23rd May 2012, by Jasmine

After a long flight from London I had finally arrived in Bali. My first impression of the IHF centre was how different it was to London! I arrive at the centre at about 3pm and it is very hot and i’m very tired! The centre is in between two villages so it is very quiet and the only noises to be herd during the night are the waves and the occasional rooster crowing! My first day teaching was very exciting. Classes start at 1pm but the children’s smiling faces start arriving at 12pm. They run around the big back yard in the centre and look very happy to be here. At 1pm they run to where there classes are. My first class that i taught were 5 and 6 year olds, they were so small and cute! The lesson was on animals. I would write down the name of different animals then show them a picture, then i would get them to call out any other animals that they knew. They all wanted to write on the whiteboard so we played a game and they climbed up onto the front desk and wrote their answer. Class went for one hour then at 2pm they ran to their next class. In obne of the classes this week they started chanting “swimming, swimming”! The class were about 15 children so the chant was getting louder! Finally when class was over and the teacher said they could go they all jumped in the pool screaming and laughing.

The centre is very child friendly and i can picture myself as a kid again running around outside around the ponds and running up and down the stairs.

Life here is very peaceful but when the kids arrive the house comes alive and is very noisy, as soon as they leave there is mostly silence. At the moment there are two other volunteers, Sophie and her mum Jane, there is Ho who has been here for two months and is leaving next week, there’s Arnau who has lived in Indonesia for 2 years but is from Barcelona, who has also been the director for the last few weeks, then the new director Micah arrived yesterday from the U.S, there is also Azgus (pronounced Agus) who is the care taker of the house, he looks after the centre and us volunteers and the workers. His duties are very broad and he makes sure we are comfortable.

When i’m not planning classes, i go for walks along the rocky beach. The tide is high in the morning so i sit on the rocks or try and walk along them but that is a little bit tricky. In the afternoon at around 4pm the tide has gone out so i walk along the black sand to the otherside of the beach.

It’s currently 12pm so i better go plan for the next class!

Jasmine

21st May 2012, by Hossein

Hello everybody

Please accept another warm and kindly greeting from IHF Aceh center.

This is 20^th May 2012 and I hope wherever you are and read this article be happy and have a good fun. This week has been passed with some especial moments. One of them which I really excited to let you know is about Syifa who gets ready to go school in June. We went and bought two shoes, one for sport another for her school and also one school pink bag for her. She is very happy with these things, especially her shoes which have colorful light in its bottom. Please see the photos and find how she is beautiful and happy with even small donation of sponsor.

I think this is a simple example of humanity. There is no need to do big things for helping others. Even with these pieces of action from the far location of the other side of the world, people can make a difference and make a kid happy in there. Although for those who care about other human I think geographical boundaries is meaningless. Especial thanks for all Syifa sponsors who support her livelihood, education and health, and keep this little lovely kid always happy.

Bye,

Hossein

14th May 2012, by Hossein

Hello everybody

Another week in May have been passed in Aceh Center. Students were coming back to center gradually, but still their numbers are very limited. We have only two student in computer class and nearly 6 in our English classes.

Although the number of students in computer class is very low, but they are very good students and always want to learn more.  As I am the only person in the center I teach both English and computer in the center. I teach MS word and MS Excel in computer class but I want to manage to teach MS project and power point in there too.

Sometimes I mix the classes as the numbers of students are very low. It is very fun, as they can learn from each other and enjoying being together.

In attachment you can find some pictures from English class which have been mixed, and show the children while drawing a poster for their sponsors.

13th May 2012, by Louise

This week is exciting for us at IHF Medan Center. Some kids came here often to accompany me in the center, study together, and sometimes they help me and Devika to clean the house J . They are very lovely. After cleaning the house, we usually bought ice cream at the supermarket near the center. It’s really fun! I really enjoyed my days in here.

This week becomes a stressful week for sixth grade, as they will follow the National Exams in their school. Many of those afraid, but there is also claimed that they had prepared for this exam. I wish our children pass their exams, got a good results. Amen to that!

14th May 2012, by Thibault

IHF Jakarta welcomed a new volunteer this week. Her name is My, she is originally from Vietnam but lives in Korea and came as an exchange student in Jakarta. She kindly proposed her help to teach Elementary grades 5 and 6. The kids already get along with her and for sure they enjoy their new teacher.

Last week, we also painted and re-decorated one of the volunteers room upstairs. It looks much nicer and welcoming now. We were melting due to heat while painting but we all had fun doing it, everybody joined, Ayu, Nia, Arnau, Ade and I.

Life goes on well at the Jakarta Center, we had a couple of new children who joined english and computer classes. Last Friday, Arnau and I went to advertise about IHF near a high school, hoping to recruit new students for higher grades classes.

Bye Bye

7th May, 2012 by Ayşe

My time in Jakarta has been very busy yet magnificent! Albeit, I am not a teacher myself, the enthusiasm and eagerness of the children has made very easy to teach. They are extremely friendly, respectful and full of love. While it was difficult to communicate at times, their passion helped me break the language barrier.

The highlight of my stay was teaching yoga to the mothers of the students. They were so attentive and eager to learn more! In a small and a hot room (which led us do natural bikram yoga ☺), I did yoga three times a week with adults and once a week with teenagers. It was a bliss!

IHF Jakarta is full of positive and welcoming people who have been very helpful through out my stay. I had the chance to understand the Indonesian way of living life and farther live like one for three weeks. Even though it was brief, I’ve spent the most wonderful three weeks of my life at the Jakarta centre. I’d like to take this chance to thank the IHF team for giving me this opportunity.

28th April 2012, by Arnau

Enjoy this old school video clip where you can see classes in Jakarta and in Medan

28th April 2012, by Hossein

Hi everyone.

Another week in Aceh center IHF passed with many fun and joy. Students gradually coming back to center; we had two English classes with five students in total last week. One elementary class and one junior class. The elementary class held by two students, Zahra (the third student) was absent and her classmate told me she is sleep. I just hope they are right and she is ok. However we have another new student in our junior class. The elementary class drew a poster for their sponsor and that was very beautiful. They really enjoy of painting. You just need to give them an idea, and they do amazing job. Please find the picture of them while drawing their poster.

 

Hossein

Director of Aceh center

23rd April 2012, by Arnau

Thank you very much to Arnau for this absolutely awesome Video about Jakarta center.

Well done !

22nd April 2012, by Hossein

Hi everyone, another greeting from IHF Aceh center. My name is Hossein and I am a director of this center. Unfortunately because of renovation of the center we have been obliged to decrease the number of classes in here but our Earth English class held last week. Still think that there is silence by lacking of students here? NOT at all. Syifa and I make the center busy more than one hundred people and it is really fun here. She is our motivation for continue our job here.

Yesterday her mother bought a beautiful dress for her. She is very happy as looks like a princess with it.

Syifa has a pillow that bring with her everywhere that she goes, even when going for shopping and ceremony. Sometimes the pillow plays the role of a horse, sometime her kid and sometime an unknown animal with strange voice. She loves it, and if you want to get in trouble you can take it away from her.

Please find our pictures with her beautiful dress (and of course her pillow) in our blog.

Hope that you can also coming to our center in order to share our happiness with you.