", said Christian Voumard, former China representative of the United Nations Children's Fund. Street children are "all at risk, not only of physical harm through contact with drugs, child labor, gangs and trafficking, but they are also excluded from society, discriminated against and liable to come in conflict with the law", he said. The Ministry of Civil Affairs arranged for seven street children rescue centers in major cities, including Beijing, Zhengzhou and Wuhan, to send out leaflets about their work and together to exhibit artwork by street children in Beijing's Xidan
Cultural Square on Saturday to mark International Children's Day. Throughout June, activities will be held across he nation to raise public awareness of the plight of street children. The ministry also announced on Saturday that each June 19 will be an "Open Day" at all Chinese rescue centers for homeless people, to help the public to supervise rescue institutions' work. There are 261 rescue centers for minors across China and they helped about 1.36 million street children from 2003 to 2012, according to the ministry. Zhang Li - not his real name a hairdresser with a decent income in Zhengzhou, capital of
Henan province, was rescued as a child from a life on the streets. At age 11, Zhang was abandoned by his divorced father at a train station, and he had to live on the street. The 19-year-old said his life got back on track after workers in a mobile rescue van met him on the street and persuaded him to go to the Zhengzhou Street Children Protection Center in 2008. Zhang received some informal education at the center and he later went to live with a foster family. The center sponsored him to study haircutting at a vocational school and helped him to land a job in a salon two years ago. 07