Empty Coke Cans - part 2

So why were these children in the streets collecting Coke cans when they were supposed to be in school? I thought I had an answer.

I've just come back from Bangkok (Provincial House) asking to volunteer for the Battambang project where we run a small literacy center for children of brick workers.
I reasoned out that if these kids would not be taught to read and write, they would not be able to join in the educational mainstream.
Consequently, they would become our future street kids.
I thought that this small work in Battambang (around 200 kms from Phnom Penh) could be a potential solution to the street children problem because it tries to solve the problem at its very roots - PREVENTION!

To cut the story short, my request was not granted. In computer language - Access denied!
It seems to me that our politics (religious policies like: not staying apart from the community, no independent lifestyle, etc) would rather have them turn into street children first so that we can come up with works (institutions) for the street children later.
I'm not complaining, just asking?

Empty Coke Cans - part 1

Today our cooks had a day off. So our Dutch volunteer and I went outside to eat.
As we were finishing our meal at a restaurant, I noticed two pairs of small eyes staring at us through the plants outside. They belonged to two small children, barefooted, dressed in patched-up clothes and carrying a sack.
My companion looked at me and we both immediately understood that they were not staring at us but at our empty Coke cans.

With a quick nod at my friend, he got up, grabbed our empty cans, went ourside and deposited them inside the children's sack.
Instantly their faces brightened up.
No words were needed to express their gratitude for the cans. They left happilly prancing through the streets - becuase they have collected their first cans for the day at the end of which they would get a few cents in exchange.

This incident made me ask myself the eternal question: "Why were these children on the streets?"