If I Had the Chance: Artwork from the Streets of Asia and the Pacific

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has published a coffee-table book featuring drawings of and interviews with children ages 5 to 16 from the streets of Asia and the Pacific. The children participated in the Second ADB Street Children's Art Competition, which was held in 2002 in Dhaka, Jakarta, Kathmandu, Manila, Phnom Penh, Ports Moresby, and Ulaanbaatar. As part of the competition, more than 1,000 street children were provided with a piece of white paper, 48 crayons, and 24 pastels; they were asked to send a message to the world about what they would do if they had the chance.

The book gives a glimpse of the hopes, fears, and needs of the children. Suzanne, a 16-year-old rag picker in Jakarta, would send her friend to school. Naranzul, a 5-year-old from Ulaanbaatar, would build a house for her mother. Many children's drawings concern travel: one sketched a plane that would bring a father back to his son in Mongolia. Others illustrated or spoke about the desire to help other street children and poor people or have a peaceful life.

Nine children in each of the 7 cities were awarded a scholarship meant to support the attaining of the goal they had articulated. Organisers say that proceeds from the sale of the publication will be divided among the 70 NGOs that played a role in the competition, and will be used for the benefit of the children under their care.