Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Doni Daulay was hesitant to walk close to Merdeka Square in Medan, North Sumatra, on Tuesday, which was being tightly guarded by a security unit.
The square was being guarded because President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to officially open the ceremony commemorating Social Solidarity Day there Wednesday.
Doni, 13, who works as a bus sweeper, is one of thousands of homeless children living in poverty in the city of Medan. He has been separated from his parents for more than three years and has been living in a street-children's shelter established by the Child Protection and Research Center (PKPA).
Doni said he had worked as a bus sweeper in Medan's Pinang Baris bus station for around two years. He gets Rp 10,000 – Rp 15,000 per day for cleaning buses at the station. He said he used his money to pay for daily needs, as well as his schooling.
"I have to pay for my schooling with the money I get from working here. My parents cannot afford my school fees. They told me I had to work if I wanted to continue my studies," Doni told The Jakarta Post.
Doni, a seventh grader at Pinang Baris high school in Medan, said he worked as bus sweeper every day from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.
PKPA director Ahmad Sofyan said based on the center's data there were thousands of homeless children in Medan. Most of them were living on the streets or along the river banks.
"Based on our research, those children still have parents. Their parents allowed them to leave home or work because they could not fulfill their daily needs," Sofyan said, adding the PKPA could only gather and train 120 of the thousands of street children in the area.
Sofyan criticized the government for lack of progress in overcoming the street child issue. "Based on regulations, the government are responsible for street children. Yet, we still find poor children living on the city streets," he added.
He said Social Solidarity Day could act as a turning point for the government to become more empathetic toward their plight and establish a program to alleviate child poverty.
"So far, Social Solidarity Day has been celebrated officially but the government has never taken further action to help and save the young generation," he said.
Head of the North Sumatra social welfare office, Nabari Ginting, said the total number of poor people in North Sumatra had reached up to 1.7 million, most of whom were unemployed.
Nabari, who is also the North Sumatra operational chairman for Social Solidarity Day, said his office had no special program to help street children. He said his office had only focused on making sure the celebrations ran smoothly and successfully.
He said along with the commemoration ceremony there would also be a tree-planting and social welfare activity.
"At the moment, we have no special program for street children. We have to focus on the commemoration of Social Solidarity Day because it will be attended by the President and the first lady, as well as a number of ministers."