Foundation works to give waifs a second chance

JAKARTA (JP): Life is good to children who enjoy a secure financial environment, but it is a struggle for survival for the unfortunate, especially those forced to make a living on the streets.

In contrast to the children of wealthy families who dress in trim uniforms to go to school, street children spend most of their days at the city's major intersections, singing or selling newspapers to get money from passing motorists.

Other street children roam bus terminals, offering soft drinks, snacks or shoe-polishing services.

The test of perseverance really begins when these children are captured by police officers for violating public order, or extorted by crooks wanting their money and commercial goods.

Rizal, 7, one of the city's 9,000 street children, used to sell bottled tea and ginger candies in Cipete subdistrict, South Jakarta, but quit the business after his goods were taken away by police officers without any clear reason.

"On my way to Kota in West Jakarta, I stopped at Gambir Railway Station in Central Jakarta. I was so tired that I fell asleep. When I woke up, all my items had been taken away.

"A newspaper boy told me later that a police officer had seized my items and taken them away," Rizal told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

He later went home to Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, where he lives with a couple he called "Bapak" (Father) and "Ibu" (Mother).

"Bapak Edi severely scolded me for coming home late and for losing all the merchandise," he said sadly in a low voice.

Rizal recounted that his business used to earn about Rp 5,000 per day, of which Rp 500 to Rp 1,000 was used to buy meals. "I would remind Ibu."

When asked about his family, Rizal could not remember them, saying that his mother had died and his father was somewhere in a village.

He however admitted he was lucky to be given a chance to join a training school organized by Nanda Dian Nusantara foundation, a non-governmental organization providing training and education to street children. The children usually attend the training course in the morning before going back of their homes to pick up their good to sell on the street.

Roostien Ilyas, chairwoman of the foundation, told the Post that Rizal was not the only child exploited by others to earn money in the city.

"It's all right for the children when there is somebody in Jakarta to offer them jobs. They have nothing to lose," she said after attending a badminton program for street children here on Saturday.

The one-day badminton lesson, led by former renowned shuttler Rudy Hartono Kurniawan, was held jointly by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the foundation.

Despite the harsh treatment street children receive, many still have high hopes for the future.

"I want to be a poet," said Rizal. (ivy)