Sintia's story: a struggle for identification

We first met Sintia in early 2016. At the time, Sintia was a single mother with only one child named Maria. She lived with her father in a scavenger settlement in the eastern part of Jogja. Due to her position as a street worker and also her Papuan heritage, Sintia faced daily discrimination and hardship, unable to access critical health and educational facilities due to her lack of identity documentation. 
Towards the end of 2020, Sintia informed us that she was pregnant again and had some serious health complications. Few months later, Sintia gave birth to two baby boys, twins,  in a nearby hospital. However, the relief of a smooth delivery and swift recovery did not last long.
On January 6, 2022, she contacted us once again, saying her sons were sick. The twins were suffering from a high fever and had some respiratory difficulties. While we were able to take and admit them to the Hospital, Sintia was prohibited from coming with us or visiting her children due to her lack of an identity card, birth certificate or health insurance.
A critical part of Harapan Fian’s mission to support marginalised communities, is to advocate and provide documentation for the ‘invisible’ peoples of Yogyakarta, such as Sintia. Due to a lack of a fixed written procedure for gaining identification, varying across regional governments, assisting vulnerable citizens in this process is very difficult but also essential. Documentation marks the difference between life and death for all marginalised communities and especially children, holding the power to transform one’s quality of life. Thankfully, after advocating for Sintia to her local government, she was able to receive health insurance not only relieving her of the hospital fees but also paving the way for not only her own access to key institutions and rights but also her childrens’.
Over the next few weeks we supported Sintia, making several interventions to support the health of her twins, suffering from malnourishment post hospitalisation. This process consisted of Harapan Fian’s members visiting Sintia once a week to provide additional nutritious food for her sons.
Over the last seven months, we have kept in contact with Sintia and monitored the health and steady development of her children, particularly that of her twins. Recently another key milestone of our assistance to Sintia was reached. With the help of the government Sintia was also able to receive an Indonesian Identity Card (Kartu Tanda Penduduk) as well as birth certificates for her children!
If you are interested in hearing more about Sintia’s story or would like to support Harapan Fian, please get in touch.  ​