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)