Orphanages, the Mainstay of Poor Children
Orphanages are often considered places to accommodate orphaned children, while in fact they are also a way to get access to education.
The children of the Rumah Kasih Orphanage, Lembang, West Java, take a group photo in front of the orphanage, Saturday (29/10/2022). They come from various regions with different family backgrounds. The majority of them are from poor families.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Orphanages are the mainstay for children from poor and troubled families where they can receive alternative care and have the opportunity to attend education from primary to higher levels.
The majority of children in orphanages or child social welfare institutions (LKSA) have parents or families; only a small percentage of them are orphans.
Most children are brought to an orphanage by their parents so they can continue their education. Generally, they come from poor families in rural or remote areas.
Based on the 2021 Indonesian Child Profile Data, 4.76 percent of Indonesian children live with other families, while some live in orphanages. After graduating from high school (SMA), most children return to live with their parents. However, there are also those who remain at the orphanage, becoming administrators or assisting the administrators of the orphanage.
“Yesterday, there was a parent of a child who worked as a babysitter. Their salary is only around Rp 1 million [per month], not enough to pay the school fees of one child. In fact, there is not only one child," said Upik, the manager of the Putra Nusa Orphanage, on Wednesday (26/10/2022).
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In Lampung, the Pelita Harapan Bangsa Orphanage accommodates 50 children from poor families. According to Amir, head of the Pelita Harapan Bangsa Orphanage Foundation, some of the children in the orphanage have parents and some are entrusted to the orphanage after their parents divorced.
In Makassar, the Miftahul Khair Orphanage accommodates about 40 children. At first, they only accepted children who had no parents. However, the social service agency stated that the children who were accommodated did not have to be orphans, but could also be neglected and poor children.
"In fact, we also accommodate children who are victims of violence or come from broken homes," said A Halmiyah, the manager of the orphanage.
All children accommodated in the orphanage are sent to school at the expense of the school's operational assistance fund. For operations, the orphanage relies on donor assistance.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many orphanages have struggled with funds due to a shortage of donors. They have to find a way to make ends meet.
In fact, we also accommodate children who are victims of violence or come from broken homes.
Permit
In addition to experiencing funding problems, not all orphanages have permits and national childcare standards. According to data from the Social Affairs Ministry (Kemensos), there were around 6,200 LKSAs in Indonesia in 2021. About 1,000 of them have not yet received a permit from the social service agency and 154 others are completing the licensing requirements.
“Each local administration must ensure how many LKSAs are in its area. This is very important for the future of the children and to ensure that LKSAs that do not comply with regulations are not given permission to provide child services," said director of Social Services and Rehabilitation at the Social Affairs Ministry, Kanya Eka Santi.
Kanya argues that, wherever possible, children should be cared for by a nuclear family or a large family. If there is no family who can care for the child, the child can be cared for by a substitute family (foster care) or guardian, or be adopted by another party.
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Mahnidar (third from left), the manager of the Harapan Karya Children's Orphanage, Palembang with the seven orphans, Thursday (27/10/2022). He always tries hard so that his foster children can go to school despite limited funds.
In addition to being recorded, LKSAs also need to be accredited so that the quality of their services reaches a minimum standard. The Accreditation Board for Social Welfare Institutions (BALKS) stated that there were 12,331 social welfare institutions accredited in 2021 and 2,172 of them were LKSAs.
Deputy chairperson of BALKS, Naswardi, said that there are LKSAs that are not accredited because they have not reached the minimum quality standards of the government. "The purpose of accreditation is to measure the quality of meeting minimum service standards and prevent malpractices in social welfare institutions," he said.
According to Kompas, in September 2022, the Ketapang Regency Administration revoked the permit of and closed the Al-Akbar LKSA Foundation because of the alleged case of sexual violence against children by the orphanage administrator. In 2014, the government also shut down the Samuel Orphanage in Gading Serpong, Tangerang, due to allegations of child neglect.
Supervision
A member of the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), Jasra Putra, said that supervision of LKSAs is important to avoid bad childcare practices. “We also need to ensure that institutional managers have credibility and strong human resources to carry out the care. The central government and regional administrations need to supervise institutions that are registered and those that exist but have not been registered," he said.
According to Jasra, without supervision, children in orphanages are vulnerable to physical, psychological and sexual violence as well as economic exploitation and are often not registered at the population registry office. They are also vulnerable to becoming victims of human trafficking.
Deputy for Child Protection at the Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA) Ministry, Nahar, revealed that cases of child abuse has been found at orphanages which specifically take place during disciplinary action or punishment. Sexual violence in orphanages must receive full attention, because Law No. 12/2022 concerning Crimes of Sexual Violence (TPKS) targets orphanages as one of the places of TPKS prevetion.
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From data recorded in the Online Information System for the Protection of Women and Children (Simfoni PPA), as of July 2022, cases of violence against children have occured in educational institutions, schools, households and other places, such as orphanages.
Ni Luh Putu Maitra Agastya, a senior researcher at the Center for Research and Advocacy for the Protection and Quality of Life of Children (Puskapa) at the University of Indonesia, said that a number of studies showed that the physical and psychological development of children aged 0-5 years who were cared for in LKSAs were lower than children who were raised by a family. According to Agastya, LKSA supervision is important to ensure its services are in accordance with National Child Care Standards.
Agastya suggested that the role of social workers and social welfare workers be strengthened. "Maintain their presence so that they can help supervise [LKSA] and ensure that children receive the right services," she said. (REN/ESA/COK/VIO/SKA/ RAM/XTI/EGI/SON/Z02/ Z03/Z14)
