This is Siti
She is 10 years old and up till last year, she worked on a garbage dump in Jakarta, Indonesia. Every day, she looked for recyclable materials such as plastic bottles to make some money. Terre des Hommes is committed to stop this kind of child exploitation. Together with a local partner, Terre des Hommes helps children like Siti to go back to school. Young people are given the opportunity to follow vocational training which gives them a chance of a better future. Parents receive information about the importance of education. For Siti, the support of Terre des Hommes has helped out a lot: instead of working at a garbage dump, she’s now working on a promising future at school.
Southeast Asia
Improving the level of education taught and increasing access to education are important priorities for Terre des Hommes in Southeast Asia. Children born into poor families often are unable to attend school because they have to work, or because their parents have no money.
Education is free in Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand and the Philippines. Even so, free education does not mean that all children are actually able to go to school. Many schools charge the parents tuition, even if it is against the law. Parents are often required to purchase school uniforms and teaching materials. Parents who can just barely earn enough to eat are often unable to afford those costs. The result is that they take their child out of school and put them to work. Terre des Hommes invests in vocational training for young people, arranges teacher training programmes to improve the quality of education, and involves parents in their children’s education. Special attention is paid to the Burmese children living in the huge refugee camps near the border with Thailand. They have no right to enrol in normal schools, so Terre des Hommes provides education and offers the children a future.