Organization reaches out to vulnerable teens

Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Semarang, Central Jakarta

It was just another day at the small youth center run by non- governmental organization Pilar.

"Can you swallow a pill?" asked Dr. Retty Supiyarti, a volunteer at the center, to the street kid sitting in front of her.

The boy hesitantly nodded.

She smiled back at him.

"I'll give you these pills to cure your cough. You have to crush it first and dissolve it with a little water. It's bitter but you can make it taste better by dissolving it with sweet tea. You have sugar, don't you?"

Again, the boy nodded.

In the waiting room outside, there were six other street children, each holding a candy bar.

They were chatting with other volunteers, who were using a friendly, coaxing manner -- including the candy bar -- to find out more information about the children's daily activities.

The search for information extended to sex, with questions that sounded like they were meant to test the youngsters' knowledge of puberty and reproductive health issues.

"The candy bars are given to lure sick street children to visit our clinic. And, while one of them is being examined by our volunteer, the others can be taught about reproductive health issues while waiting their turn," said Didik Joko, a senior coordinator at the youth center.

"They can choose the doctor too, if they are too shy to ask about or to disclose their sex-related problems."

Most of the street children are suffering from common complaints that come from living on the streets, such as respiratory problems from being exposed to the elements or digestive problems from scavenging for scraps of food and poor hygiene.

But, the clinic also treats children who have contracted sexually transmitted diseases, another hazard of living on the periphery of society.

It's a difficult task to provide the information to the young people. Sex-related information or education is still considered taboo here and issues on reproductive health have not been properly addressed in either families or the classroom.

It's particularly tough for street children, most of whom have left their dysfunctional families and have little education if any. Dr. Retty gave the young boy simple, thorough information on taking the pill because he has probably had little experience with medicine or a health clinic.

Advocates argue that the lack of information leaves youth vulnerable to direct and indirect dangers, such as pregnancy, unsafe abortion, infertility, HIV/AIDS, maternity death and STDs.

Street children are particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation.

"We try to give them a sort of 'informal' sex education, including the physical changes that occur and other information they need to know about reproduction as they become teenagers," Didik said.

"This is important as these children live on the streets and are exposed to a free 'life style' as well as harassment from their elders."

Set up in March 1998 by the Central Java branch of the Indonesian Planned Parenthood Association (PKBI) and funded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Pilar focuses on reproductive health issues for youth aged from 14 to 24 years old.

The center, the only youth center in Central Java, has around nine staff, supported by 16 volunteers from different backgrounds, like medicine and psychology, to run its activities.

The center's programs comprise counseling, medical services, reproductive health information and education, one-on-one discussions and Internet training for high school and university students. All are carried out under one roof.

It also has received invitations from different institutions and elements of society to provide such education. This fact highlights a growing awareness of the importance of comprehensive sex and reproductive health education for youth from all walks of life.

Some of Pilar's programs were also created to encourage as many teenagers as possible to visit the center.

"In this way we can introduce our main program, which is sex and reproductive health education to students who visit our center for different reasons, like Internet training or a discussion," said its administration staff Johan M. Riza.

The center's medical services and other in-house programs could only capture 5 percent of the total youth population, most of whom live in the neighborhood.

But its reproductive health campaign can still be heard by teenagers living in other parts of Central Java, like Pemalang, Kendal, Salatiga, Jepara, Rembang and Blora, as the teen programs are also aired on local radio stations, such as Imelda, IBC, Mercy and RRI.

The center highlights teen issues like dating, reproductive health and drug abuse for its radio programs.

"Our task is to answer their questions and to show them that they do have options. But the decision is in their hands," said Slamet Riyadi, the center's coordinator for information, education and communication.

Pilar's radio program has received a positive response, shown by audience participation.

"Recently, we were informed by the management of Imelda radio station that our chat show is the second most popular program. It's nice to know that," explained the activist, whose on-air nickname is Slam.

Buoyed by this encouraging fact, the center is considering establishing cooperation with other media to disseminate the information.

It's a difficult and daunting task to reach out to young people, especially those like street children who have become society's garbage, thrown away and little cared about. Pilar, however, hopes they will learn that their lives are worth something.