Jakarta (cidiss.co) – Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa declared a street-chilren free Indonesia by 2017 at the National Monument, here, Sunday.
“Actually, the declaration of street-childen free program was declared for the first time in 2015, but this is to reiterate our determination to make Indonesia free from street children by 2017,” the minister said.
The declaration was voiced by the minister together with hundreds of children and several regional heads.
The number of street children in Indonesia in 2015 reached 33,400. They lived in 16 provinces.
Some six thousand children have so far received services under the the governments Child Social Welfare Program in 2016.
The largest number of street children, reaching 7,600, were found in Jakarta, followed by West Java and Central Java respectively some five thousand children, and East Java (around 2,000).
Living in streets are tough, and dangerous for children as they are prone to accidents, violence, human trafficking, and sexual assaults.
Such a condition is against the rights of children that are protected by the national and international laws.
The central government, local administrations and communities are responsible for helping street children, she remarked.
“The most important is family because many children have been forced to live on the streets due to problems in their families,” the minister said.
ANTARA News