Riaz Ahmed, 9 years old

9-year-old Riaz ran away from home after being beaten by his father, and after living on the streets of Karachi for several days, he climbed on the back of a bus and arrived in the city of Hyderabad. On the streets, he became acquainted with some older boys who introduced him to drugs and, we suspect, there might have been some sexual abuse. He had been living at a shrine in Hyderabad for some weeks when Roshni found him and brought him back. 

Riaz’s family is extremely poor and he himself works full time in a motorcycle repair shop, where he operates a lathe machine. He works a very long shift at his job and is not happy at home. He wishes he could go to school and play. Although he was happy to be back after struggling on the streets for over a month, he is at risk of running away again because of his difficult life here and his exposure to drugs while living on the streets.