Indonesia

In Indonesia we currently support some 2,800 children in 8 projects. We have worked in Indonesia since 1978 and work with partner organisations that have in-depth knowledge of the needs of local populations. This allows us to increase the effectiveness of our programmes in each region.

Indonesia

More rights for children

In Indonesia, many families live on less than two dollars a day. Although the country signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, children's rights are inadequately respected.

We therefore support projects that strengthen these rights, for example, by counselling services for girls and boys and by paving the way for street children to lead a normal life. Working with our partners, we also combat child trafficking and the sexual exploitation of young people.

On the island of Nias, our Action!Kidz campaign has turned into a major project to combat exploitative child labour.

The challenges

A girl works in a quarry and crushes stones. (Source: Christian Herrmanny)
We are committed to protect children from exploitation.

Indonesia still has a large number of active volcanoes that threaten the population. Devastating tsunamis cause destruction primarily in the western part of the country. The cutting down of teak forests is another widespread problem. The lucrative and usually illegal trade in tropical wood often leads to deforestation of entire regions.

Indonesia's geography makes it difficult to introduce state organised healthcare. Infectious diseases and malaria are widespread, particularly in the countryside. The child mortality rate went down over the past three decades but remains a serious problem. Even today nearly one-fifth of all children under the age of five are malnourished.

In Indonesia education is mandatory throughout primary and lower secondary school. Nevertheless, only 55 percent of all children have a secondary school education. For many children, schooling ends at age 12 because their families can no longer afford to pay the relatively high costs of obtaining an education.

  • Our work in the country

    An important area of focus is the support for street children and working children. Despite mandatory education, many girls and boys have to work under exploitative conditions. Close cooperation with parents, employers, and school authorities is urgently needed to make it possible for children to acquire a suitable education. Large urban areas like Jakarta and Medan serve as rallying points for street children from across Indonesia. Our partners support the children with alternative education programmes and help them reintegrate into society and families.

    In the wake of the country's many natural disasters, Kindernothilfe also works with local partners in providing urgent medical care and structural disaster and reconstruction aid. Local self-help groups play an important role in this context.

  • Key figures on Indonesia

    • 254 million people live in Indonesia (the world's fourth most populated country)
    • 26 % of Indonesians are under the age of 15
    • 20 % of all children under the age of 5 are underweight
    • 7 % of all children have to perform child labour
    • 11 % of the population lives below the poverty line

    Sources: World Factbook, United Nations

Indonesia: Help for street children

Indonesia: Help for street children

Family problems and poverty force children to take to the streets. Our partner Kampus Diakonia Modern (KDM) runs a project to find a way out for street children.

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Indonesia: Break the silence

Indonesia: Break the silence

Violence is a taboo subject, also in the Muslim county of Indonesia. Beatings and sexual assaults often happen behind locked doors, the victims are mostly girls and women. Our partner PKPA helps them to talk about the deeds and to start a new life.

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An overview of our projects and countries

An overview of our projects and countries

We are currently supporting 1.8 million children in 29 countries. Click here to read selected project descriptions.

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Indonesia

Childhood between garbage and hope

Our partner organization PKPA helps girls and boys on the island of Sumatra to escape the spiral of poverty by education, and it also provides emergency aid for families in the Corona crisis.

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Childhood between garbage and hope