Hope rising from under the bridge

None of the students at the Kartini free school in Ancol, North Jakarta, knew that yesterday, May 2, was commemorated nationally as Education Day.
If they did, they may have questioned why they
were learning with the droning sound of traffic on
the overpass above, deprived of their constitutional
right to a proper education.
If twin sisters Sri Rosiati and Sri Irianingsih had not set
up the makeshift school, these children of the urban
poor would have no other option but to work as trash
pickers or beggars like their parents.
The students are not asking for multistory school building and luxurious facilities, just a little attention from the government and certainty that their classrooms will
not be dismantled.

 -- JP/J. Adiguna

Idul Fitri 2
Idul Fitri 1
Earthquake
Jakarta Election
Jakarta Fair
Emergency School
Hard Life
Garuda Fire
Java Jazz
Flood 2
Flood 1
Luar Batang Kampong