Youths speak their minds through writing

Youths speak their minds through writing

Dewi Santoso, Jakarta

Children of today play a crucial role in turning this country
into a better place to live. Yet, with a lot of them having no
access to education, what will happen to Indonesia?

This question was raised by 14-year-old schoolgirl Ferina
Tjahjana, whose essay titled Dunia Anak Dunia Masa Depan
(Children's world in the future) won the initial writing
competition organized by the United Nations Children's Fund
(Unicef).

"The answer is simple: we shall all work hand-in-hand to help
create a world where these unfortunate children can secure an
education, otherwise they will have no chance of moving up,"
Ferina said on Monday.

A second year student at Pelita Harapan junior high school in
Karawaci, Tangerang, Ferina was inspired by her one-year
experience of volunteering on Saturdays to teach children of
scavengers and those who live near the Kepa Duri dump in West
Jakarta.

"I learned a lot from my experience as a volunteer. I learned
how spoiled I was as I sometimes threw away a pencil that could
still be used, while the children didn't even have paper or a
pencil to write with. That made me realize how fortunate I was,"
she said.

Another essay titled Siapa Pewaris Sah Republik Ini (Who's the
legitimate heir of this country) also won a Unicef award.

Written by Endang Rukmana, a third-year student at state SMU 1
senior high school in Serang, Banten, the essay asserts that
children, as the next generation, have a right to a better
education.

"Children's education is supposed to be fun. It's supposed to
be a process where we can play, laugh and express ourselves
freely. Don't sacrifice our right to education for business,
conflict or politics," he said.

The 17-year-old student said he believed education should
enable children to learn, play and create.

Ferina shared Endang's opinion, saying: "The ideal concept of
education for children is to have them learn and play in equal
measure, so that they won't consider studying a burden."

Unicef representative Steven Allen agreed with the two
youngsters.

"The key is to make the education process active, joyful and
participatory, instead of just chalk and talk by teachers," he
said.

He added that the essay competition was aimed at enabling
children to speak up so that their voices could be heard by their
peers and adults.

"Whether or not they agree with the articles, it's up to them.
The important message is that these young people's voices have
been heard," he said.

A total of 252 students from across the country participated
in the contest, 183 of whom were senior high school students, 58
junior high school students and the remaining from other
categories.

Twenty articles considered the best, including Ferina's and
Endang's, have been published by the Indonesian Children's
Welfare Foundation (YKAI) and will be distributed to school
libraries throughout the country.

Ferina and Endang received Rp 5 million (US$574.71) each from
Bank Niaga, while the other 18 students whose articles have been
published earned Rp 250,000 each.

Allen said Unicef would organize the competition annually
until 2010.