Ex-prisoners help young vendors

Ex-prisoners help young vendors

JAKARTA (JP): Fifteen former political prisoners jailed during
the New Order regime launched a program on Thursday aimed at
helping 200 children and adolescents working as street vendors in
the city.

The program, sponsored by the ex-prisoners' cooperative, was
inaugurated by South Jakarta Mayor Pardjoko on behalf of Minister
of Social Services Justika Sjarifuddin on Thursday.

Pardjoko said during the ceremony that he strongly supported
the program, which consisted of training courses, provision of
school goods, including clothes, books, vending boxes,
cigarettes, candy and mineral water. All are free of charge.

"This constitutes one of the social safety programs amid the
current monetary crisis," Pardjoko was quoted by Antara as
saying.

M. Juli Anwar, the program coordinator, said that a fund of Rp
15 million (US$1,250) was needed to provide the working capital
to the 200 vendors per month and another Rp 25 million for their
education, including for teachers' fees, books and other goods.

Of the 200 vendors joining the program, 100 are drop-outs, 75
are still attending school and 25 never attended school at all,"
he said.

The head of the ex-prisoners' cooperative, Beathor Suryadi,
said that his group's founders were former prisoners jailed for
several political cases, including Tanjung Priok, Lampung, Aceh
and defamation against Soeharto. (hhr)