The
National Education system is shaking. Different attempts at curriculum changes
have proved unsuccessful to change the joyful face of our children. Education
is a heavy burden, not a hope. School fees rise every year. National curriculum
changes several times, followed by the book packages. If the best is desired
the best also has to be paid.What about the street children who desire to use education as a stepping stone to change their lives? Maybe it’s only a dream for them to sit sweetly in school chairs where they receive quality education at an inexpensive price. Sahabat Anak is aware of this reality. Without trying to point fingers at whose right and whose wrong, SA is doing their best to serve street children that have dropped out of school, but still have a desire to study.
“Pusat Kegiatan Anak” (PKA, Children’s Activity Center) is an attempt to meet their needs. This alternative education offered to street children that have dropped out of school, is a program that includes not only formal, but also informal education, such as computer skills, handicraft lessons, and English courses. SA’s focus is on giving quality education to street children, and not so much on the quantity of students. After the students study for approximately one year, they are helped to find some type of employment – working in a small shop for example – or directed to continue their education at a higher level. Of course, only after they have achieved an academic score and lifestyle ethic that will allow them to succeed.
PKA’s primary goal is to give a future that is a little brighter for these street children so that they don’t have to be on the street anymore.
Solution for Drop-outs
Chidren that have dropped out from school has for a long time been on the radar screen of the ministry of Sahabat Anak. How can the needs of this unique group of children be met, alongside of the other kids that SA serves who are still in school. The solution that has been mulled over since end of the year 2000, is a center where youths that have dropped out of school would be given the opportunity to gain an education and certification that would be recognized by the government, while at the same time studying life skills that they would need for a successful, independent future.
That dream became a reality in the beginning of 2006. A special team was formed to prepare a working plan, curriculum, study schedule, location, teachers and of course the students, who would largely come from the local SA “Bimbels” (free tutorial program in some urban-areas of Jakarta).