Sekolah Kami

Alex's school collects fresh fruit every Friday to send to neighboring schools where kids don't normally get much in the way of fresh produce.  The fifth grade classes got to take turns visiting one of these schools, Sekolah Kami (Our School), to deliver the fruit and see how the kids live.  Sadly, this ties into the unit they're studying on poverty.  I was unprepared for the experience and how truly poor we would find the people in this community.  They make pennies a day by going through trash to find anything that can be sold or recycled.  The school is there to give the kids and education and skills so that maybe they'll be able to break the cycle of poverty and have more options in life.

I thought we were going to help out the school but they did so much for us!  They welcomed us with a few songs.

We broke into small groups and we were shown around the community by a guide and a few students who live here.

This man described how he sorted the trash and what he was able to collect.  A kilo of plastic will earn him about 5 cents.

We got to visit a few homes and meet some of the younger kids.

My group of boys with their local buddies.

We dropped in the 1-2 grade classroom.  One of the kids was 9 years old and so excited to be at school, even if he started a few years later than the rest.

Next, the school kids taught our kids how they create handmade recycled paper.

I was happy to walk by and see the big bowl of fruit we were able to share.

Another group of students showed our kids how they use their paper to make cards.

Their creations were beautiful and can be sold for almost $1 apiece.

Alex really enjoyed making his own.

The final lesson was handmade soap.  (Ironically, no soap in the bathroom here)

All the kids enjoyed this lesson as well and got to bring home the soap they made.

The kids got to play some games together and it was so much fun watching them interact once they all warmed up to one another.

To practice their Bahasa, all the PIE kids interviewed a Sekolah Kami kid and had to try and translate all their answers.  A very cool assignment.

But we found that flossing is the universal language...

Finally, it was lunch time and all our kids brought lunches for their buddies.  We also brought big trays of chicken nuggets and mie goreng to share with the kids that didn't get to buddy up and they were all gratefully received. For some kids, it may be their only meal of the day.

We got a quick dance performance before we had to say goodbye.

It was a really incredible experience for me and hopefully for each of the kids as well.  We take so much for granted, like clean water and electricity in our homes.  These lovely kids didn't own much in the world but shared everything they had with us.

My crew on the way home after a memorable day.