Thinking aloud...

I was having dinner and watching telly at the same time and came across a documentary about the plight of the very poor in the rural areas of Indonesia. Am pretty certain that the situation is similar in other developing countries in Asia but watching the documentary got me thinking.

I use to teach about the rural-urban migration of people in developing countries and how the trend shows that more male adults are heading to the city to look for jobs. As for international migration, you tend to find more of the female adults working overseas as domestic help.

However, there is a trend that's not taught in the classroom as it's not a very pleasant one. Am wondering if the numbers are even recorded as the governments of these countries usually have other 'important' issues to look at but THIS IS an important issue which will affect the future of these countries.

The documentary is about immigrants but they are not adults but rather young children who have been sent to the cities to work as professional beggars to support their families at home. They spend their time begging for whatever they can get so that they can bring home what they make after a period of time to their families in the villages. As they beg on the streets, they risk being caught and thrown into jail (released after some time and their money confiscated by the police), risk being kidnapped and sold off. They sleep anywhere that they can find shelter and some even sleep along the streets. They eat what they can get their hands on and they are at the mercy of people who may throw them a coin or two.

I don't know how their parents can do this to their children. It's probably out of desperation as being uneducated (most of the males are farmers and lack the skills needed to find jobs in the city) they are not able to find work in the city and may be easier for their children to beg for money.

From the documentary when they spoke to some of the children, these children have dreams. One boy interviewed had dreams of being a pilot some day. Another girl dreams of going to school. What kind of childhood do they have? The responsibility that these young children have to bear is way too much for any children, anywhere in the world.

Question to myself - What can I do to help? Can one person do anything to help? Or is it just a losing battle and should just let things be?