Rich people urged to give donations to city orphanages
Rich people urged to give donations to city orphanages
JAKARTA (JP): Councilors and city social services office
officials appealed to the capital's rich yesterday to spare part
of their fortunes to help 54 penniless and overcrowded
orphanages.
The orphanages are badly in need of donations, they said,
after being ignored by their usual donors in recent months due to
the prolonged monetary crisis.
Soeparno, the head of Commission E for social welfare affairs,
said the donations were needed to cover expenses like meals and
school fees.
He said financial cutbacks had forced the social services
office, which supervised the orphanages, to consider reducing
the frequency of the orphans' meals.
"The office is thinking of raising the value of each meal
given to the children from the Rp 2,000 at present to Rp 3,000
but cutting their frequency from three meals to two a day," he
said.
The office said it could not raise the quality and quantity of
the meals at the same time.
Soeparno said the idea was not suitable.
"Children should have three meals a day regardless of the
financial pressure," he said.
Another councilor on Commission E, Agus Waluyo from the Golkar
faction, said the commission recently received a report saying
that, for financial reasons, many orphanages were cutting their
routine expenses, including buying milk for the children.
"They can't even afford to spare money to buy milk for the
babies," he said yesterday.
The social affairs office's head, Emon Setia Sumantri, said
yesterday that most orphanages had lost at least 50 percent of
their regular and occasional donors.
"It is very hard for the orphanages to cover their routine
expenses without financial support from others," he said.
Emon, however, could not put a figure on the donations
received by the orphanages which are home to at least 6,000
children and teenagers.
Official data shows that the office received Rp 54.8 billion
from the public in the 1997/1998 fiscal year. Of this, Rp 19
billion was given directly to the orphanages.
Waluyo, the head of the office's social center supervision
unit, said that before the monetary crisis deteriorated late last
year, each orphanage received about Rp 2 million to Rp 3 million
a month in donations from individuals or groups.
"Now I guess the value of the donations given directly by the
public each month has dropped by 50 percent," he said.
Waluyo said the financial situation had become even more
difficult for the orphanages during the last month as they had to
spend more money to finance the children's school entry.
"The problem is that most of the children, due to their
limited educational record, have to go to private schools which
charge the students more than the state-owned ones," he said.
"I wish the private schools could give discounts or exempt
orphanage children from paying the entrance or semester fees,"
Waluyo added.
Another consequence of the monetary crisis is that many
homeless and unemployed people are sending their children to
orphanages to save money. (cst)
JAKARTA (JP): Councilors and city social services office
officials appealed to the capital's rich yesterday to spare part
of their fortunes to help 54 penniless and overcrowded
orphanages.
The orphanages are badly in need of donations, they said,
after being ignored by their usual donors in recent months due to
the prolonged monetary crisis.
Soeparno, the head of Commission E for social welfare affairs,
said the donations were needed to cover expenses like meals and
school fees.
He said financial cutbacks had forced the social services
office, which supervised the orphanages, to consider reducing
the frequency of the orphans' meals.
"The office is thinking of raising the value of each meal
given to the children from the Rp 2,000 at present to Rp 3,000
but cutting their frequency from three meals to two a day," he
said.
The office said it could not raise the quality and quantity of
the meals at the same time.
Soeparno said the idea was not suitable.
"Children should have three meals a day regardless of the
financial pressure," he said.
Another councilor on Commission E, Agus Waluyo from the Golkar
faction, said the commission recently received a report saying
that, for financial reasons, many orphanages were cutting their
routine expenses, including buying milk for the children.
"They can't even afford to spare money to buy milk for the
babies," he said yesterday.
The social affairs office's head, Emon Setia Sumantri, said
yesterday that most orphanages had lost at least 50 percent of
their regular and occasional donors.
"It is very hard for the orphanages to cover their routine
expenses without financial support from others," he said.
Emon, however, could not put a figure on the donations
received by the orphanages which are home to at least 6,000
children and teenagers.
Official data shows that the office received Rp 54.8 billion
from the public in the 1997/1998 fiscal year. Of this, Rp 19
billion was given directly to the orphanages.
Waluyo, the head of the office's social center supervision
unit, said that before the monetary crisis deteriorated late last
year, each orphanage received about Rp 2 million to Rp 3 million
a month in donations from individuals or groups.
"Now I guess the value of the donations given directly by the
public each month has dropped by 50 percent," he said.
Waluyo said the financial situation had become even more
difficult for the orphanages during the last month as they had to
spend more money to finance the children's school entry.
"The problem is that most of the children, due to their
limited educational record, have to go to private schools which
charge the students more than the state-owned ones," he said.
"I wish the private schools could give discounts or exempt
orphanage children from paying the entrance or semester fees,"
Waluyo added.
Another consequence of the monetary crisis is that many
homeless and unemployed people are sending their children to
orphanages to save money. (cst)