Thousands of poor children struggle for survival on streets

Thousands of poor children struggle for survival on streets

Debbie A. Lubis, Contributor, Jakarta

For ten-year old Mega, living on the street is the best source
of income. By clicking her bottle caps and mumbling some songs at
traffic lights in Klender, East Jakarta, she can reap as much as
Rp 50,000 (US$5.8) each day.

"I was seven when my friends convinced me that I can earn
money just by singing. It is very exhausting but I get much money
for my mother," said the youngest of four -- all are street
musicians.

Mega leaves her home early in the morning and returns at eight
at night. Her hectic street life forced her to drop out of school
when she was in the third grade of elementary school.

Mega is one of thousands of street children in Greater Jakarta
who live in poverty and struggle for survival on the street. Her
father passed away when she was three while her mother, who
suffers from high-blood pressure, is unemployed. Just like any
other street kid, Mega is vulnerable to inadequate nutrition. Her
mother sometimes brings her food at the traffic lights but often
she has to buy meals herself.

With an income of Rp 50,000 a day, Mega could be one of the
more successful street children in Jakarta. At least, she still
has a mother to take care of her. Other children have to stay
under the bridge and are often prone to abuse by their older
friends.

For many former street children the excitement and freedom
they get living on the street is not easy to forget. Aryanto, 13,
returned to the street although he had been in the first grade of
junior high school.

"I don't feel comfortable at school", he said. He prefers
being on the streets although he is liable to physical injuries,
substance use and violence.

"Compared to car-window washing, the money from strumming my
little guitar on buses is higher. All I have to do is just be
prepared to protect myself from the bullies," he said, recalling
his first run in six years ago when he was mugged by older street
kids.

Aryanto sleeps in a tiny rented room with his parents. His
daily earnings worth Rp 15,000 are surrendered to his unemployed
parents.

Some street children are also pushed onto the street by
desperation as they have nowhere else to go. Botak Bogor (this
name means a bald man from town of Bogor), 17, has been on the
street since he was nine. As a street child, he has no home but
train or bus stations, streets or traditional wet markets.

He has no family members left alive and adopts a transitory
lifestyle, moving from one place to another or one city to
another. He finally ended up living in a social shelter run by a
non-governmental organization (NGO).

To earn a living, he does many kinds of street works
at Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta. Everyday Botak can reap Rp 25,000
from selling glasses of mineral water or Rp 15,000 from whistling
a suling (a kind of flute-like traditional instrument) through
his nose. On other days he can shine shoes, sell plastic bags at
the market, sweep commuter train, or scavenge cardboard. "I am
tired with these kinds of work. I wish I could have enough
capital to start selling bottled tea on the sidewalks," he said.

Indeed, improving the quality of life of street children is a
difficult and challenging task. The ongoing exposure to harsh
environments and street lifestyles make street children liable to
substance abuse and this can harm their mental, physical, social
and spiritual wellbeing. Street education is believed to be one
of the ways to alleviate those problems.

In response to this, NGOs like Nanda Dian Nusantara (NDN) and
the Indonesian Child Welfare Foundation (YKAI), have made various
efforts to educate street children.

With the help of professionals, street educators, volunteers,
and others, the two institutions also provide food, shelter,
health, and clothing to those children.

NDN, established in 1990, has established five Creativity
Workshops in Tomang, Pasar Minggu, Kramat Jati, Kebayoran and
Ciputat. Currently, around 500 children aged between seven and 15
years are receiving informal basic education, practical skills
and prevention on drug abuse.

"Compulsory education is not equal to compulsory learning
because you do not need any building (school) to learn something.
Learning can take place everywhere, even below the bridges," said
Roostin Ilyas, the chairwoman of NDN.

The children do not just drop by at the centers; some of them
stay and undergo a thorough process of learning. "We would like
to teach them how to be the master of themselves," Roostin said.
The children can go through state examinations after completing
required stages of learning to obtain formal certificates.

She said that NDN prioritized children whose parents were
disabled, single or children who were victims of domestic
violence or abuse. "We select them based on home visit study. If
their parents are still healthy, we do not want to lessen the
responsibility of the parents," she said.

NDN street educator, Mansur, said that practical skills were
taught based on the characteristics of the children and location.
The skills given are sablon (printing on canvas), making recycled
products, making stamps, sewing, mechanical and driving.

"Most of our graduates become bus divers, bus conductors, etc
based on the skills received. Hence, one of our children in
Pasar Minggu is studying at university now," he said.

Meanwhile, YKAI carries activities on street education on
improving literacy, on the importance of seeking assistance on
health issues and issues on puberty, counseling about hazards
caused by substance abuse or about prevention of sexually
transmitted diseases.

"We need to be attentive to listen to and solve their problems
because some children have trauma with the experience of sodomy
while some street girls are vulnerable to unwanted pregnancies,"
said Nana Surmana, YKAI's street educator.

This year, it provides scholarship to 80 children out of 100
children to study at a formal school. The rest of the children
are enrolled in courses like mechanical, sewing, sablon and
driving. However, the shelters still provide learning and health
facilities for street children who drop by.

YKAI street educators also hold informal teaching-learning
activities at the park every Tuesday for two hours so that the
children who do not have a chance to go to school can still spend
some time to learn.