Impoverished kids step out on National Children's Day

Impoverished kids step out on National Children's Day

JAKARTA (JP): About 500 children from 26 slum areas in the
capital celebrated National Children's Day on Friday in a lively
parade along city streets, and with a minimum of assistance from
adults.

They sang songs as they marched about four kilometers from the
Proclamation Monument in Central Jakarta, along Jl. Diponegoro,
Jl. Salemba and back to the starting point. Motorists and
passersby good-naturedly waited for them to pass.

Musical accompaniment was provided by a performance on an
accompanying truck.

Puji, an activist from the event organizer the Friendship of
Marginalized Indonesian Children (PAPI), said the children were
from slums such as Bantar Gebang in Bekasi, Pulogadung and
Jatinegara in East Jakarta, and Depok on Jakarta's outskirts.

Sandyawan Sumardi, a Catholic priest and rights activist, said
children were often victims of political violence.

"But these children still managed to organize this parade." He
said it reflected a resilience which should help the country lift
itself out of the debilitating crisis.

Another activist, Karlina Leksono, also mingled with the
children, who were accompanied by adults from their
neighborhoods, or activists serving as their mentors.

One of the children, Fitri, read a speech in which she
appealed for concern for marginalized minors nationwide,
including ones sheltered in refugee centers. She also called for
a stop to city officials' mistreatment of street children.

The children will take part in a painting contest at Cafe
Tenda Semanggi on Saturday.

In other cities, protests involving street children also
marked the day.

In Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, about 200 street children
staged a demonstration in front of the auditorium of state radio
network RRI.

Waving banners and singing songs on children's rights, the
protesters -- coordinated by 12 non-governmental organizations in
the city -- demanded that the government show more concern for
poor and abandoned children.

Separately, a group of Chinese-Indonesian children distributed
school supplies.

In Yogyakarta, a street children's protest was held, with
about 200 participants singing and dancing their afternoon away
in the local legislative building.

The group demanded that legislators fight for children's
rights.

Before entering the building, the children went for a
traditional horse-drawn carriage andong ride from Bulaksumur
traffic circle. They distributed human rights leaflets along the
roads.

In Semarang, United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef)
representative for Indonesia and Malaysia Stephen J. Woodhouse
said 10 million children across the country were undernourished.

He said it translated into 5,000 of every 12,500 babies born
here would be intellectually deficient and suffer from
compromised immune systems.

Many children in Central Java have marasmus kwashiorkor, a
form of severe malnutrition with symptoms including distended
bellies.

"Up to July this year, we've recorded 1,998 under-fives
suffering from marasmus kwashiorkor here, and 40 of them have
died," Woodhouse said.

Unicef has established various food supplement programs,
relying on financial assistance from countries such as the
Netherlands, Australia, the United States and Britain.
(edt/har/swa/05/27)