Campaign launched to shine a light on the plight of children<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The National Social Welfare Agency (BKSN) on
\nThursday launched a three-month public awareness campaign on the
\nplight of some 50,000 street and abandoned children centered in
\nthe country's 12 major cities.<\/p>\n
The Rp 2.1 billion drive, titled Ibu, Aku Ingin Pulang
\n(Mother, I Wanna Go Home) will focus on bringing the street
\nchildren home.<\/p>\n
Among the 12 cities are Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya,
\nMedan, Bandar Lampung, Makassar and Mataram.<\/p>\n
"We know that it's difficult to change their way of life since
\nmany of them are used to obtaining 'easy money' on the street,"
\nMinister of Health and Social Welfare\/chairman of BKSN Achmad
\nSujudi told media during the start of the campaign at Mangga Dua
\narea, West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
"Bringing those children home is in the sense that they should
\ngo back to their parents or existing shelters and receive proper
\ntreatment and basic education," Sujudi said.<\/p>\n
The public, he said, only realize the problem of street or
\nabandoned children on such days around festive seasons, he said.<\/p>\n
"But still the public know so little about them."<\/p>\n
The campaign, however, aims to lift public awareness so that
\npeople can participate in helping these children get back on the
\nright track.<\/p>\n
The program is part of the Social Safety Net scheme for
\neducation and social welfare with a loan coming from the Asian
\nDevelopment Bank (ADB).<\/p>\n
Special TV dramas, public awareness advertisements and talk
\nshows will be aired soon through the nation's seven television
\nstations.<\/p>\n
A package of six drama episodes of "Ibu, Aku Ingin Pulang",
\neach with a duration of between 30 and 48 minutes, have the
\ntitles of Ibu, Aku Ingin Pulang, Bayiku (My Baby), Bagus, Arjuna,
\nHarto and Putra Aji.<\/p>\n
Two other upcoming titles are Titie and Sahabat Angin (Friend
\nof Wind).<\/p>\n
Most of the films depict the street children's daily
\nactivities, behavior, and things that actually happen to them as
\nwell as how they struggle to survive.<\/p>\n
"There are two kinds of such children. The first are those who
\nreally are homeless and the second are children, who actually
\nhave homes and parents but they are too preoccupied with being on
\nthe street," minister Sujudi said.<\/p>\n
The children ended up learning everything from the streets,
\nmostly through violent ways, he said.<\/p>\n
"They have not received a basic education and living on the
\nstreets has taught them about sex, how to make money, or how to
\ncommit crime," Sujudi said.<\/p>\n
Most of the children go to shelters run by nongovernment
\norganizations or social groups as the government does not have
\nthe resources to help these children.<\/p>\n
"If we stick with the current approach imagine how they will
\nturn out when they grow up. Who will be responsible if they grow
\nup jobless, dumb and violent?" he said.<\/p>\n
After the three-month campaign is up, the ministry will
\ncontinue to monitor the situation.<\/p>\n
"We will not resort to repressive measures by arresting or
\nraiding them. It would be of little use," Sujudi asserted.<\/p>\n
Another similar scheme, will start in Yogyakarta early next
\nyear funded by a grant from the Japanese government.<\/p>\n
"This project will focus on female street children due to the
\nfact that they are often victims of violence and sex abuse," he
\nadded. (edt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/campaign-launched-to-shine-a-light-on-the-plight-of-children-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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