Clinic answering questions of youth

Dewi Anggraeni, Contributor, Melbourne

One of the curious things in life is that you often have to go overseas to become better known domestically. No, we are not talking about artists who have to go and make their names in Hollywood or Broadway before they are known by their own compatriots.

We are talking about some non-governmental organizations which are doing excellent work right in our backyard.

One of them is Klinik Remaja (literally "youth clinic" in Indonesian), which was one of the organizations represented at the International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific in Melbourne in early October.

Managed by a non-governmental organization Yayasan Pelita Ilmu, Klinik Remaja reaches out to young people who are in desperate need of someone to turn to, and somewhere safe where their problems are not dismissed or regarded with disdain.

While the head office on Jl. Pancoran Timur Raya, South Jakarta, provides in situ medical services as well as health information, medical tests and youth counseling, Klinik Remaja also runs three drop-in centers around metropolitan Jakarta.

These centers provide a friendly atmosphere and lend assistance to those confused with their health problems or in trouble with drugs.

Many young people are not only inclined to experiment, they also feel the need to belong to a group. Lack of guidance often land them in groups who experiment with drugs and sex.

Unfortunately they are not necessarily aware that injecting drugs or having unprotected sex make them vulnerable to HIV infection, or if they do, their youthful sense of invincibility makes them think that it will not happen to them. Since they are unlikely to turn to their parents for information, the potential danger for them being infected is extremely high.

And when infection does occur, these young people are naturally devastated and flung into despair.

Asked how young people were informed about these drop-in centers, Sri Wahyuningsih from Klinik Remaja explained that they had outreach workers, who would go to places, such as shopping malls, "or wherever young people usually hang out".

She continued that these outreach workers themselves were young.

"That way they can relate to people roughly their age, and they know how to gain their trust," she said. "As friends they spread the word about Klinik Remaja. It reaches the spots where some of the young people are having problems with their health, especially serious ones, such as drug abuse and HIV. The problem is, even if some of these young people suspect that they are probably HIV positive, they usually don't know what to do or who to turn to, for fear of being ostracized or stigmatized. They need help but don't know how or where to get it. So this is where the outreach workers come in."

In the clinic they can obtain HIV tests and learn to demythify the illness. Knowing how AIDS is transmitted is crucial, in order to avoid infection as well as not treating those who are infected as untouchable subhumans, but as peers who need help and committed friendships.

Klinik Remaja has paid staff as well as volunteers. Many of the volunteers are those who frequented the clinic for various reasons, and have absorbed the ethos of the clinic.

"When we recruit, we often recruit those who have served as volunteers, because they already have the necessary experience," said Wahyuningsih.

Apart from managing Klinik Remaja, its foundation, Yayasan Pelita Ilmu, also publishes Warta Propas, a magazine aimed at reaching wider circles of young people and those who work with young people. The important health and associated social information are presented in their vernacular language, and often illustrated in a comic format. It even has a chat page for teachers where they swap valuable ideas and experiences in relation to teaching awkward aspects of health to young students.

Yayasan Pelita Ilmu receives funding from the World Population Foundation in the Netherlands, as well as the Gates Foundation in the U.S.A.

Klinik Remaja is open every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday to Saturday (tel. 7995847 or 7946040).