Webinar on Protection and Care for Orphans Victims of Covid-19
Writer :
Humas Ditjen Rehabilitasi Sosial
Translator :
Karlina Irsalyana
JAKARTA (8 September 2021) -- The Director General of
Social Rehabilitation of the Indonesian Ministry of Social Affairs, Harry
Hikmat, was a resource person in the online Webinar on the Protection and Care
of Orphans Victims of Covid-19 organized by Plan Indonesia. The problem of
orphans whose parents died due to Covid-19 is currently being a concern of the
government, especially the Ministry of Social Affairs which is given the
mandate to handle this.
Harry in his presentation
explained that the Ministry of Social Affairs had made efforts to protect and
treat orphans who were victims of Covid-19.
“For efforts to handle
orphans, fatherless and motherless, we integrate them into the existing Social
Rehabilitation Assistance Program (ATENSI). The Children's ATENSI Program is a
scheme to protect orphans whose parents died due to
Covid-19," said Harry.
"The ATENSI program
for orphans is very important because it is not only oriented to the basic
needs of children, but also to social care for children, especially
psychosocial assistance for children who have lost their parents due to
Covid-19," he added.
Harry further explained
that the best care for children is when the child is cared for by parents, but
in certain conditions where parents cannot take care of the child, it is
possible if the child is in alternative care.
Caring for orphans who
have lost their parents due to Covid-19 can be carried out by extended families
or substitute families from both the mother and the child's father. If an
extended family or a substitute family is not available, the child can get
alternative care from the foster parents through the Foster Care service. Not
only children whose parents have died but Foster Care services can also reach
children left by their parents who are self-isolating or being treated due to
Covid-19.
Another resource person,
Nahar as Deputy of Child Protection at the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and
Child Protection, said that his party had received the latest report regarding
the number of orphans who were victims of Covid-19 as many as 17,368 children
as of September 8, 2021.
“We have communicated with
the Ministry of Social Affairs and several other Ministries/Institutions about
the importance of data availability. We are also trying to get this data from
the Covid-19 Task Force. In addition, we also open space so that the public can
also report related to orphans who are victims of Covid-19 through the Rapidpro
Data System," said Nahar.
In line with this, the Ministry of Social Affairs has
also collected data on orphans who are victims of Covid-19, and currently, the
data obtained has reached 28,088 children as of September 7, 2021. This data
collection will continue to be carried out considering the large number of Indonesian
children who are orphans due to the loss of a parent who died due to Covid-19.
Plan Indonesia Executive Director, Dini Widiastuti,
who was also present at this webinar, said that the problems of orphans who
were victims of Covid-19 must be identified and responded to quickly and
accurately. Therefore, this requires the cooperation of various parties.
Furthermore, Kompas journalist Aris gave his response
to the handling of orphans who were victims of Covid-19 that had been carried
out. "I appreciate the government's efforts in dealing with the
problems of orphans who are victims of Covid-19. The case of children who have
been abandoned by their parents due to Covid-19 is like a pandemic in a
pandemic," said Aris.
“We found data in the field that these children need
immediate assistance. They may be very burdened by getting stigmatized by an
environment that considers children as carriers of the virus that causes their
parents to die. In addition to assistance, data collection for orphans
is also a big challenge because currently the criteria for death due to Covid
also still have to be reviewed. There are still many children who have not been
registered because the deaths of their parents who were exposed to Covid-19
were not reported," he added.
Psychosocial assistance is one of the efforts to
protect orphans who are victims of Covid-19. This is one of the components of
the ATENSI Program. The social assistants who are currently working in the
field involve local volunteers to reinforce for the children.
"I have conveyed to the social assistants in the
field that we not only verify and validate the orphans who are victims of
Covid-19 but can also provide assistance such as motivation to these children.
This is very important because it is not easy for children to go through a loss
and holding situation," said Harry.
The Ministry of Social Affairs has also encouraged
vaccinations for children from marginalized groups and children in the Child
Welfare Institutions (LKSA). Currently, 448 children have received
vaccines and will continue to be optimized to support efforts to
protect children against Covid-19.
In addition, the Ministry of Social Affairs has also
built ATENSI Creation Centers (SKA) in several Social Rehabilitation Centers to
empower children who are beneficiaries. This SKA can also be used to improve
the skills of orphans who are victims of Covid-19 so that they are not
dissolved in a situation of loss.
“In this SKA, we empower our children. We provide
various skills to prepare a better future for children," concluded Harry.
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