Those Who Left Behind

There’s a lot of community work in Bandung that help educate the street kids. But there is something different about this community called Sahaja. They do their activity in one of the building at Ciroyom traditional market. Most of the volunteer are students that came from ITB, UNISBA and UNPAD. They teach the kids hoping that they gain more self esteem even though they live in the streets.
One of the volunteer that has been teaching there for more than a year said that after ‘living’ with the kids she has different perspective in life “Never again I complain about the way I live, the stuff that I have to buy and any other target that I have in my life. After ‘living’ with these kids that have to sing on the streets when they are hungry and want to buy food, I don’t worry when the end of the month I already out of money.”
In this community, the children experience one of the most important thing that everybody deserve, that is formal education. Three times a week the children come from all over Bandung to the building at Ciroyom. But the place is so different from formal school. The back of the building is a dump side. You can smell the garbage almost instantly when you entering the building and yet everybody seems fine about it.
You can see an 11 year old that sniffing glue like a child eating candy. When they are supposed to be playing with their games and have the happiest moment in their childhood life, they force live in the streets and playing with danger.
At the Sahaja is the one place that the children can act like a real children. They learn about math, biology, religion and everything that they want to know. They sing, they play and the volunteer try to do the best they can to built their self esteem and to be confident. One of the main problem of the children beside poverty is their confident is so low.
The thing that makes Sahaja’s children is different is the eagerness that shown on their face. “ They teach us to be grateful for what we have, because God already have plan for each one of so.” said Ramdan, one of the volunteer there. (Fitria)