In one fine afternoon, me & my friend @adhisaputra were walking across the Cikini street. We talked about writing, human interest, and everything in between. Suddenly a boy following me, offering books he carried. I said, I’ll buy the book, but you must follow me. Then we stop to a very famous chicken porridge restaurant. I then started a conversation about what’s he’s doing on the street (find money to buy food, he said). I asked him about his dreams, he said he wanted to be a football player, like Gonzales. You should see the spark on his eyes and his smile when he told me about his dream ๐ It’s so rewarding.
And more children start coming unannounce. This time they’re shoe polisher girls. They sell their service for Rp 5.000 per shoes or less than $1. They use the money to buy food. Sometimes they have to work up til 1 am or staying up all night, in the dangerous Jakarta streets, if they haven’t collected money ๐
They don’t go to school, because even though school is free, they still have to pay for books, not to mention the shoes they need to attend classes. It’s all expensive and out of reach. At first, their dream is to become a doctor but they revised their plan, they said they want to be a woman police officer so they can send away homeless people, just like what they watched on the street ๐
They’re very excited and happy to watch themselves in the video. They laugh the whole time. And that. Is the most wonderful moment of my day.
Children education is still my main concern. Me, @kreshna ย and @inandatiaka ย are now preparing a platform to make a better education environment in Indonesia. The hints? http://bincangedukasi.com ๐ More info soon. Hopefully there will be more access to education for kids that live on the street like them.
If you’re interested to help raising the awareness in your city, just leave a message in comment box below!
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