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