Jakarta's child begging syndicates

In mid-2007 the Jakartan government passed a by-law which allowed authorities to fine motorists who gave handouts to street beggars, with a penalty of up to Rp 20 million (AU$2,300) or 60 days in jail, in an effort to dissuade street begging. Begging syndicates have since been affected, as motorists raise their windows at traffic lights to avoid being harassed and possibly penalised with a fine. Even as women adopt sympathy tactics to receive handouts - often renting a baby from a mother unable to beg - they are still met with cold stares and empty hands.

During Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, when most of Jakarta's long term beggars and scavengers return to their villages to be with family, the empty streets soon fill with fresh, new, opportunistic street beggars looking to cash-in on the city's new-found cheer as Eid ul-Fitr (the breaking of the fast) is celebrated. Ramadan 2009 saw authorities not only enforcing the new laws for motorists but also commencing a round up of the seasonal influx of beggars, rationalising that they posed a threat to the stability of the city.

By half way through the Holy month authorities had rounded up 1,465 beggars and contained them in a large shelter. While taking names and origin of the detainees they found all arrested were from villages outside Jakarta. Most were women and children. Jakarta's ‘city of dreams’ will continue to bring migrants to the industrial epicentre. However the majority will find themselves unemployed, living on the streets and collecting plastic to sell as recycling or begging at traffic lights.

The Pelita Ilmu Foundation (YPI), work with families to provide education for their children, both formal and informal. Through a program called the ‘Income generating activity’, YPI work with parents of street singers to show them ways to generate income without taking their children out of school. By working with the family first, they face little resistance as they understand why the parents have taken their children out of school, and provide ways to remedy the income loss when they return to school.