This week Save the Children UK released the report, Someone that matters: The Quality of Care in Childcare in Institutions in Indonesia, the report showed that financial pressures in Indonesia are driving more families to give up their children. The report, which was launched in joint effort with the UN children's agency UNICEF and the Indonesian government, found that of the some 500,000 Indonesian children in care institutions, only some 6% are actually orphans.
So why are so many non-orphaned children being placed into care? The problem according to the report appears to mainly be economic, and the rising food prices are only acerbating the situation. Families are finding it increasingly difficult to care for their children, not only to provide them with adequate nutrition, but also education, and thus they feel the best option for their child's future is the mainly privatively run care system.
“Children have the right to know and grow up within their families and they also have the right to education. They and their families should not be asked to choose between these two fundamental rights”, said Save the Children's Country Director Stephen Morrow.
In response to the report, and concerning the efforts of the Indonesian government to eradicate this large scale problem, Makmur Sunusi, Phd. Director General for Social Services and Rehabilitation in the Ministry of Social Affairs said;
“the Indonesian Government has recognized that families are the best environment for children to grow up in and this research is an important first step towards ensuring that children who are in need of alternative care are provided with professional and quality care and only institutionalized as a last resort.”
The reality is harsh and requires extensive research into alternative solutions to keep families together and see that children continue to receive a full and adequate education. Such mass scale economic abandonment will have serious future implications on not only the Indonesian economy and state, but also on the future structure and stability of the Indonesian family. The preservation of the family must be kept in as many situations as possible, and parents should not be forced to feel that the best option for their child's future is to place them in care. At current it appears that more parents are sacrificing their children's mental wellbeing for their economic and educational wellbeing, a choice no parent should be forced to face.
