Street children, vagrants and beggars

Street children, vagrants and beggars

From Neraca

Greater Jakarta reportedly has 12,630 street children. Social
organizations take 4,160 of them under their protection, while a
UNDP program and the government have 1,084 in their care.

In this month of Ramadhan, the number of street children has
increased. Many of them accost motor vehicles asking for money,
while making "music" with bottle caps nailed to a piece of wood.
And then there are the vagrants and beggars who have come to the
capital to try their luck.

One day, I saw a pathetic-looking young woman carrying an
infant cleaning windshields while the vehicles were stopped at
traffic lights. Both mother and child might have just started
this because their skin was still smooth and clean. Maybe her
husband had just been laid off.

Some street children also have a clear complexion and their
actions are still awkward. They, too, may have just started
begging because they have dropped out of school or they need to
earn extra pocket money.

Many of these problems are getting the government's attention,
as well as people who can still afford to have three meals a day.

ABDILLAH KAMIL

Jakarta