ChildSafe Agent: Community Protector

The ideal child protection agent is someone who is brave and active because he/she is the one who moves his community to take action in cases of child abuse. That is exactly what Bu Fadiyah, a housewife in Jakarta, is currently doing. Her organizational relationships are quite broad. She first got to know Teman Baik when at a meeting of women’s groups and community leaders in her East Jakarta community and was trained and certified as a ChildSafe Agent in 2019. Prior to joining as an agent, she was an active organizer of social activities for children, promoter of family hygiene, and a member of a women and children non-governmental organization.

By joining as Teman Baik‘s ChildSafe Agent, Mrs. Fadiyah felt the difference. Previously, she was conventional in the way she thought about children, that the child belongs to the parents. Now, she  understands the voice of children needs to be heard too. She doesn’t keep this life lesson to herself but seeks to spread it throughout her community. 

When the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic started in May 2021, she actively raised the awareness of parents and children of using masks and washing their hands to prevent COVID-19. During this time, she became a trusted person to whom parents would confide about their troubles. The problems she identified through discussions with the parents included children playing outside without masks and child bullying.

For example, one case she handled was of a child being abused by his peers. The boy, aged 6 years old, was being bullied while playing with an older boy (16 years old). The abuse was such that the child had a fever after the incident. After finally telling his mother what had happened, the mother went to Mrs. Fadiyah for advice. She made sure that the child was taken to the hospital for a medical examination and received treatment, and worked with local authorities to ensure that appropriate solutions could be found for both the children involved.

Mrs. Fadiyah is happy that she became a ChildSafe Agent and says, “Teman Baik clarified my views on children and child rights, and working with Teman Baik I’ve built my knowledge of how to protect children in my community.”