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BEING ABANDONED

Yohannes Mochtar Gembul, a 39-year-old man, has been living at the Vincentius Putra House for Orphans in central Jakarta for 32 years.

He spent the first seven years of his childhood in the Boncel House for Orphans in South Jakarta. He has never known who his parents are.

Besides working in the orphanage's laundry, he sometimes helps to supervise the children living there, who range in age from 7 to 18. His biggest dream is to finally meet his real parents. He once visited a psychic in West Java in order to track them down, but the effort failed.

Yohannes has found it difficult to marry and build his own family, as the families of his girlfriends do not accept him as an orphan. So Yohannes continues to search for his parents, refusing to give up hope that he will someday find them.

This photo story has been presented in World Press Photo Photojournalism Course in Jakarta, Indonesia, 2005.

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