CITY OF LOST CHILDREN:

A seemingly hopeless situation does not mean we, the more fortunate, are helpless, if you ask Eamonn Thornton, one of many trying to lift hundreds of children out of destitute conditions in the manholes of Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia.

Temperatures in Ulaanbaatar dip below minus 30 degrees Celsius.

The government has all but turned its back on these abandoned children, who live in danger of burns (from hot water pipes), disease, malnourishment and, ultimately, death.

Forget about how things got so screwed up that children are living underground.

The point is, they are — so what do we do about it?

Today, in the second part of a two-part series, Daily Pilot photographer Kent Treptow, who spent countless hours with the street children of Ulaanbaatar over the course of a month, tells the story of those lending a helping hand.

For the City of Lost Children package, click here.