Rickshaw driver is commonly referred to as a tukang becak in Indonesia. A rickshaw is a traditional three-wheeled pedicab. The driver also known as tukang becak, sits behind or beside the passenger and pedals the vehicle manually.
It is an arduous occupation, long hours and low pay. Some of the rickshaw drivers have no home so they sleep overnight in their own rickshaw in the evening.
More often than not, the passengers of the rickshaw are younger than the driver itself.
The elderly drivers need to put extra effort and energy to pedal the vehicle manually when it comes to heavier young passengers in order to get them around.
This becomes quite challenging in particular when the weather is warm and the elderly rickshaw drivers have to pedal the vehicle manually in the scorching sun.
Special delivery to elderly rickshaw drivers every day consists of 1 kilogram of rice, 1 bottle of mineral water, 2 boiled eggs, 2 packs of cookies , 2 oranges / 2 bananas, 2 candies and cash money IDR 300.000 ( around USD 20 ).
We look forward to supporting more elderly rickshaw drivers as their job demands high levels of physical and mental stamina throughout the workday.