“We learned how to organize an activity and having experience to care with elderly when we visited the nursing home”
When we just arrived at the school in Tangerang, West Java, Indonesia we saw the children enjoying the school orientation. They were laughing happily and made me smile, their excitement reminded me why I believe in the work we do.
When we said Hi to them, they were so excited. Behind of their smile they gave to us, we saw their hopes. Not only hope of the students itself, but also hope from their parents. We saw the hard work and the enthusiasm from the students. Most of the students are come from middle- and low-income family which most of their parent can’t send them to school. But those schools give fully funded scholarship for them to continue their study by inviting the good income family to do donation and charity for the school fee for them. The school already apply the social enterprises to the parents and community as well. From our visitation, we also learn so many things from what the kids have done there. We remember what the Program Manager from Yayasan Amal Khair Yasmin Mr. Sulis said to us that Aflatoun has really great mission and vision to the world by inviting the young people and the community not only how to be financially independent but also the value to care with each other by the social enterprises. So, when the youth be successful, they not only thinking how to gain more but also how to care and share to others in need. To support those value and mission through the Aflatoun program, the school has some initiatives for the activity to support the students, like Art activities, Summer Green Camp, Gardening, Community Service and School Mini Bank.
- Art activity
When the first time we walked through school corridor, there were so many students gathering at the school field. The school principal and teachers were welcoming us and so happy to see us visiting their school. The students are busy with their activity on the orientation day and they were so excited to know their new school. We saw the kindergarten students were doing the exercise before start the class. When we walked to the school hall, we saw so many good paintings with the abstract and nature scenery hanging on the class room wall. We were really curious who was painting this and the teachers said the students were made it. We were so happy that the students have such wonderful painting and the most important things, the students get support from the school and the teachers as well how to express themselves though the art activity. The teachers also invited us to walk to the exhibition room and saw all the paintings. The students told us about who inspire them for painting while they really enjoy the activity. “We were so happy when we are making the painting and make us feel better” students’ said.
When we finished interacting with the students, they gave us their painting as a gift for us. They said that through the Aflatoun program, it help them to express themselves with the support from the school and parents.
When most of schools have not applying the Aflatoun program, the school activity more focus on the academic achievement of the students, but not really help the students to find their passion and know more about themselves.
Besides painting, the students learn about how to play the music instrument. Twice a week the students has music class and they learn how to sing and create their own song. They like to have performance at the school events or they also invited to join in some agenda held by the school outside.
1. Summer Green Camp
The school also has an initiative to make Summer Green Camp. The students were invited to have fun activities and outbound at the beach for two days. The students are joining some fun activities like cleaning the beach, learning the basic skill of managing the money and they also watching the football match between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. The students were invited to learn how to plant the corral and how to keep the ecosystem of the beach. Through those activity, they found many “aha moment” and learning so many new things.
There is a story about the students who really passive and doesn’t really want to participated in any school activity. His name is Habibi, he was a shy and silent boy at school and the school invited him to join. Something amazing happened when he tried to actively participated in the activity and the friends really support him. When he got his first certificate, the certificate of recognition from the Summer Green Camp, his parents felt so proud and in tears. [PS1]
There is one student, namely Habibi an introverted learner’s transformation into an active participant was another highlight of the programme.
- Gardening
After we have conversation with the students for the painting, we were heading to the other school and we were welcomed by the students with a nice smile. They were escorted us to go to the school and telling us about the activity they have. Proudly they showed us the garden project (hydroponic) they made and planting the vegetables. The school that has this project is a boarding school and all of the students are boy. They start to make hydroponic gardening by buying the hydroponic media and they made the prototype from those media that they bought. The students told us; they start this project by trying to get the sponsorship from the businessman around the school. The harvest of the gardening used by the students for their consumption and make the smoothy. They sold some of harvest to the community around the school. For the extra income from gardening used by the students to make their garden keep growing and buy more variety of vegetables or fruit they can plant.
- Community service
Besides the school activities, the students also invited in community activity like visiting the elderly at the nursing home. The students tried to interact with them and have some discussion. They told us that with the Aflatoun activity implementing at school, the students said that they not only learn how to be independent, but also how to still care and share with others. Because when they share something, they feel happy and peace. They feel it because they were able to see another people feel happy with what they have done.
- School Mini Bank
After the students have income like from gardening and others, they need to be able to save some for their future goal. The school invite the students to save their money at the School Bank and all managed by the students under the teacher assistance. They have the manual and also the digital version saving tracking which the parents are able to tract the saving of their children at school.
They told us the process on how to make their bank account. In the registration process, the students had to register for the account by using their parent’s phone number and to access the mini bank mobile application. Most of the students save their money to buy something they want or some of them use it for buying airplane ticket to back home to their city. Because some of the student comes from another province and it is so far and of course they need to be prepare for their trip.
In this uncertainty situation about what had happening around the world and there are so many unpredictable things happen; we need to prepare our young people to be prepared for this uncertainty. What we can do to help them is by having skills they can apply to for their life in the future and having a better life for themselves and for their community. We need to make the young people realize that they are the agent of change to make this world become a better place for all to life. Keeping the value on how to treat human as human, respect each other, support each other and together want to see others have achieve their dream goal.
There are so many important skills need to be prepared by our young people like critical thinking, problem solving, financial and social enterprises, communication skills. And through the Aflatoun program we have at the school, we are together able to make it comes true.