HLAING THAR YAR, Myanmar — Sweaty hair matted to his pale, emaciated face, Thant Zin Oo starts his days early, winding through small alleyways outside Myanmar’s biggest city Yangon and scavenging through garbage piled up behind shops and factories in search of something — anything — to sell.

Tucked under the 11-year-old’s filthy, tattered shirt is a half-empty yellow glue tin.

“It gives me a sense of peace,” he said, taking a break so he can draw the strong, noxious fumes into his young lungs. “I forget my hunger for a moment and dream of things that I cannot do in my real life.”

Myanmar’s long-time military rulers handed over power to a nominally civilian government three years ago, leading to the lifting of Western sanctions and a burst of economic activity. More than 500 foreign businesses have invested $50 billion. But as poor families move from rural areas to the big city in hopes of finding work, many find themselves struggling.

Without education or money to buy food — their families often squatting on land illegally seized by gangs — children are most vulnerable.