Jakarta's street kids not getting the attention they need

By Lena Rosenthal

JAKARTA (JP): When looking out of the tinted window of a car stopping at a traffic light here, one gets used to the sight of street vendors, often children, at work.

And although people drive by them day after day, they may not realize that what the hawkers are doing is not "just selling newspapers" on the street, but struggling to survive.

Many of the streets children, some not yet 7, do not have a choice but to earn their living on the streets. The city's informal sector is forcing more and more children to help their families earn a living. Children who are poor and less well looked after are at high risk to start work on the streets.

Jakarta's streets are home to an estimated 30,000 children to 40,000 children; between three times and four times higher than it was before the economic crisis.

However, a distinction must be made between the "children of the street", the ones that actually live on the streets and are hardly in touch with their families, and the many "children on the street", who still go to school, but due to the economic crises have to help their families earn a living.

"I usually earn about Rp 10,000 a day," Deni, 12, explains. "On a very good day, I can get up to Rp 20,000." Deni, however, no longer helps with his family's income. He belongs to the children of the street and takes care of himself.

A member of the National Commission for the Protection of Children (LPA), Irwan Julianto, says, "Of the 40,000 children that earn their living on the streets, about 20 percent actually live on the street," Irwan Julianto,

"Like other children on the street, they face not only the daily problem of earning money to survive, but also often have to deal with abuse, prostitution and are at odds with the law."

You will have a better view of the situation after you talk to the children.

Idu, 11, still attends school, but he is the only one earning money in the family. His father works as a tailor and his mother had to close down her food stall as food prices increased due to the economic crisis; it does not seem surprising that Idu's parents can hardly afford to feed their nine children.

Some of his friends, who are looking for shelter and guidance at Yayasan Pondok Kencana Kita, located in South Manggarai, are even less fortunate.

Uli, a volunteer working at Pondok, as the kids call their open house, explains, "Aden is the youngest among the children who come regularly. He came to Jakarta from Bandung two weeks ago and sang on the bus to survive. But we believe that in fact he has been living on the streets for quite a while."

Asked if he is scared, the 7-year-old says: "I have to be brave. Who else is going to take care of me?"

Pondok Kencana Kita is one of many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) trying to offer these children guidance and shelter.

Subriyanto, affectionately called Pak Yanto, the coordinator at the Pondok, started working with street children in 1982. Since then, he has worked hard to offer the children an informal education, often without funds. For 15 years, he taught them in neighborhood halls, on the streets or underneath Manggarai Bridge, until he received a donation to rent a small house in South Manggarai in 1997.

Today, children at Pondok still earn money on the streets and organize their own meals, but they are now attending an open free school.

"We offer them guidance and shelter, make sure they attend school and are lucky to have health cards with which the children can get free medical check-ups at a Puskesmas (local health center). However, we always struggle to pay the rent and we cannot always buy food for the children," Uli explains.

Manggarai is also known for its violent fights, in which street children get involved occasionally. Irwan, 26, who regularly visits Pondok, helps children communicate and tries to protect the young ones.

The situation at Pondok is nothing unusual for Hadi Utomo, who worked with different NGOs in the past and is now technical advisor to UNICEF's Child Protection Body.

"So far, there is not much good data on the situation of street children. But violence and sexual abuse are often reported to us by the different NGOs. The number of NGOs is still unproportional to the number of children living on the streets, and the government has, so far, failed to offer a program that helps ease the situation of street children here in Jakarta."

UNICEF is currently supporting the establishment of the LPA and its various activities. Additionally offering technical and financial assistance to 12 NGOs all over Indonesia, UNICEF is also campaigning for more governmental help for the children in need.

As estimations put the number of street prostitutes under 18 at 30 percent, and the number of minors attending school at 54 percent compared to 72 percent in 1996, it seems likely to look for more help from the government.

Incidents of police beating street children are commonplace. "The abuse of street children is not uncommon," Irwan says, "girls are especially very vulnerable."

Other institutions in Jakarta are getting increasingly involved to help ease these children's hardship. In collaboration with UNICEF, CSDS Atma Jaya published a report titled Situational Analysis of Children in Need of Special Protection In Indonesia, clearly analyzing the causes leading to a life on the streets and their effects.

One More Chance Foundation, a project established by the Jakarta International School community, has, since 1998, been fully funding the One More Chance House in Jagakarsa, South Jakarta, in which a group of 18 onetime street boys aged 8 to 16 have made a home and a commitment to resume their schooling.

Many other activities, often launched by NGOs, including nonformal education, prevocational training, improvement of nutritional intake and health care, are necessary, but often not sustainable as the funds are lacking.

It is expected that the government puts child protection as a commitment on the national agenda to make sure the issue is taken into account in all its sectors, including the ones dealing with agriculture and businesses.

As at Pondok, there are many other potential street workers whose projects need to be capitalized for the benefit of the children. And it can be granted that these children will certainly acknowledge what has been done for them.