YOU can see them everywhere in the Indonesian capital. They busk, they sell cigarettes and bottled water, clean car windows or work as shoeshine boys. Some even work as prostitutes. They are Jakarta’s street children.

 Unprotected, these children are vulnerable to drug addiction, mental trauma, sex trafficking, and a variety of infectious diseases. And because most do not attend school or acquire any marketable skills, they face a lifetime of poverty. 

So, is anyone doing anything to help them? 

Indonesia has pledged to eliminate the problem by 2016 under its Millennium Development goals. But while official efforts in this direction appear to be making little progress, a small number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have been having some impact.

One of these is Sahabat Anak (Friends of Children). This organisation was established by six local university students in 1997, when the Asian financial crisis resulted in a large increase in the number of children working on Jakarta’s streets. Taking activism literally to the grassroots, the students camped out with the street kids to win their trust.

Currently, Sahabat Anak has seven makeshift centres in Jakarta staffed almost entirely by volunteers. These centres run educational programmes focusing on simple mathematics and literacy skills. Some even prepare the children for national examinations.

Other NGOs running similar programmes include the Kampus Diakoneia Modern, founded in 1974, and the Indonesian Street Children Organisation, which was established in 1999.

Estimates of the number of children currently working on Jakarta’s streets vary widely. Last year, the Social Services Ministry estimated that there were 4,000 in Jakarta, while the National Commission for Child Protection put the Jakarta figure at 8,000.

Sahabat Anak spokesman Alles Saragi, however, believes that the real number is closer to 50,000.

In part, these widely varying figures reflect the problem of definition. Social workers recognise three categories of street children. The first comprises those who have no connection with their families at all. Often runaways, they sleep on the street, and are by far the most vulnerable.

The second group consists of children who have families and a home. But during the day, they are out on the street working instead of attending school. Each evening, the child returns home and gives the money to his parents.

The third group is made up of children who live with their family members and attend school. But they are pressured by their families to earn a living on the street as well.

Most independent observers believe that the number of street children in the capital is increasing. Jakarta’s Social Services Agency agrees. Last year, it reported that the ranks of Jakarta’s street kids more than doubled in the preceding three years.

Last year, the national government’s Ministry of Social Affairs tried to tackle the problem by setting up joint bank accounts with 1.5 million rupiah (S$195) each in the names of street children and the NGOs. The money was to be used for basic daily needs, access to social services and educational activities. Having declared themselves satisfied with the results, officials have since begun a similar programme in Bandung.

But the scheme’s effectiveness in Jakarta was limited by its heavy dependence on NGOs to identify the children concerned. Officials also adopted very narrow eligibility criteria.

Some NGOs no longer accept government money. In an interview in Sahabat Anak’s headquarters nestled along a narrow alleyway in a working-class area in the Pengangsaan district of central Jakarta earlier last month, Mr Saragi told me that his organisation received only a small sum from the government. Of the approximately 700 children with whom Sahabat Anak was in regular contact, only 25 were helped. The conditions attached also created administrative problems that volunteer staff found onerous.

Another reason for rejecting the meagre government assistance, he said, was the fear that donors would switch their support to other charities. Currently, Sahabat Anak gets about 60 per cent of its funding from individual donors, 20 per cent from selling merchandise (such as T-shirts), and another 20 per cent from institutional and corporate donors.

Every year, Sahabat Anak sponsors about 150 street children to attend private schools. Government educational institutions are not an option for street kids who do not have birth certificates.

Eleven former street children helped by Sahabat Anak are now attending local universities. One 22-year-old is due to graduate with a degree in information science this year. Another former Sahabat Anak beneficiary is running its drop-in centre at Kota Tua in West Jakarta.

Few seriously believe that Indonesia will be able to eliminate the problem of street children by 2016. But it is heartening to know that there are those who remain committed to helping some of the most seriously disadvantaged in Indonesian society.

(C) Singapore Press Holdings Limited