Club News
Expat Associations helpsTalented Jakarta Street Kids Cope
Text and Photography by Loreen Neville
July 1st 2009
In Jakarta or even in Indonesia, dozens of children and teenagers who are drop outs daily swarm the streets begging for alms, selling newspapers, offering umbrellas in the rain so forth and so on. They are usually people of the Indonesian society left behind by government aid programs.
By accident, after patrols, checking out street food stalls, I came across a child and three teenagers in separate groups singing and playing instruments on the streets. They were remarkably talented. They could actual sing and play instruments with the proper musical notes and keys. Vocal Ryan age nine years old and April age 16 years old ply the streets to sing for their supper, money every night with the permission of their mothers. While Bimo a school drop out and run away, plays the violin superbly and only learnt the instrument on the streets. Boly, did finish school but could never get a job. All four kids were never tutored in music nor have they had proper musical education. They are just simply talented. They now are included in the Roving Insight program list of about 100 kids, in which 41 teenagers have already obtained jobs, 5 now no longer teenagers, have been groomed and trained by my military friends to become in house security guards and are guarding friend’s houses who knows they were from the streets and yet helped to take them in. 6 kids became houseboys, 4 teenagers from broken homes I have sort of adopted and now living with me. The rest of the kids are around here and there until I can hopefully find or positively create something for them.
Grouping Ryan, April, Bimo and Boly together, temporary blessing them with the name, ‘the Roving Insight Street Kids’, till I can find a suitable program for them, I brought them to see advertisement producer Andi Wahyudi. He gave them a place to practise whenever they can with proper musical instruments and some transport money to and fro for practise. Andi is contemplating into producing a CD album for them.
Meanwhile hoping that is in the pipe-line, the Roving Insight Executive Club members on June 23rd 2009 in a gathering at Mambo Bistro and with the permission of the owner Producer Riclo Lago, the kids perform three songs for the crowd. A donation box went round and the kids divided the money between themselves. This amount would keep them off the streets for at least a week or more.
Allied Pickfords, the careful movers, Java Saint Andrew/Saint Patrick Societies, join in to help out.
Wearing and given Allied Pickfords T-Shirts, cash donations and transport by Deborah Minicola, the kids perform at the Java St. Andrew/St. Patrick Societies, June Ceilidh evening on Saturday June 27 2009. The people who attended the function were truly amazed at the talent of kids. St. Andrew Chieftain James Shon, distributed gift bags to the kids. James showered the Kids with care and love. The kids were able to experience people from good societies.
Host of the evening Isabel and Alex Smillie from St. Andrew Society giving a warm welcome to the kids, taught them to sing Scottish songs.
Their is no harm helping these children out and especially with talent like theirs. From here I guess I will see how we can solidify a program for these kids especially little Ryan whose voice is amazing. We will try our best to keep them street free before the government arrest them as public nuisance when they play music on the streets. I explained to the kids to be careful especially dear little Ryan. And we can only do so much.
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