” You must be the change you want to see in the World.” – Mahatma Gandhi

November 14 -18 marked the celebration of SWA’s first ever Universal Children’s Week. The SWA community celebrated the actions being taken by our students together with local communities to address the eight United Nations Millennium Developments Goals (UNMDGs).

During the week there were many events that celebrated children within our community; these included a stunning performance by the Elementary school choir, a Model United Nations assembly, whole school environmental Art project, a Habitat for Humanity build, a visit by children from Sekolah BISA, a drama performance by Grade 6 and children from the Nurul Farah mosque and not to forget the action packed Community Picnic.

The UNMDGs Through the Eyes of Model United Nations (MUN)

During Universal Children’s Week MUN students prepared a presentation, about the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, for SWA students. We split ourselves into two groups, one for the MSHS and ES students and the other for the Grade 4 and Grade 5 students. Our goal was to educate others about global issues and what the United Nations is doing to help solve them.

The elementary group split themselves into pairs and each couple explained a different goal. The presentation was not too serious because they wanted the elementary students to understand what they were saying and not get bored in the middle of it. I think they did really well. The children were laughing, asking questions and they seemed to enjoy themselves.

At one point, however, they had a bad moment because they didn’t deliver the message about gender equality correctly and had to explain it again afterwards. During our Q&A we gave out snacks as prizes to anyone who could answer a question.

The MSHS group presentation was much more serious and included detailed information about six of the UNMDGs specifically focusing on children. Their presentation was clear and interesting and all of them were confident on the stage. Overall, both of our presentations were a success.

Annisa Leialohilani, Grade 10-1

Special Visitors from Sekolah BISA

On 24 November, 26 students of Sekolah BISA visited SWA to celebrate Universal Children’s Week. Sekolah BISA is a school for unschooled children in the Bintaro area it was created by 5 IB schools in Jakarta together with sponsorship from the Body Shop, Yayasan Cinta Anak Bangsa and UNICEF Indonesia.

When the children from Sekolah BISA first arrived at SWA, they had lunch in the Bamboo Court and then had a craft lesson where they made “Thank You” cards to give the Grade 2 students, for the shoeboxes full of resources that they would receive from them later. After the craft lesson, we had a soccer match between the students of SWA and the students of Sekolah BISA. The children had a lot of fun!

Time went by really fast! After the football the children got the chance to use the SWA classrooms for their regular Thursday afternoon lessons and the students did better and were more engaged than they normally are at Sekolah BISA. After the lesson we gave the students their “Sekolah BISA healthy Snacks” which is a glass of milk and a piece of fruit, because at Sekolah BISA, we also want to improve their nutrition.

After snack time the students of Sekolah BISA got the chance to meet the Grade 2 students. Each of the Grade 2 students had prepared a shoebox filled with the things that they thought the students of Sekolah BISA would need and students from Sekolah BISA had prepared the “Thank You” cards. All of the children from Sekolah BISA and SWA looked happy!

At the end of the day the Sekolah BISA students took showers in the Sports and Aquatic Center and our SWA bus then took them home. Even though the SWA students who are a part of the SWA team of SB felt exhausted, we felt really happy and we had such a great time!

Audrey Siregar, Grade 12

Building a Better Future

SWA Grade 8 build with Habitat for Humanity

In my opinion Habitat for Humanity is a wonderful organization that helps unfortunate people build homes for themselves to live in, but at the same time lets other people and students take action and understand these issues. I think it’s nice that we get to have this experience and it definitely raised our awareness about the environment we live in and the people around us.

I personally think every student should be able to have the same experience as we do.  It was fun and also educational, and by raising more people’s awareness, there is a chance that more people will make a difference in the future. I felt like building the house was hard work, but not only that, I think living in a village like that itself is hard, as you don’t get all the resources you need all the time. The villagers there don’t get the same luxury as we have in the city; not all of them get to even live inside a house. I think it’s a good idea by Habitat for Humanity to let us build houses for the villagers. I felt like we helped the villagers at least a little bit.

Due to our lack of experience in building, I felt like some of the jobs we did weren’t very successful. In building the iron support many of us were having trouble making the iron support for the house. It was very difficult because sometimes the wire wasn’t tied correctly, and we couldn’t undo it. We needed a lot of help from the experts.

We also interviewed some of the village people. I interviewed the village RT (village leader) and he told us about his jobs and how things have changed throughout the years in the village. He explained that more people have gotten shelter to live in, but there are still a lot of others that haven’t. He told us he was very grateful for our help.

As a result of the interview, I felt like the villagers were very nice people, and though they aren’t as lucky as we are, they have a strong ambition to continue their lives for their next generations. The RT of the village works very hard to keep the village in shape, too. I’m very happy for the spirit of the villagers.

In conclusion, I think it was a very inspiring and wonderful experience. We got to learn a lot about different people’s lives, and we also got to help them with their lives. If I get the chance, I would like to join this sort of activity again to make a difference.

Jenny Panata, Grade 8-3

The Right to Education

The High School Global Issues Network Indonesia Group (GINDO) simulates with the struggles many children face to receive an education for Grade 4 students.

During Universal Children’s Week the High School GINDO group visited the Grade 4s to let them experience what it is like to be a child growing up in one of India’s poorest regions, Tamil Nadu. They started the simulation by showing the Grade 4s a variety of photos of children who spend their days carrying bricks, working in the fields, sewing footballs, making firecrackers and asked them to write down how these images made them feel.

After the introduction each student received a card with information on it about a real child from Tamil Nadu. This information listed what district the child lived in, if he/she had transport, whether or not his/her mother or father had a job and his/her dream of what they wanted to do when they were older. At the beginning of the simulation some of the Grade 4s were lucky to start in school and others who were not so lucky started the simulation living in the slum. The aim of the game was to stay in school or get into school so that they could achieve their dream profession. Throughout the game, scenarios were pulled out of a bag that either helped children to move from the slum into school or send children from school back to the slum.

At the end of the game their were some children who achieved their goal, received an education, achieved their dream profession and then had decided what they would do with their new found success. Predictably all those who achieved their dream decided they could now help others who were still out of school.

Before ending the simulation the Grade 4s were asked to reflect on their experience and see if they could make any connections between the lives of children in Tamil Nadu and those of many children who live in Indonesia. Many connections were made and there was a realization that this needs to change, and that we can be part of this change through taking action.

Friendship in a Shoebox

The High School Student Council engages Grade 2s in meaningful service for children from Sekolah BISA.

During Universal Children’s Week, High School Student Council decided to organize an activity that could raise awareness about issues facing street children in Indonesia. We decided to organize a campaign called, “Operation Shoebox”. This campaign’s purpose was to collect necessary objects in a shoebox for local students who are living in poverty. The year group that participated in this activity was SWA’s Grade 2 students. They were really engaged and passionate about this project beyond our expectation.

Before asking the Grade 2s to collect items for the shoebox, the High School STUCO delivered a short presentation to Grade 2 students that showed the environment the street children live in and asked them to think of what they might need. During the presentation, many of the students could not believe their eyes; they were shocked that there are children their age who do not have the same opportunities as them. After the presentation, the students were able to clearly identify what objects those children might need and started to plan what to put inside their individual shoeboxes.

Students put various objects such as toiletries, stationery, and clothes in their shoeboxes along with their own picture and a letter for the child who will be getting the shoebox. In total 28 shoeboxes that were collected, which was an amazing number of shoeboxes with meaningful objects inside.

The day the SWA children shared their shoeboxes with the children from Sekolah BISA was a memorable one. The activity was a success and raised awareness of about how many children in Indonesia live underprivileged lives. Grade 2 students really enjoyed this experience and learned many things through this project.

The High School Student Council would like to thank the Grade 2 students who eagerly participated and their parents who kindly supported this project. Lastly, we would like to express our gratitude to Ms. Susan, Ms. Briony, and Mr. Rick who worked extremely hard to help us organizing this event. Once again, thank you for all your support and we look forward to expanding this project next year!

Kong Won Jun, Grade 10-2

Acting out the Future

A drama performance of the UNMDGs by Grade 6 and children from the Nurul Farah Orphanage

On 11 November 2011, some of the Grade 6 students attended a drama workshop to learn more about the millennium goals of the world. We worked with Nurul Farah children from the Mosque and got to know each other better. We played games together and made tableaus with Ms Julie and Mr Geoffrey. We even played some sport games together at break time and showed them around the school.

We remembered and understood all the eight-millennium goals:

·      Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

·      Achieve universal primary education

·      Promote gender equality and empower women

·      Reduce child mortality

·      Improve maternal health

·      Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases

·      Ensure environmental sustainability

·      Develop a Global Partnership for development

With these goals, every group chose a topic and made two tableaus with it, one for the problem and one for the solution.  At the end of the day we acted out the tableaus in front of the SWA community. We really enjoyed this activity and we look forward to seeing them again.

Gaby Gwen and Georgina Lie, Grade 6

Art for A Brighter Future

Firstly a huge “Thank You” to the SWA community for the incredible Universal Children’s Week and the support of the Art Project. The aim of the Art project was to get the students, teachers, staff, and parents together to work on pieces of art that highlight the Millennium Goal of Environmental Sustainability. We wanted students to be aware of the amount of rubbish in school. We wanted students to find better uses for the wasteful amount of rubbish we create within the school. Also for students to think about how we could better

·      Reduce the packaging of our rubbish,

·      Reuse the rubbish items after they are emptied or cleaned out for construction materials, and

·      Recycle materials through a local company. Contributing to creating a cleaner more resourceful school.

One of these aims was achieved during the week with the students creating artwork with the rubbish collected in only one week! The students transformed the rubbish into eight colorful collections to symbolize the eight Millennium Goals.

Before the week started there were clear bins in the restaurant and café areas of Bamboo Court, Koi, Topeng, and Wayang. It was wonderful to see the whole school community taking action to support the use of the recycling bins. Working towards making a difference and informing, ourselves and our students, to the importance of being mindful of the amount of rubbish we actually create on a daily basis. Having the waste visible to the students and community strengthens the desire to take action and work towards, as a whole SWA community the Millennium Goal of Environmental Sustainability for all of our futures.

The environmental artist John Dahlsen inspired the students. I was truly impressed and humbled by the attitudes of concern the children expressed for the amount of waste that they saw being created. With nearly full bottles of water or juice being thrown away, many students came to me during the creation of the artwork and explained how they felt and what people should do to help our environment.

The clear change that occurred to the rubbish from waste to artwork engaged all of our students to make a difference. One Grade 4 student, said on the Monday after Universal Children’s Week ‘Where did the recycle bins go I have something to recycle?’  Should our next step of ACTION for the SWA community be to put into place proper recycling bins for Paper, Plastic, Metal and Waste materials and establish an arrangement to have these materials appropriately recycled in our local area? Will you support the change and help create a better future for all before 2015?….

Community Picnic

The first Community Picnic held at SWA brought an end to a most successful week, in celebration of the Universal Children’s Week. There was massive participation from the Elementary School students in what proved to be a fun-filled afternoon. There was obstacle courses, different races from egg and spoon to 3-legged and of course not forgetting, soak the teachers with wet sponges. There was laughter, cheering as we all worked together to make this lot of fun. We look forward to next year’s event in which we hope to see lots of Mum and Dads involved in the fun.

Goodbye Goldilocks, Hello Houses!

To kick-start the fundraising Mr John and Mr Rick pledged to have their goldilocks shaved off at the end of the week if the sum of IDR 50 million was reached. As the week unfolded both Mr Bruce and Ms Liz decided to put their hair on the chopping block too. In the end a total of IDR 140 million was raised and the locks disappeared all for a good cause, to provide four houses for those who need it most. Thanks to the whole community for contributing to this cause!

 

“The Right to ACT” – Student-led Projects at SWA

Ethical Pride

UNMDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Student Leaders: Monica Santa & Elena Lie (Grade 9)

Students from Grade 9 created a fair trade look book to educate the community about fair trade locally and globally - www.wix.com/ethicalpride/official

Habitat for Humanity

UNMDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Student leader: Eunice Simbar (Grade 11)

Habitat for Humanity is a school wide project led by students in Grade 11 to build houses for communities living in poverty

Riveria English Language Program

UNMDG 2: Achieve universal primary education

Student leader: Cynthia Jaya (Grade 9)

Students from Grades 6-9 teach English to children from Lengkong village

Riveria Mobile Library

UNMDG 2: Achieve universal primary education

Student leader: Abyan Faqih (Grade 12)

Students from Grades 6-12 operate a mobile library that brings books to children from Lengkong village

Sekolah BISA

UNMDG 2: Achieve universal primary education

Student leader: Audrey Siregar (Grade 12)

Students from Grades 10-12 educate street children from Bulakan Village, who attend Sekolah BISA

Riveria Football Academy

UNMDG 4: Child Health

Student leader: Argha Putra (Grade 12)

Students from Grades 10-12 use SWA sporting facilities to organize football training for children from Lengkong village

Teddy Baby Project

UNMDG 5: Promote gender equality and empower women

Student leader: Alice Liang (Grade 12)

Students from Grades 9-12 empower women through teaching them sewing skills to create Teddy Bears. Proceeds generated from selling the bears are given back to the community and used to keep the project running.

Caretakers of the Environment International (CEI)

UNMDG 7: Ensure environmental sustainability

Student Leader: Won Jun (Grade 10)

Students from Grades 8-11 connect with students and teachers from other countries who address environmental issues in their communities.

Students for Animal Voices and Ethics (SAVE)

UNMDG 7: Ensure environmental sustainability

Student leader: Adellea Greenbury ( Grade 8 )

Students from Grades 6-12 research issues connected to the well being of animals and actions they can take to help them.

Global Issues Network Indonesia (GINDO)

UNMDG 8: Develop a global partnership for development

Student Leaders: Monica Santa & Elena Lie (Grade 9)

Students from Grades 8-12 organize a conference for students from International, National Plus, and Local schools to share actions they are taking in their communities to address global environmental and humanitarian issues.