Homeless in KL

A homeless couple lie on mats in the five-foot way outside the Cahaya Suria building in Jalan Pudu, their meagre belongings in a bag beside them.

At the Lebuh Pudu bus station, another homeless man stretches out on the relative cool offered by the tiled surface.

Lost in thought: Originally from Indonesia but now homeless in the big city, a woman stares off into the distance.

A woman in a face mask holds out a card as she asks people waiting for the bus for alms.

A man wearing only a pair of shorts sits with a plastic container which he uses to hold the small sums of money he receives from passersby.

or these two, cardboard and old blankets form the only beds they have.

Whether it is day or night makes no difference to these homeless, who snatch a moment of rest whenever they can.

A charity group hands out containers of food to the urban poor.

Whatever food packets they receive are eaten on the floor of walkways, in the shadow of Kuala Lumpur's giant skyscrapers.

When evening falls, they venture out into the darkness.

These women also made the journey from Indonesia in hopes of finding a better life – hopes that remain unfulfilled.

A woman with hair cropped short heads back to her small corner of the city after spending the day collecting recyclable material to sell.

At night, Lebuh Pudu is filled with the homeless who crowd the narrow walkways.

They hold tight to their few belongings – some of them incongruous, such as these giant teddy bears.

They come from all walks of life, united by their lack of a place to call home.

Their stories are all different: some were abandoned by their families, while others suffer from mental health issues or are convicts who have served their time.

Most of them have little or no education, and cannot do much to change their lives.

Many are resigned to spending their old age on the streets, like this man who lost his wife seven years ago and now faces the rest of his life alone.