Street children rise in number, bring more complex problems
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The past few years have seen an alarming increase in the number of street children on Jakarta's streets. To confirm this, just go to any major intersection, where every time the traffic lights turn red children aged between six and 10 flock to peer into car windows and beg.
Some clap their hands in accompaniment to the incoherent tune they try to sing to earn that extra Rp 100 (about US$0.10) from kind motorists. Others do not bother, and just stare at you through the window while crying "ma'am, give me money for food".
It would be pitiful if it wasn't so annoying, because once you give them a coin, others nearby get wind of it and the next thing you know you'll have a dozen children peering through your windows.
But such is life on the streets of Jakarta, and while the hotshots in parliament play at their political power game, more and more children are forced by poverty to turn to the streets.
The phenomenon of children forced to make a living on the streets is just one of many instances of the deprivation of children's basic rights, and not only in Indonesia but in all of the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), especially following the economic crisis that began in July.
ASEAN comprises Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Children have the right to protection from trafficking and abduction, children have the right to protection from neglect, the right to play, the right to protection from sexual abuse, the right to protection from hazardous work, and the right to education.
These are some of the rights of children stipulated by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which came into force in 1990. Any violations of this convention result in depriving a child of his or her rights.
Lily I. Rilantono, president of the Indonesian Child Welfare Foundation (YKAI), noted that thinking on the issue of deprived children had shifted since the 1960's when the concern was strictly for orphans and children with handicap problems.
Today, the problems facing children are much more diverse, ranging from abuse and exploitation, neglect, and juvenile delinquency, to physically and mentally disabled children, disadvantaged children, and children affected by AIDS.
However, these problems are often interrelated, and a child in difficult circumstances usually faces other risks.
A street child is prone to sexual exploitation or involvement in hazardous work. And a child working in a brothel or living on the streets may be escaping abuse at home.
Parents who abuse their children may be victims of drug addiction, and children who are involved in commercial sexual exploitation may be infected with HIV/AIDS and be addicted to drugs.
The children who peer into car windows begging for coins are only a small part of the tens of thousands who fall under the category of street children. Others become street musicians who lighten up the dreariness of bus and train rides.
Still others work as shoe polishers, newspaper peddlers, and may even become thieves or pickpockets.
A study by Atma Jaya University's Community Study and Development Center shows that about 75,000 children below 18 years of age in Indonesia are street children.
The study also shows that many of these children begin working on the street before the age of 12, and that only 43 percent still go to school.
"They (street children) become a small community and create a marginalized subculture, adapting different values and attitudes," Lily said, adding that they are exposed to other kinds of abuse, whether it be physical, mental or sexual.
The problem goes on, and where government aid fails to make a difference -- largely due to limited budgets -- non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have stepped in to help.
The assistance provided by NGOs ranges from the provision of supplementary food, health services, provision of scholarships and school equipment, education and skills training, and economic empowerment for children's parents.
Funding for these NGOs comes from international and domestic donor institutions, the government, the private sector, community contributions and individual donors.
Without these contributions from society, who knows how many more children would have to suffer on the streets of Jakarta.
Some NGOs focusing on deprived children in Jakarta:
* Anak Bangsa Foundation. Address: Jl. Lontar Atas No. 143, Kebon Melati, Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta. Activity: Focus on the empowerment of street children and their parents.
* Bangun Mitra Sejati Foundation. Address: Jl. H. Baping No. 10. RT10/RW07 Susukan, Ciracas, East Jakarta 13750. Phone: (021) 8416965, 87793849. Activity: Focus on community development and training center.
* Gema Mandiri Bangsa Foundation. Address: Jl. Manggarai Utara Gg. Langgar No. 61, South Jakarta. Phone: (021) 83706371. Activity: Focus on the empowerment of street children and their parents, and community development.
* Indonesian Child Welfare Foundation (YKAI). Address: Jl. Teuku Umar 10, Central Jakarta. Phone: (021) 327308, 327316,3107030. Email: icwf@indosat.net.id Activity: Focus on child welfare.
* Kesejahteraan Anak Pinggiran Foundation (YKAP). Address: Jl. Tebet Timur II G No. 11, South Jakarta. Phone: (021) 8301046. Email: ykap@centrin.net.id Activity: Focus on the provision of educational assistance for kindergarten and primary school children.
* Daya Dharma Institution. Address: Jl. Katedral No. 5, Central Jakarta. Phone: (021) 3346172. Activity: Focus on the provision of educational and health assistance, and community development.
* Setia Kawan Mandiri Foundation. Address: Jl. Poncol Raya No. 2, RT07/RW03, Pondok Bambu, East Jakarta. Phone: (021) 4529820. Activity: Focus on the empowerment of street children and their parents, and community development.