HOW IT ALL BEGAN

ISCO Foundation began helping children in the areas of Kampung Jembatan (Cipinang Besar Selatan/East Jakarta) and Manggarai (South Jakarta), where children were forced to work on the streets, and often dropped out of school because their parents could not afford the fees and other expenses.

ISCO works together with local school authorities and formal and informal community leaders to identify the neediest families, to arrange for the children to attend public school, to support them and their families in many practical ways and to make sure that these children will not become street children or child laborers.

Beginning in 1999 by sponsoring 50 children in two areas of Jakarta, today ISCO operates in 26 slum areas – 17 in Greater Jakarta, 7 in Surabaya area and 2 in Medan. Around 2,000 children are currently sponsored, most of whom are between the ages of 5 and 16 years. ISCO monitors each child educational development progress individually and maintains a close relationship with each family.

ISCO’s particular focus is the children of those families, who face serious obstacles in their struggle to achieve the productive futures that are accepted as normal by most middle class families. ISCO believes that all children deserve the chance to achieve their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens and leaders of Indonesia.
We invite you find out more about our programs, our children’s achievements and how you can help, at our website : //www.iscofoundation.org



Providing free education for vulnerable street children is a proven and effective method of protecting these children rights. The poor, and working children, should not suffer any discrimination in learning opportunities (World Declaration on Education for All, 1990).