Yogyakarta street children to get aid

JAKARTA (JP): At least 500 girls living on the streets of Yogyakarta will soon receive a total of US$1 million in assistance from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Kus Hardjanti, the project manager, said at a media briefing here on Wednesday that the money would be used to finance health services for the victims of sexual abuse and child prostitution.

Yogyakarta-based nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) will implement the programs, including the management and the distribution of the money, she said, adding that the 11 NGOs in charge would receive between Rp 100 million and Rp 200 million each.

"We hope that with the money we will be able to help at least 500 girls living on the streets of Yogyakarta with counseling and medical services," she said.

Kiki Erwanto, chairman of the Humana Foundation and also the coordinator of the 11 NGOs dealing with street children in Yogyakarta, said the number of girls on the streets of Yogyakarta had been increasing from year to year.

"Before the crisis in 1997, there were at least 920 street children, 10 percent of whom were girls. In July this year, we found a total of 1,600 street children, 25 percent of whom were girls, meaning that there were some 400 girls on the streets in July," Kiki said. "Almost all of them have been the victims of sexual abuse and child prostitution."

According to Hardjanti, a survey conducted last year in 12 cities in Indonesia indicated that 20 percent of an estimated 170,000 street children were girls.

Jan P.M. van Heeswijk, ADB's newly appointed director, told journalists at the media briefing that the project was aimed at helping the government of Indonesia deal with poverty during the crisis, especially the problem of girls living on the streets. (45)