Friends for Families – Jakarta

A routine outreach to the Karet Tengsin community by our #everydayheroes from Teman Baik introduced them to Mr. Ivan* and his family. Concerned neighbors alerted the Teman Baik team about their concerns for the children in the household. The team immediately took action and visited the family to check the condition of the children. They found many areas of concern with Mr. Ivan’s children, including a lack of nutrition, all  exacerbated by lack of legal documents enabling access to public services. 

The family was not always this way – the children had been well taken care of by mother and father, until the breakdown of their marriage earlier this year, when Mrs. Ivan left home.  From then on, the children’s condition became increasingly vulnerable. With both parents taking care of the children, life was good, now Mr. Ivan found it difficult to balance work and family. Now a single father who was earning money as a motorbike taxi driver, Mr. Ivan was forced to leave the children on their own because of prolonged working hours to earn a living. The stress of being a single parent and sole breadwinner took a toll on Mr. Ivan’s well-being and mental health– him not being able to cope resulted in his children suffering as a result. 

The Teman Baik team launched a thorough assessment of the family’s issues and needs. They found firsthand that the children weren’t registered to get the documents they needed to register for public school and get access to much needed services from the government. Our #everydayheroes, social workers from Teman Baik made several home visits to pay attention to what was going on in the family home and discuss the situation with Mr. Ivan,  so that a sense of comfort arose and trust was built between the family members and the social workers. After that essential trust was established with the parent and his children, the social workers began to receive information about the flow of events and problems being faced. The social workers also gathered information from other families, neighbors, and community leaders who could play an active role in helping the family.

Our Teman Baik social workers are currently helping the family solve their problems and thus improve the care situation of the children. First, we have been providing life skills education and guidance to Mr. Ivan regarding childcare and good parenting, so the children’s basic rights are fulfilled. Second, we are raising awareness of how to improve the children’s nutrition. Finally, we are supporting the family to obtain birth certificates and national health insurance, so they can reduce the costs of education and health services. All of these are currently ongoing assistance. In terms of legal documents, so far birth certificates have been obtained for the two oldest children with certificates for the two younger children being processed. Teman Baik continues to  follow up closely with the family to ensure improvements in the children’s situation are sustained.

*Names changed for privacy. Photos does not feature anyone mentioned in the article.