Abdul Kholiq, 20, was focusing on a processing unit from a disassembled cellphone. He was connecting the piece to a multimeter — a device used to measure electrical currents — to see whether it was still usable.

“Back in my hometown in Semarang, West Java, I used to help out my neighbors by fixing their cellphones,” he told The Jakarta Post during his lesson at a cellphone engineering class in the Taruna Jaya Youth Education Home (PSBR Taruna Jaya), a haven for homeless, poor or delinquent youths run by the Jakarta Social Agency in Tebet, South Jakarta.

 The elementary school graduate arrived in Jakarta five months ago, carrying nothing but a wallet with Rp 110,000 (US$8.25). His wallet got stolen just hours after he set foot in the capital. Stranded in the middle of an unknown metropolis where he knew no one, a stranger later offered him a job to sell martabak (stuffed fried pancake) on the streets.

“I had only been selling martabak for several hours when officers from the Public Order Agency [Satpol PP] came out of nowhere and hauled me into their truck,” he said. “I was brought to a homeless shelter, and later in February, I was transferred here.”

Kholiq is one of PSBR Taruna Jaya’s 110 inhabitants, girls and boys aged 16 to 21, who found themselves stranded in Jakarta without family or financial support. Just like Kholiq, these youths are school dropouts who are poor, have been neglected and, sometimes, orphaned.

PSBR Taruna Jaya was established in 1964 as a place to improve and restore the mental and emotional health of troubled teenagers through psychological counselling and disciplinary lessons. Recently, however, it has been developing classes to equip its inhabitants with skills that can help them find a proper livelihood once they are released.

Fifteen-year-old Dewi Nuraini, came to the home from Depok, West Java, after a social foundation referred her to the place.

“My parents are still in Depok, but I rarely talk to them anymore,” said Dewi during a cooking class.

She arrived in December last year with several friends, including Faisal Rizal, 17, who was taking a carpentry class next door.

“I came to Jakarta when I was just 9 years old from my hometown in West Papua,” said Faisal. “I was supposed to go to school, but I ran away because I was bored.”

The youths are obligated to spend at least a year in the home, during which they are encouraged to learn one of nine skills on offer, namely computers, carpentry, welding, automotive, make-up, fashion, cooking, air-condition engineering and cellphone engineering.

According to PSBR Taruna Jaya head Ahmad Dumyani, the home started offering classes for specific skills five years ago.

“Back then, there was only welding, sewing, automotive and make-up classes,” Ahmad said.

“This year, we have opened three more classes. We cooperate with an organization under the Korean government in running carpentry and computer lessons. The organization donated equipment to us and paid for instructors to teach in the two classes.”

The home does not put a limit on the number of youths it accepts.

“We take in teenage buskers and homeless [youths] collected by the Satpol PP to help them out. Sometimes, though, teenagers arrive of their own accord after hearing about us from their friends,” Ahmad said.

So far, the home has succeeded in equipping hundreds of its former inhabitants with various skills.

“Once the teenagers can prove they are emotionally stable and can work properly, we will send them out on job trials at salons, workshops or clothing factories around the city,” he added. “If they perform well during the trial, their employers will take them on as full-time employees.”

Youths staying at PBSR Taruna Jaya even have the opportunity to obtain a work certificate from the government through the Jakarta Manpower and Transmigration Agency.

“However, they need to take a high-school equivalency exam to be qualified for the agency’s training programs.” (dea)

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