The Muhammadiyah Foster Home Foundation Weleri is a non profit
organization engaged in social and religious activities. This organization
is established in 1938. As a community and religious organization,
Muhammadiyah paid a lot of attention to education, health services
delivery, and socio-economic welfare of its members and the society
at large. MFHF mainly deals with orphans or children from poor families.
The collaboration with IPEC started in 1992 with the aim to improve
the nutrition and skill level of working children in 5 rural villages
in Kendal (Central Java). From this collaboration 175 children aged
between 12 to 15 years old reached. The children were provided with
basic secondary education (Package B programme), vocational training,
spiritual and mental guidance and supplementary nutrition. The awareness
raising activities succeeded and many children joining the action
programme and becoming aware of the advantage of it. The collaboration
with MFHF was continued to the next biennium with the aim to develop
a model pre-vocational training programme for 150 working children
under 14 years old who work as Miang, Pemindang, farm labourers
and stone cutters in District of Weleri, Rowosari, and Gemuh These
children proved hard to be organized and guided into education and
other services, since they had been fascinated by their way of living.
They were difficult to convince of the dangers of work and the advantages
of education. In 1998/1999 a new Action Programme tried to reach
children in fishery communities with vocational training and health
check ups. 8 potential local facilitators were involved in children
rights education through routine meetings with the parents and home
visits. A National Consultant was being recruited to ensure the
programme sustainability, but it failed, the programme did not become
sustainable. No progress report were submitted for this Action Programme,
therefore the results of this Actioon Programme are not known.
