Wayan Bodoh, 14, works as a fruit and cake vendor roaming the streets around North Denpasar.
He carries a heavy bamboo basket on his tiny head offering a large variety of traditional snacks and slices of tropical fruits to office employees, children and housewives living in the area.
Bodoh's face is tanned from the heat of the sun. His skin and hair appears dry and unhealthy.
Bodoh was so tired that day that he could no longer carry the 10-kilogram basket. The day was so hot and humid.
"Can I have a glass of water," he asked a woman who bought a bag of tropical fruit. Every day, he has to sell all the goods.
"My boss will restock the basket with cakes and fruit if I can sell all the goods before noon," he said.
Bodoh comes from the remote village of Muntigunung in Karangasem regency, East Bali.
He dropped out of school as his parents could no longer afford his education.
"I still remember how to read and write. My other friends from the village are all illiterate," Bodoh said.
Around 100 young boys and girls from poor villages in Karangasem make ends meet in the capital, Denpasar.
"We lived on a barren island in rocky hills without enough food and jobs," he said.
Every day, the boys and girls earn Rp 300,000 each for their bosses. They receive Rp 30,000 a day in payment.
Working as vendors occupies them all day. "How can I go to school if I have to work all day?" Ni Wayan Santi asks.
These young people work, at the very least, 12 hours a day, walking around Denpasar streets.
"My boss will not let us go to school or spend free time. We have to work or else we cannot eat and sleep."
"The bosses" provide shelter and goods for these children, who are aged between 8 and 15. The bosses deny the children's rights to education and proper health and food.
Ni Nyoman Sari, one of the bosses, said she has just taken charge of a child. "Her parents took her to Denpasar three months ago." She employs five children to sell fruit, traditional cakes and mixed rice.
The five children live in small, smelly and dirty rooms.
"Actually employing poor children has become a lucrative business for many women here," Sari said.
There are five bosses operating in Bringkit village, each employiong at least five children.
Pan Gampil, one of the bosses, said the children refused to go to school because they saw the value in working to make money.
The head of the Bali branch of the National Commission for Child Protection, Dr. Sri Wahyuni, expressed concern over the poor living conditions of these unfortunate children.
"We have been approaching village chiefs and the *bosses' to allow them access to health facilities, nutritious food and access to education."
It is frightening for them to enter formal schools. "They can get education through informal institutions including open-school programs."
She said she expected local administrations to pay serious attention to these children. "They can be part of the government's illiteracy eradication programs."
Bali has 280,000 illiterate people or 7.5 percent of the island's total population. The province has allocated Rp 210 billion to support the education sector.
Next month, thousands of children will be preparing for another academic year. "Will Santi, Bodoh and the other 100 children from poor villages have the chance to taste education?"
