JP\/18\/SCHL1<\/p>\n
checked -JSR
\nSchool turns scavengers into scholars, citizens<\/p>\n
Karen Stingemore
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
With the Indonesian flag flying high above the entrance way and
\nthe echo of laughter and eager voices drifting along the
\ncorridor, PKBM (Pusat Kegiatan Belajar Masyarakat, or Center For
\nCommunity-Based Learning Activities) seems like any other
\nIndonesian elementary school.<\/p>\n
The school, however, is special and has given hundreds of poor
\nand desperate children and parents in the district of Pondok
\nKelapa, East Jakarta, the prospect of a brighter future.<\/p>\n
Three years ago, the school was opened by a small but
\ndedicated group of people in Pondok Kelapa to teach refugee
\nchildren, but it turned out that children of local scavengers
\nwere attending as well.<\/p>\n
When the refugee children left, the government forced the
\nclosure of the school, which meant the local youngsters would
\nhave been denied any chance of an education.<\/p>\n
The teachers decided they were not going to abandon them and
\nthrough gritty determination secured new premises in the same
\ndistrict, the abandoned district offices of the Department of
\nEducation.<\/p>\n
The teachers managed to make an agreement with the government
\nthat allowed them to stay at the premises for five years.<\/p>\n
To let people know about the school in its early days it
\nadvertised on the radio; through such advertising volunteers from
\nvarious student groups from Indonesian universities, as well as
\nvolunteers from the public, jumped on board to help set up the
\nschool.<\/p>\n
Looking at the school now you can hardly believe that six
\nmonths ago the building was abandoned, decrepit and decaying.<\/p>\n
Teachers and volunteers sweated it out to make the classrooms
\nusable and the buildings are now adorned with colorful pictures
\nand charts; there is a comfortable library with children's books
\nand cartoons and the furniture in the kindergarten classroom is
\npainted in bright colors.<\/p>\n
The school roll has grown from 30 to 120 children, from
\nkindergarten to sixth grade. There are six volunteer teachers and
\ntheir only form of payment is transportation money.<\/p>\n
School hours are from 8 a.m. through 1 p.m., with kindergarten
\nfinishing at 10:30 a.m.<\/p>\n
The children are given lunch three times a week and donations
\nthe school receives are awarded to the children as prizes for
\ngood work.<\/p>\n
Winning over the parents<\/p>\n
One of the original founders and teachers, Ibu Novi, said she
\nnever dreamed the school would become what it is today.<\/p>\n
\"When we first set up the school the only resources we had
\nwere volunteers and time. When people first heard about the
\nschool it was difficult to convince parents to allow their
\nchildren to attend because their offspring were sources of
\nincome, but now the parents understand the importance of
\neducation,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"Initially, we attracted students to the school by selling
\nrice at half its usual price; when the parents came to buy the
\nrice the teachers would explain to them that educating their
\nchildren
\nwas the most important thing they could do for them.\"<\/p>\n
To provide the parents with an added incentive to continue
\nallowing their children to go to school, the students are picked
\nup and dropped off in a school-owned vehicle, while rice is
\ndistributed free each month to the families of the children.<\/p>\n
As she walks around the school helping with lessons and
\nhanding out donations to the grateful children, you can see
\nclearly Novi's passion for what she does.<\/p>\n
\"Every day these children work to help support their families
\nby going through the garbage for recyclable items they can sell;
\nwe just want to be able to give them something in return,\" Novi
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The school focuses on giving the children valuable life skills
\nas well as providing them with the usual elementary curriculum.<\/p>\n
\"During the first year, we spent the majority of our time
\nteaching them to sit still, how to bathe and not to fight,\" she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Parents benefit, too<\/p>\n
\"The children aren't the only ones benefiting from the school
\nas the mothers are given lessons on how to cook. We see the
\nimportance of not only educating the children on cleanliness,
\netiquette and nutrition, but also the parents.<\/p>\n
\"Once the students in sixth grade have completed their
\nschooling they can take a public exam and receive an elementary
\nschool certificate; we see this as a great achievement for them.\"<\/p>\n
The school is self-funded (although it relies on donations)
\nand one of its ventures is to teach the children how to make
\nliquid soap and to sell it.<\/p>\n
There is also a small stand at the school that sells food. The
\nschool provides the goods to sell and teaches the students to
\ngive the correct change to customers. The students receive a
\nsmall salary for working at the stand but the life skills being
\ntaught at such an enterprise are priceless.<\/p>\n
The students also collect plastic bottles and give them to the
\nschool for its primary funding source, its recycling plant.
\nThe school rents a small piece of land where its recycling plant
\nprocesses 700 kilograms to one tonne of plastic per day.
\nThe plastic bottles are broken down into pellets, which are then
\nexported.<\/p>\n
The small factory has five employees -- three who grind the
\nplastic and two who search for it.<\/p>\n
Before the plastic is processed in the machine it is washed
\nwith soap and water and the labels and tops are taken off, with
\nthe bottle tops also being sold.<\/p>\n
After a full day's work at the school Novi heads off to spend
\nthe rest of her day at the recycling plant.<\/p>\n
Such burning dedication to provide these children with an
\neducation is seen in all who work at the school; one might ask
\nwhat is their reward?<\/p>\n
The answer is clear to anyone who visits the school: the
\nsmiles on the childrens' faces as they absorb new things, find
\ncompanionship with other students and are rewarded for good work.<\/p>\n
This is one of the happiest schools you are likely to find and
\nalso one of the poorest; one might argue, however, it is endowed
\nwith riches beyond belief.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp18schl1-1447899208",
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