Boarding schools to help street kids

Boarding schools to help street kids

JAKARTA: The Ministry of Social Services is to cooperate with
45 pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) in all 27 provinces to
help care for and educate 45,000 street children across the
country, Antara reported on Tuesday.

Minister of Social Services Justika S. Baharsyah said the
cooperation will not only help the government's program of
compulsory education, but also provide better protection for
homeless children.

The boarding schools will provide schooling and training with
funding from the ministry and donations, she said. Other programs
that she said were being organized for street children were
halfway houses and mobile libraries.

The minister was speaking at the closing of a religious
instruction session at the Al Washilah boarding school.

School Master A. Dasuki Adnan said the pesantren has been
taking care of 1050 street children from Jakarta, West Java,
Central Java, East Java and cities in Sumatra.

The children sleep, eat and study in the complex. (swe)