|
Indonesia: Tsunami survivors’ spirit for learning |
|
|
|
Emergencies
|
|
Running to school; this excited boy in Lamno can’t wait to get inside his new classroom.
|
Almost 200 children have a safe, comfortable learning environment thanks to World Vision after a new school and kindergarten were handed over to the education department at an official ceremony in Lamno in Aceh Jaya district on 13 November 2007.
Students, teachers and parents were delighted when the head of their local education department, Drs. M. Nur Djuned, formally accepted the buildings from World Vision’s Acting Program Director Mr Hans Hohmann.
“This new school is really beautiful and I like the view and the classroom. The floor is tiled which we never had before. I’m so happy and I can’t wait to study in this classroom tomorrow morning!” said eight year old Safriani grinning as her friends squealed in delighted agreement.
World Vision constructed six classrooms, a staff room and modern toilet facilities with disabled access for the 108 primary students who attend the school.
The smart new kindergarten, located in a neighbouring village, has two classrooms, modern toilet facilities and a staff room too. The kindergarten principal recently implemented her own community education campaign to encourage parents to send their children along and is overwhelmed by the success with 75 children enrolled.
The earthquake and tsunami completely destroyed the school and kindergarten leaving only their foundations as reminders of the previous buildings. The tsunami also took the lives of 200 of the school’s students and three from the old kindergarten.
“Many children have been traumatized by the conflict and the tsunami but, at this kindergarten, they are able to share and study together again,” kindergarten principal Harnanunsa Emma Mutya explained.
“Initially, the other teachers and I had to reach out to communities and encourage them to send their children back to the kindergarten. Thank God their parents were supportive as originally we only had 30 kinder students and now it’s grown to 75 from several of the local villages.”
“I’d like to thank World Vision because we once had to study under a tent, then the organization provided us with a temporary prefab for our children to study and now, from today, we will study in this new beautiful permanent building that World Vision has provided,” she said gesturing at the pink building covered with party streamers for the special handover ceremony.
World Vision, through the generous support of WVUK was also able to provide furniture to the school and learning materials and playground equipment to both.
World Vision has made a significant contribution to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the education sector in Aceh and the handover of these schools and another next week (funded through the support of WV Germany) marks the completion of the construction or major rehabilitation of 14 schools and two kindergartens. In addition to constructing schools, World Vision has provided 22,400 Acehnese children from 171 schools with stationery, furniture, uniforms and textbooks.
During the early emergency and recovery phase, we provide tent schools and 129 prefabricated buildings used for 25 temporary schools.
World Vision has also trained more than 500 teachers as part of the “Creating Learning Communities for Children” education program. This program, supported by the national Ministry of Education, seeks to actively engage communities in their children’s education and trains educators in a child centred teaching methodology that promotes “Active, Joyful and Effective Learning”.
|
