Children provide an example for the adults of the world

Dewi Anggraeni, Contributor, Melbourne, Australia

Even if you are a hardened person, and praise does not necessarily sway you, a poignantly beautiful poem, especially one written by a group of children, and an offer of friendship, will certainly melt your heart.

And when this poem is presented to you in a beautiful frame on your birthday, it will no doubt make it all the more touching.

On 17 August, after the Independence Day commemoration ceremony at the Consulate General in Melbourne, Australia, three students from Kilvington Girls Grammar School, accompanied by their principal and deputy, expressed their friendship for Indonesia by presenting an extraordinary gift to Consul General Wahid Supriyadi and his wife Murgiyati.

Unwrapping it, Wahid and the gathering found themselves looking at a large frame containing three prayer sheets and a poem, two photographs showing where the prayer sheets had been hung as prayer flags, a Kilvington logo, and a brief explanation.

Looking at it, it is obvious that it was a present made with care by our young friends. However, what makes it particularly heart-warming is the story behind this gift.

After the tsunami disaster that devastated Aceh last December, Kilvington held its usual Grandparents and Special Friends' Day, where it was decided that they should make prayer flags for the victims of the horrific disaster.

The idea was inspired by a Tibetan belief that prayers blow through the wind and eventually reach their destination. So the students made about 100 prayer flags in a gesture of peace, hope and goodwill, with appropriately penned words, such as "Dear God, we pray that the tsunami victims find peaceful new lives. Amen", and "Dear God, look after all the children who lost their relatives and friends. Amen".

Bianca, a year-six student at the school, who made one of the flags, said, "For six months the prayer flags have been flying in the school courtyard. Each time the wind has blown, our thoughts and prayers have been blown to Indonesia and to all our global neighbors."

The idea of trusting the wind to relay our prayers also reflects our dependence on nature to help heal the wounds, and redress the balance after an enormous disturbance to what we had taken for granted as the normal structure of our lives.

Some students, with the help of a dad, also penned a poem, titled, Indonesia Sahabatku (Indonesia, my good friend): Can you hear the whispers? Beyond the Timor Sea Prayers of understanding For you. From me The wrathful waves are calm now But tears still fall like rain I pause for those who suffered Such tragedy. Such pain

Can you feel the breeze now? Brush softly on your face It's my heartfelt prayer from Kilvington With quiet and loving grace Indonesia neighbor Please know that our school cares Indonesia Sahabatku Forever in my prayers

Hear my gentle whisper To you, with love, we send Our flags, our hopes, our prayers for peace Indonesia. Friend

In the frame presented to Wahid, are three of the flags made six months ago, which have been blowing their messages to the survivors of the tsunami, and the poem so sincerely written.

Kilvington principal Judith Potter aptly said, "We hope that through our prayer flags our students have delivered a message that may even be an example for the adults of the world."

So we keep hoping.