One of the hardest things about living in a city like Jakarta, where so many people live with crushing poverty and beggars can often be seen on the streets, is deciding who is most deserving of your charity.
Recently, photos of a 13-year-old boy sitting on the street along with a caption that said he was a poor orphan who was selling ice to help support his grandmother went viral in Jakarta, with many moved to help him with offers of financial assistance.
https://www.facebook.com/DinsosDKI/photos/pcb.692278617626489/692278470959837/?type=3&theater
But representatives of the Jakarta Social Agency (Dinsos) are now saying that people should not give money to the boy, who they identified in a post to their official Facebook page as Adittia April Setiawan, because he does not, in fact, come from a poor family and he is not an orphan.
https://www.facebook.com/DinsosDKI/posts/692278617626489
According to Dinsos’ head of social rehabilitation in North Jakarta, Widia, Adit lives with his grandparents in Cilincing, North Jakarta. His grandfather owns a chartering business while his grandmother has a money lending business. His father is absent but his mother is a migrant worker who regularly sends him money.
“(Adit lives in) a house owned by his grandparents, which is somewhat more established than other neighboring houses,” Widia told Kompas yesterday.
Widia said that Adit had been dishonest to customers, telling them that his parents had died and that he slept on the street. According to the Social Agency worker, Adit lied in order to gain sympathy from the public so he could make more money to play online games.
Widia also suggested that there are needier citizens out there and that members of the public who want to help should channel their charity elsewhere.
Experts agree that child beggars should not be given money, as it ultimately only encourages them to stay on the streets. There is also evidence that many beggars, especially children, are forced to do so by criminal organizations that keep the vast majority of the money they make.
If you want to give your money or time to charity, here’s a list of fantastic Jakarta volunteer organizations that could use your help right now.
