Aiken from 'Idol' sings in Indonesian

Aiken from 'Idol' sings in Indonesian

Ivy Susanti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Clay Aiken, American Idol runner-up, has begun his debut tour
in Indonesia this week. But rather than performing any songs, he
was visiting the tsunami-ravaged province of Aceh as an
ambassador for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Fresh from his three-day trip that ended on Wednesday, Aiken
said in Jakarta on Thursday that he was in Aceh as part of a
fact-finding mission for the U.S. UNICEF committee.

The committee has raised money for tsunami victims, and the
Acehnese have benefited from this, particularly in helping
children continue their education.

"The trip was for fact-finding purposes. There are citizens in
the U.S. who have offered their time, effort, money and
resources. There are some who try to find out where their money
is going, what type of work is being done," he said.

Aiken said that, so far, all the U.S. funding had been well-
distributed to needy projects.

He said he also took part in publicizing UNICEF's School in
the Box program for Acehnese students. He said that the most
important thing to do was to keep children in school, and for
that, the countries devastated by the tsunami needed long-term
support.

"Because of that, we'll see children smiling and resuming
their normal lives as far as they can. I think that's the picture
that I want to see; what I hope to see is definitely the image
that I saw when I was there -- of children, families, who have
the hope of seeing their lives being rebuilt."

He became famous after his performance in the 2002 series of
American Idol, when he came second after Ruben Studdard. In 2003,
his debut solo album Measure of a Man sold over 2.6 million
copies overall and earned him a Double Platinum sales certificate
from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

But rarely have we seen his passion for education, especially
for people with disabilities. In 2003, Aiken set up the
Bubel/Aiken Foundation, whose mission is to encourage and
facilitate programs that enable children with disabilities to
integrate better with able-bodied people.

Aiken, who was born on Nov. 30, 1978, was named the U.S. Fund
for UNICEF national ambassador in 2004. The native of Raleigh,
North Carolina, is committed to supporting education programs for
children.

He graduated from the University of North Carolina --
Charlotte, with a special education degree in December 2003.

"I am a teacher in the U.S. and have set up a foundation in
the U.S. for children with disabilities. I think something like
that sort of reflects what was going on here. The idea of the
Bubel/Aiken foundation is also included here -- allowing all
children to have access to all opportunities, regardless of
disability."

He said his mission as an ambassador was to help children,
with or without disabilities, in many areas like those hit by
natural disaster, or in war-torn areas, to have access to basic
needs like clean water, nutrition or other activities like
education. His next tour would be of Uganda.

"After all, to be part of this does give me an opportunity in
some way to teach on a larger scale. I'm not necessarily in a
class room every day, but I'm in a situation where I hope to
bring information to people."

Aiken showed up in a casual outfit -- a green-striped, long-
sleeved top, Bermuda shorts and sneakers. He did not look like a
star, and his modesty has won the hearts of Indonesians. He was
accompanied by new UNICEF country director for Indonesia
Gianfranco Rotigliano.

A UNICEF staffer said she was deeply impressed by Aiken.

"I asked him for a photograph along with me, I told him that
my son adores him. He humbly said, 'Yes ma'am'. You know, I am
also his fan, I shed tears the moment he sang Bridge over
Troubled Water in the Idol final," said the official, who asked
to remain anonymous.

She has kept the photograph of her and Aiken as the wallpaper
on her computer. "He's very nice," she added.

A photo of Aiken talking to Acehnese children in a camp for
displaced persons has attracted the attention of many Indonesian
fans. To their disappointment, however, Aiken was not here to
sing.

"Quite a lot of people called UNICEF and asked about Clay. I
told them we have no information about his visit to Jakarta; he
was accomplishing his job in Aceh," the official said.

But Aiken did sing something in Indonesian to Acehnese
children. He sang an excerpt of an Indonesian scout song Disini
Senang Disana Senang (We're Happy Here and There) to the delight
of the audience at Thursday's news conference.

"I didn't do so well at the song, I tried, but I still have
trouble with the (Indonesian) language. I do remember (singing)
disini senang disana senang dimana-mana hatiku senang (we are
happy, here and there, we are happy everywhere). And I could
count satu, dua, tiga (one, two, three)," to the applause of the
spectators.

He said he had learned that from Ferry Salim, Indonesian actor
and UNICEF's Indonesian national ambassador.