Over the years, as Indonesia moved steadily from rural to urban, these young migrants struggled to create a better life in the shadows of neon. For many, home today is a shared humble dwelling for the extended family. Behind the mansion, in the bylanes beyond the high rise office towers, every day is a struggle.
Getting By are often in the process of building up, from scratch, their local skills, assets and cross-cultural networks. No one has established inter-generational wealth and are working to pay the rent and develop a platform for their children’s futures. Quick to assimilate with the residents of old these humble neighborhoods are Indonesia’s sons and daughters of the soil.
A large number of Getting By are teenaged and post-school children still living at home, beginning to find work and explore but in no rush to leave the crowded family nest.
On a tight communal budget, they want to keep fit and enjoy the odd day out with the family at the zoo.