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.