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A rough-and-tumble area once dubbed Jakarta’s “Bronx” has cleaned itself up through the efforts of residents, with a little help from nonprofit groups. For years, the Pegangsaan subdistrict in Central Jakarta was known as a blighted area afflicted by drug dealers, addicts and violent youth gangs. That perception is slowly changing.

Sitting on four hectares of land near the Proclamation Monument and the upscale Menteng neighborhood, Pegangsaan is a dense residential area with a population of about 5,200 people. Like many of Jakarta’s slums, the area stands in stark contrast to the city’s high rises and wealth, a glaring example of the economic gap in the city.

Andri Budiman, a 31-year-old debt collector who has lived in Pegangsaan all his life, said the chaotic conditions started in the early 1990s when a new wave of young people adopted drinking and brawling as their regular entertainment.

“They often threw rocks at the houses of people living across from the neighborhood,” Andri said. “Those kinds of acts angered people, who would then attack us. This just triggered violent retaliation after retaliation.”

And the violence wasn’t just limited to punch-ups in the street, according to Andri, who said gangs often employed weapons like Molotov cocktails and senapan dorlop , airguns that fire nails, during mass brawls. The sight of a house burning to the ground became disturbingly common.

According to Andri, dozens of people were killed in fights between residents of different neighborhood, causing those who could afford it to move away. “People were afraid to live here and moved away. Pegangsaan was a very terrifying place for outsiders to come to.”

A high rate of unemployment and lack of education most likely amplified the social unrest, he speculated.

But over the last 10 years, the people of Pegangsaan have been dreaming a little bigger. It started in 2000, when a group of women started to hold aerobics classes every Sunday morning at the Proclamation Monument. Coming from different neighborhoods, many of which were feuding, these women would take their children to play together while they exercised. Inevitably, they expressed their frustration to each other about the dire situation in which they lived.

In 2002 they decided to do something about it, and sought the aid of sociologist Imam Prasodjo, who runs a foundation called Nurani Dunia (World’s Foundation). The foundation asked for volunteers, organizations and companies to join forces to try to turn the area around.

Nurani Dunia lent a hand with a community-based approach, called Komunitas Proklamasi (Proclamation Community), creating activities through which residents could explore their talents and hobbies while at the same time “making their neighborhoods a better place to live,” said Nurani Dunia activist Andi Muhammad Jufri.

And sponsored by General Electric Indonesia, the people of Pegangsaan built a learning center in 2003, called Rumah Belajar Komunitas Proklamasi. At the center, volunteers teach children English, computer skills and academic subjects, in addition to hosting other activities.

“We see Komunitas Proklamasi as a group of people who have a strong willingness to change their condition so that their children can live in peace,” said Inggita Notosusanto, communications manager of General Electric Indonesia.

“It’s amazing to see how this area that was once a very dangerous place can be a safe, peaceful, productive and green place,” Inggita said.

Andri agrees. “Today people can walk safely even after midnight,” he said, adding that such a thing was considered impossible in the past.

There are seven main “communities” that make up Komunitas Proklamasi, covering areas of interest and concern such as education, the environment, drug treatment, conflict resolution and music.

Eggy (not his real name), 31, is a drummer for the band Cesplank who has a dream of one day releasing a commercial album. Having lived in Pegangsaan since he was a child, Eggy said that he used to be a drug addict who was always looking for trouble.

“For me, tawuran was the number one priority in my life,” he said. Tawuran is an Indonesian term for a brawl between gangs or school students.

He said that although illegal drugs such as marijuana and shabu-shabu (methamphetamine) are still a large problem in Pegangsaan, the situation was much worse in the past. “People traded illegal drugs without having to hide.”

Today, Eggy is off drugs and working to direct kids’ energies in more positive directions. He recruits younger residents to come to a small studio to sing and play musical instruments.

“There are many young people in Komunitas Proklamasi who actually have musical talent,” Eggy said. “What they don’t have is confidence.”

Each community in the program conducts a number of different programs, from workshops to fieldwork, all designed to improve the lives of residents in ways big and small.

Eggy said there were more than 500 people of all ages who were involved in the programs — roughly 10 percent of the area’s population. He said they were very optimistic that they could draw even more participants in the future.

Andi pointed out the importance of getting residents actively involved in the programs, saying that it was a way for people to use their energy for positive gains while building bonds by interacting more closely with each other.

“The more people get involved with the programs, the better it is for the community,” he said.

Andri, who is also a senior member of the environmental community, said that they had a long-term dream to turn the neighborhood into a green area. They actively encourage people to keep their houses clean and well-maintained.

“With the participation of the whole community, we regularly clean up our area,” Andri said.

The members of the environmental community also install decorative plants on the area’s streets, he said.

Both Andri and Eggy said that it was not always easy to get people to participate, so in developing programs, all of the communities implement what they call the 3-M strategy: mudah dilakukan (easy to do), menyenangkan dilaksanakan (fun to do) and melibatkan siapapun yang menginginkan (include everyone who is interested).

Imam said that it was not the volunteers who were responsible for the real changes. “It’s the people of Pegangsaan who are the real heroes,” he said.

“Our job is only to serve as the mediator and facilitator, the initiative comes directly from the people,” he said, adding that the volunteers meet with Pegangsaan residents to discuss their problems and work toward solutions. “When they need something, we will then try to connect them with companies or organizations that can help them.”

“The key of a healthy community is to create a group of people who have a collective responsiveness in facing all kinds of problems,” he said.

That, he said, is called social capital, the kind of people development that is not being done by the government. “Instead of building the people from the inside, our government always focuses on building the physical facilities,” he said.

Although there have been some dramatic improvements, Imam said that there were still many problems that needed to be solved, such as student dropouts and the ever-present poverty.

The challenge right now, he said, is to find a way to turn the residents’ activities into things that can be economically beneficial for them.

But Andi said thy were confident that things would get better. And as Pegangsaan continues to build on its successes, the community is reaching out to other nearby poor areas in Menteng.

“Their great motivation to move forward and free themselves from conflict is so inspiring,” GE Indonesia’s Inggita said. “I truly believe that Komunitas Proklamasi can be a very good example for other areas in Jakarta.”