Misgiantoro's New Hope after Meeting the Minister of Social Affairs

JAKARTA (March 26, 2021) - Misgiantoro (39 years old) was still fast asleep in front of the overhang of a shop on Jalan Hasyim Ashari when Social Minister Tri Rismaharini woke him up. He and his family were the last to wake up, while the others had already fled.

"I think it was around 6:30 am, when I woke up there was Mrs. Risma in front of me," Misgiantoro said when he was met by the Social Worker of Handayani Children's Center at Mulya Jaya Training Center.

Every day, the man who is familiarly called Toro earns a living by scavenging and busking on the street. Together with his wife, Misgiantoro always brings his two young children to participate. Even when his wife was arrested by the Satpol PP, his youngest child who was only seven months old was also taken with her.

The income obtained from singing and scavenging ranges from IDR 50,000 to IDR 70,000. This amount certainly cannot meet the living needs of four family members. However, Toro admits that there are always good people who provide assistance such as food and diapers for their children.

"Fifty thousand is not enough, ma'am, fortunately there is always someone who gives. Including the one who owns the shop where we sleep, they often give us food or diapers," he said.

Toro has been living on the street for a long time. Even when he met his wife who is also a busker three years ago, he was already living from one place to another. He and his wife did not finish elementary school so they do not have a diploma which makes it difficult for them to find work.

Neither Toro nor his wife have identity cards. Their families do not have a family card (KK) because they were married unregistered, so there is no marriage document from the state. The first child who is four years old already has a birth certificate, but the second child has not yet have one.

"We don't have a KK yet, one of my children also doesn't have a certificate, so when I was encouraged to join Mrs. Risma, I immediately said yes. I hope that we can be helped to take care of it (residence documents),” he said to Social Workers.

Toro was happy that Mrs. Risma was paying attention to the condition of her family. He hoped that it can also be helped to get a job and the first child can enter kindergarten.

Misgiantoro along with his wife and two children were brought by the Ministry of Social Affairs' Outreach Team to Mulya Jaya Training Center under the direct instruction of the Minister of Social Affairs Tri Rismaharini. But now, they have been referred to the Pangudi Luhur Training Center Bekasi.

Meanwhile, the Director General of Social Rehabilitation, Harry Hikmat, has directed two centers under the Directorate General of Social Rehabilitation to work together in providing services to the Misgiantoro family. Pangudi Luhur Training Center Bekasi will handle parents, while Handayani Children's Center will focus on handling children.

So far, Handayani Children's Center has dispatched two social workers to carry out the assessment, namely Dwi Novarianty Santoso and Farury. Furthermore, the two centers will hold a case conference to determine the intervention to be given.