Friday, 5 September, 2008 -

Peduli Anak Foundation

Site

Peduli Anak is located 20 minutes from Sengigi, which is the biggest town on the west coast of Lombok, Indonesia. The Peduli Anak Foundation is located towards the inlands and is a gated community, with several building, a mosk, a swimming pool, a soccer field and a rural area. There are 55 kids from the age of 6 to 16 living at the site; most of them are boys.

Background

We met Mark van Luyk, a Dutch Photographer, who took the pictures published on the website and on the site. The pictures show the background of the kids selling cans, working on the garbage belt or selling goodies on the beach to Western tourists. The kids come from very poor families or are orphans and have learned how to survive on the street. Most of them have a traumatic past from child labor and or mental/physical abuse. When you meet the kids you will see all of them smiling and being kids again, but if you observe their games you can tell they all carry scars with them. They know how to defend themselves in order to survive, but have to learn how to show good behavior.

Education

The Foundation has a schedule for each day of the week starting at 5 AM, when the kids have to pray, till when they have to go to bed at around 8 PM. This includes classes (maths, stats etc), language sessions (English), music lessons, sports, free time and practical sessions. During the practical classes, kids of all ages learn how to sew their own cloth, to put together their own bike or to work with tools. Furthermore the kids learn how to cycle or ride a scooter, since this is critical in order to participate in the future workforce.

We have sat in an English session where they taught to days of the week to 8 kids from 6-12 years old. They are taught at the entry level since most kids have never have taken classes before.

The Foundation is very proud of what they have achieved so far. For example the first child who ever entered Peduli Anak has just exit to join the workforce and the smartest kids have been selected to go to International School starting this year.

Staff

We have met quite a lot of staff on the campus from administrative staff, mentors, psychologists, mentors and teachers to washing/cleaning ladies and cooks. We guess this is due to the cheap labour in Indonesia since the average Indonesian earns 1-2 $ a day. All kids have a personal mentor who takes the father role and tutors the child. Furthermore there are two permanent psychologists working on campus who work on and off for 12 hours. Their door is always open and if they are not busy, they are writing reports about the progress of the kids.

Basic Needs

All kids get three meals a day and some kids help preparing these meals. All kids learn how to grow fruit and vegetables, which are consumed at night or sold at the local market.

The kids sleep in dorms with 4-6 kids of a similar age/sex group and have their own locker.

Investments

Every penny donated is spend very well. The Foundation is very structured and has clearly thought through every detail. The Facilities can handle about 100 kids, since it’s difficult to get the paper work round but it’s cheap to build the facilities.

Culture

Unfortunately the Indonesian culture makes it difficult to get more kids into the Foundation. Boys are seen as the source of income and have to do whatever it takes to support their family. The girls mostly stay home to take care of their family members. Even if a child is in danger and Peduli Anak offers the parents a safe place for their kids, they tend not to take the offer. The parents feel they lose their income and/or feel they might lose their kids by sending them into the prostitution or child trade. Even if the parents agree, Peduli Anak has to get the approval of the head of the mosk and most often of the head of the village….

Donations

Rob and I raised 550 Euros before and during our wedding. We wired this to the RSM Charity Foundation. Chaim Fetter, Director, informed me they are actively looking for members. On the website you can subscribe for 3 Euros per month and we would like to encourage you to do so.

Gifts

During our visit we brought half a suitcase of educational toys for all ages to the site. The staff will hand out the gifts to the kids on a weekly basis to the kids who showed best behavior.

The Foundation gave us two polo shirts which we would like to auction to the highest bidder.

Rob & Roos de Wit-Goedhart (EMBA09)

Source: RSM International Charity Foundation