Viral for Her Drawings, Agista, a Child of Scavengers, is Asked by the Governor of Banten to Attend Public School

TANGERANG, KOMPAS.com - The drawing talent of Agista Saputri (10), a child from Ciledug, Tangerang City, has brought about a significant change in her life. The child of a scavenger family suddenly became the talk of the town after going viral on social media for her drawing abilities. Public attention grew after seeing the beautiful sketches of mountains and the gradations of the sky that Agista created with used crayons. Even the Banten Provincial Government responded to the story of the child who has never attended formal education. Agista’s father, Roni Hidayatna (45), said that the Governor of Banten, Andra Soni, had asked that his daughter no longer be taken scavenging and instead focus on her education. According to Roni, Agista has been asked to join the Public School program initiated by the central government. This program is intended for children from less affluent families. Agista has never attended school because she lacks the necessary identity documents. This is because Roni and his family do not have ID cards (KTP), family cards (KK), or birth certificates, which are the basic administrative requirements for school registration. According to Roni, the process of obtaining these documents should be carried out in his hometown in Lampung. However, financial constraints have caused the process to be delayed for years. “We don’t have the money to cover the travel expenses to go back,” he said. Now that Agista’s story has gone viral, the process of obtaining the necessary administrative documents has begun. Roni said that in the past week, his family has started completing the documents needed for Agista to enroll in Public School. “We’ve been working on it for the past week. But I don’t know when she will start school,” he said.