Bali Street Children

Hi Carolnoe, sad history indeed!

Hope that someone will be able to help you soon.

Hamonie.

Thank you Harmonie,

I sincerely hope so too.

Carolnoe

Hello ,

I understand your frustration
But what can you do from so far away from Bali ?

Yes i have solutions. but you must realize, its only a drip in the ocean. I went through similar to you some 25 years ago, and have continued to work tirelessly up to 4 times a year since Then in 2010 I retired to Bali  On a retirement Visa now I work full time without income
to try and help people like you describe To get education and break the poverty cycle. .For I believe the true future of Bali is to educate & supply the skills for self improvement.
If you wish to discuss further please feel free to contact Me
Aussie hj

The street kids are all over Indonesia and, I guess, all over many other developing countries as well.
It's possible to help out if you're here long term but you're looking at big bills.
Housing, medical, education, staff for the home, government permissions and a load of other stuff.
You need to be rich and willing to be poor.

aussiehj wrote:

to try and help people like you describe To get education and break the poverty cycle. .For I believe the true future of Bali is to educate & supply the skills for self improvement.

Schools are available free but not in reality.
The kids still have to pay for uniform, books, pens and have to avoid working in the family business (Small farm or whatever)
A total lack of cash in many families force kids out of the house in one way or another.
Most commonly, work or very early marriage.

Truly free education wouldn't help all but it would be a massive help to many.

Good luck.

Thanks MasFred,
I appreciate your comments & opinions very much.Its only by open discussions on serious issues such as this topic that public awareness builds and hopefully leads to community action Thanks    aussiehj

I'll pop a couple of photos on when I get a moment so others can see the reality of these kids.

Just as a note on this topic. I was invited to a wedding in my old village last week.
The bride was 12, the groom, 13.
There goes that lack of cash thing again.

This photo is in my other thread but I'll pop it in here as well.
These may or may not live on the street but having to collect rubbish to resell for next to nothing gives you the idea of what life is like for many.

Hi Fred,
I do not understand the PHOTO.A poor woman with baby watching two very well dressed young men inspecting a property with a garbage bin outside ??  Please re- read Caroline from Melbourne original Post, requesting help with one child in Legian !!Bali. I feel you may have missed the whole subject issue ! Thank God for people such Robyn Lym, Ibu Mary Northmore (MBE) Brad & Siska Bali Life Mike O'Leary Role Foundation John Fawcete Bali Eye. Rotary Clubs of Bali  Aus Aid & Red Cross. Collectively we can not fix all But we take action not just words

Hi Again Fred,

Its interesting to note we have NO communication From Caroline- Melbourne
on this Post.

The photo was taken today in Giant (Large supermarket) in Bintaro, Jakarta.
The 'property' is the rubbish holding area where they keep the trash until someone takes it away.
The lady was hunting in the bins as I grabbed for my camera.
Security kicked her out.
Note her very dirty clothes. Even the people you see in the villages surround a rubbish dump are cleaner than that so she must be in a terrible state.
I don't recall if I've posted the rubbish dump pictures on my thread so I'll take a look when I have a free moment.

greetings from vancouver,
I am very touched with your kindness.I know an organisation in Jakarta "Sanggar Akar" who take care street children and teach them to be able tosupport them selves in the future.They might know some people who do the same thing in Bali.their tel 021 919 3050. The other one"Sanggar ciliwung", 021 830 255.
I myself have a dream to build school for street children in Indonesia ( Bali maybe). good luck. Ivan

HiDiansyputra,

Thanks,  for your comments we have several Yayasans for street kids & abandoned kids such as this case. However the person who started this post has never answered my offer to help so without been able to meet with the Boy and his  Family I can do nothing.

Hope you do come to Bali to live next year eh
Howard

Hi Howard,greetings fro Vancouver,
we will keep in touch mate, thanks.
ivan

There are a lot of really good people over here who help street kids into a home, education and a chance of a reasonable life.
Sadly, there are also total people who exploit these kids in various ways and simply more kids than places.
There is another problem.
There were a few kids begging on the steps of Rita, a local supermarket in Wonosobo, Central Java.
I asked a mate who also happens to be a senior local copper, if they could be helped.
He replied they were taken into care homes from time to time but always ran away as they could make money on the streets and liked the life they knew.
They were so far behind in their education, they couldn't cope with school.
Sad.

Dear diansyputra
I hope you understand I will unsubscribe from this post I FIND THE NEGATIVE Vibes from this post will not stop me from trying to save a sole
We need to move forward, No amount of negative feedback will put me off
I do not expect 100% success  I don't think we need self importance comment to the negative "To Prove A wasted Co-ruse Over 25 years I am proud OF WHAT i HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE, But frustrated be my failures also But at least I tried to move forward And try to stay positive in the face of adversity Yours  Howard

Negativity or reality?

You can't find a solution until you understand the problem.

Hi Carol,

I have sent you a private message
Aussiehj

The situation is even worst than it appears, sorry for the "bad vibes". Some ladies rent kids from the market in denpasar, along with a set of dirty clothes. They use the kids to make money, sending them at traffic light to get money from anyone. Somes have babies, and buy pills or shoots to keep them asllep and look more miserable. Everytime i see that, and that is often, i talk to the people around me at the traffic light, asking them to get more involved in this. A bule alone can t do a lot, but if on 100 there is one that take the time to react... When I was working for Insight Bali magazine i wanted to make a subject on this issue. But the owner scare thet it could came back at him because the police could be involved by letting this "renting" happening. there is some great and generous people that have dedicated their energy to this, as Howard mention them. But as long as there is no real will of the official they are likeme, Don Quichotte. Neverless on a personal scale they attein to help and save somes, but only few.
To come back to your topic, I also meet some kids in Kuta, at least free, not rented.Same in denoasar, I bought them material to clean cars and windows at traffic light. They look at me as if I was an alien.
You can t help people if they don t want.
I ts not only giving a job or a chance to go to school. They buit their own life, their social network, their social position. Street is all they know and you ll have to give them more than that to bring them away from the street.
It s sad, but it s not only in Bali. in my surburb a lot of my "friends" did bad thing when very young, and later they turn thiefs or junkies or dead. The whole world is sending out the wrong message of"having" instead of being.
Maybe ( i have nothing to teach prove or fight for) just pass more time with the kid, bringing him to new places, going to his places. The "Little Prince" from St Exupery is a book to read. You need to make a friend first.
You can go slow, just never give up, one step at a time.
Ejab

Ejab wrote:

The situation is even worst than it appears, sorry for the "bad vibes". Some ladies rent kids from the market in denpasar, along with a set of dirty clothes. They use the kids to make money, sending them at traffic light to get money from anyone.

I can't comment on the babies and pills because I simply don't know but I can confirm the above as true.
In Purwokerto, I used to see the women leaving a rather expensive cafe each morning. They would disperse to traffic lights around town but vary person at each position.
They send the kids into traffic in order to collect cash but take it from the kids as soon as they return.
Slavery by any other name.

They do well at the begging. One occasion saw me in an Alphamart as one of these women was changing loose change into notes. That day saw a lot more than these lazy cows could make doing real work.

I would disagree with one part of the quote.
A "lady" is not how I would describe any of that lot.

Don't worry about bad vibes. No way can you or anyone help these kids if the truth of the situation is ignored.

Sorry for the poor quality. Camera phone.

This little lad is being worked by the older lad in the second photo.





The younger kid would collect and take it directly to elder one.

The next is a group of the evil females forcing a child to hand over the cash.
You can see it's hardly by choice with the women intimidating the kid.



This is as common as it is evil.

Thank you all for your input, it is a huge problem and it is not just Bali, unfortunately children in may parts of the world are subject to this kind of abuse.  But, I refuse to believe that we cannot make a difference. Every little bit we do helps, I may not be able to help my boy but it has changed my views and the views of my friends who travel to Bali regularly.  In future we will not be quite so selfish and do whatever little we can while we are there.  I just wish I had the funding to come and stay a while and have a more hands on role, but in the meantime supporting the local groups who help these kids is a good start. 

Thanks to Howard for his help and hopefully we can catch up when you are here next, or next holiday I can come lend a hand in any way I can.

You can't save all - even governments can't manage that trick.
What you can do is save (Or at least help) some.
There is little you can do while they're still on the streets so orphanages are a good bet to make a difference to at least a few.
Ones that are still living at home, you can't just send money. You have no clue what it will be used for. You can pay school fees (Directly to the school) and ask for copies of reports and so on.
That one is cheap. Even with uniform, books and everything else, you could send the lad to school and hardly notice the cash missing. I've seen people spend more at the pub in a week than a year's school fees would set you back. A lot more.
Once educated, he'll have a far better chance in life and, more importantly, a chance to break the cycle of poverty.

Hi Ejab

Nice to meet you, thanks for you positivity and you are 100% right, one act of kindness can make a huge difference, even if briefly.  I did make a very special friend with my boy, I didn't spoil him and his sincere hugs and thanks at the end was worth all the money in the world.  I only hope that he took away a little feeling of love and dignity and maybe a little inspiration that things can be better.  The politics behind it all make me sick and that in itself is the bigger problem, until we have the governments backing then the people can't or won't change. As I said in my previous post I will keep trying.  If one child can be saved and raise their children differently then in time we will see the change, slowly as it may be.

I will try get a copy of the book you suggested, love to read.

Cheers
Carol

I want to open a free kitchen concept for poor.  Here in jakarta i m doing it on my personal basis. The idea is simple cook simple food in some catering(Nasi + sayur + ayam) & distribute it to poor ppl. Currently I only distribute to ppl who r collecting the things from waster. I dont like to give to beggars. My personal email is faizee5252@gmail.com.

Helo faizee 5252
I applaud your attitude in wanting to HELP.

May I suggest you contact some Big Hotels for assistance with left over foods and similar. You may be happily surprised for a supportive result may achieve Please also contact one of the Rotary clubs in Jakarta help and support.
Don't let other Expat.comgers put you off in your ambition to help the needy by telling how big the problems is without any positive solutions.
And sending you photos of the negative situation without offers of support or assistance We all know the problems One person who helps only 10 people is a Hero in my Book Go for it
Your concept of only Feeding those who clean the landscape and remove rubbish is excellent Maybe to give some sustainably to you project you can ask a price of 10-15 empty cans or bottles for the price of a good meal you can sell these to support you expenditures for food.
I live in Bali so I may not be able directly, but you need help or advise I am available to you via Email should you wish.
Good Luck Its a fabulous project
Howard  (aussiehj)

faizee5252 wrote:

I want to open a free kitchen concept for poor.  Here in jakarta i m doing it on my personal basis. The idea is simple cook simple food in some catering(Nasi + sayur + ayam) & distribute it to poor ppl. Currently I only distribute to ppl who r collecting the things from waster. I dont like to give to beggars. My personal email is faizee5252@gmail.com.

That is a cracking idea.
I'm in central Jakarta on either Monday or Tuesday. Love to meet.

More negativity.
Absolutely no point trying to do anything unless you understand the nature of the problem.

I mentioned before, kids have to escape the family business to get into education.
Your big problem is the parents are uneducated and only see the immediate problem of lack of food rather than the future problems their kids will inherit unless they get an education.
One local project was to introduce part time schools in the poorest of villages for kids unable to attend real schools.
I knew of one in central Java and plans for one in Bntaro sektor 3, Jakarta.
The school in Java was funded by handycrafts the kids made at home in the evenings. The teachers would take the products instead of payment and sell it on the local market.
Not great but better than nothing.
The Bintaro one was trying to work with unpaid teachers but never got off the ground.
Teachers here are not paid all that well so they commonly have part time jobs outside school.
I'm in the process of trying to get another school to provide a free room and ask a couple of teachers I know to help out.

Back to the photos. I mentioned the family business.

The little sticks are for picking up plastic bottles or whatever other plastics they can find.
This is then sorted, bagged and sold to a recycler to be turned into pellets for reuse.

Hi faizee5252

I felt hopeless when I posted my first message, like I was throwing a bottle into the ocean.  The responses and the conversation it has opened is heartwarming, I didn't realise how many wonderful people there are willing to try and give up so much of their time to do so. 
Positive or negative the more discussion there is the more awareness there is and hopefully a better understanding of the root problem.  This can only lead to solutions, however slow, I wish you all the very best of luck with your project I hope it is a great success.

Cheers
Carol

Here's why you can't send money.

I've just posted these on my demi blog but I'll pop them here as well.
The street kids are often controlled by adults who force them to beg and steal the money as soon as they have it.
This gang is operating not far from a major, up market shopping centre. That's why the signs are in English.
You send cash and these greedy animals will simply take it from them.
Same goes for setting up schooling. You pay the fees but the kids won't be allowed to go because productivity in the slave trade will be down.
It needs the police to hammer the slavers before much good will happen.





The adults

i feel the need to tell you my thoughts on this subject. i love the positivity toward helping where one can it takes alot to help someone its something that you have or do not i feel sad for mas fred here it seems at some point you stopped seeing the purpose here. when we are born into this world we do not choose our status (rich or poor)we do not choose to be black or white etc so if we are blessed enough to be in a situation where we can help we should . but its not that easy you have to want to see positive change and a better days ahead i too have seen the begging children and i yern for the day i can live local so i can help it pulls my heart strings to see children going hungry or with out education and mark my word i will do all i can also this thread has been both uplifting and disappointing but i wish all of you the very best of luck in your missions to help i feel it is with our knowledge of health and need for education and more that we along with others can make a foot print in the history of poverty.

BJ

Hi BJ and mas fred

Nice to hear from you. I think mas fred is just trying to point out the obvious and the truth.  I personally wouldn't dream of sending or giving money to anyone but to trusted groups who I know will use the money in the children's best interest.  I've seen the rent a baby women using poor children to beg with, same women different babies on different days. But, unfortunately, there are many tourists who do this until they are aware of the ploys of these people.  So informing of the down side is a good thing too.  It is a huge problem but there are many wonderful people doing their best.  I hope that one day I too can give more time and make a difference in how ever small a way I can.  Reality is though, that I am here, I need to work to survive so can only do what I can from the distance.  The difference may not be seen in our life times but again it is discussion that brings awareness and then change however slow. 

Best wishes to you both.

I'm trying to twist the arm of a local school to give me a free room and a few local teachers to give some free time so we can start a free, part time school for street kids.
Won't be much and only a couple of times each week but, if I can get the ball rolling, I'll need people to help out.
No payment and you cover your own expenses (Transport and things like printing/photocopying work sheets).
It's likely to be in Bintaro or BSD.