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

23rd April 2012, by Arnau

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

Well done !

16th April 2012, by Thibault

With more than 300 students, Jakarta center is always busy. But this week we had no volunteers or voluntourists and only our local volunteers came. We all felt the action full blast!

But even though super busy, besides teaching we always manage to spare time for sharing playful moments with the children and as well to work on our international, administrative and online duties.

During this week we also provided assistance to the kids for answering the letters from their sponsors. That is always refreshing and encouraging to read what children are discussing with their sponsors.  We can see that they do enjoy the school in here. Without giving them any instructions, they always say that they are having good time and love to learn at IHF.

7th April 2012, by Maggie

Nothing allows you to understand the place in which you live better than by leaving it. New Zealand’s beautiful, as well as incredibly boring, but no city in NZ can compare to the diversity I’ve seen in my week in Jakarta. That is, diversity in people, infrastructure, and culture, among other things.

As for the children, they’re lovely and friendly and enthusiastic, a refreshing change from my younger brothers at home whose sole interest in life is Super Mario Kart Wii. Even the older classes are energetic and friendly, such as the class of 17 and 18 year olds I taught and was initially slightly intimidated by. I’ve found in NZ, and perhaps it’s the case with many western countries, there’s a preoccupation among young people like me with looking cool, which certainly rules out enthusiasm in a classroom. It’s a preoccupation that seems so arbitrary and mundane, especially when compared to the lack of inhibition and the unaffectedness of the children (and teenagers) I’ve met through volunteering with IHF. This sentiment is probably not so resonant with adults but it definitely stood out to me. I imagine when I return to school in NZ, the contrast will be even clearer.

17th March 2012, by Claire

Jakarta Centre Week two!

I woke up early to prepare for the morning class at nine. I taught them clothing, holding up various piece of clothing, then laying them on the floor and getting the children to stand by the item I had called out. I ended the lesson with a word search and guess the word from a few letters.

In the afternoon Jacintha from Holland joined us. We taught SD1 and SD2 together, teaching them about different rooms in the house, and the different objects that may be found in these rooms. Both lessons went very well, considering none of us speak Indonesian. Jacintha’s help was greatly appreciated, we look forward to seeing her again this Thursday. She has already informed me she has a good item for the lesson!

I have been teaching SD3 about public places, getting them to complete statements with the correct public place. SD4 have been taught public signs. The older children have been showing of their speaking skills to me, asking me various questions about England. Their English is very impressive!

Computer lessons are been greatly enjoyed, Bugs is a very popular program. Teaching the children lots of different vocabulary via different games. Computer classes are always very quite.

On Wednesday night a live in volunteer joined us from Turkey, Ayse. We are very grateful to have Ayse with us for one month!

Jacintha and I taught the children about animals. Then Jacintha got the children to draw what she was saying, for example two eyes. In the end the children ended up drawing a very silly animal. Jacintha’s idea of silly animal went down really well and the children got to practice their English listening skills.

Ayse is settling in well. She taught an older class about her native country, and then they had the opportunity to ask questions. To finish the class of each of them presented a presentation about each region in Indonesia. These presentations were in great detail and Ayse and I enjoyed listening to them very much. We got some great tips on where to go and places we must see in Indonesia.

11th March 2012, by Claire

I arrived at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport, Jakarta and was greeted by Arnau, one of the directors at the center, and a local volunteer Yudi, who had kindly drove. They both made me feel at ease and relaxed. During the car journey Arnau told me about the center and the children who lived there, Ade, Ayu, Adit, and Nia. When I arrived at the center, I received a warm welcome from the children and the housemother, Rini.

So my first few days at the center have been a little hectic, trying to get to know the routine, children, and settle in, but it has been a lot of fun! Everyone is so welcoming and friendly. I have been struggling with the children’s names a little; we have had some giggles at my awful pronunciation. We had a new local volunteer, Liany. Together we taught the children body parts, clothing, holding up various items and then created a word search for them. Liany’s help was greatly appreciated!

Nia is constantly singing, during the evenings. She lights up the house with her big smile and beautiful voice. Some older children have taught me how to play Uno! Dinner is eaten together when everyone can. It has all been very delicious!

On Saturday night we all went to Monumen Nasional (Monas). We enjoyed taking pictures in the scenery, and playing games. Nia, Adit, Arnau, and Yudi enjoyed a football game, whilst Ade and I went for a walk around the Monument. Ade told me about the monument and the mosque nearby, one of the largest in the world! We all sat in a circle playing the country naming game, whereby one person starts with a country then the next person has to say a country that begins with the last letter from the previous country said.

To end the evening Rini and Ayu brought some yummy treats for everyone. It was a truly pleasant evening!

I am truly grateful to everyone for making me feel so welcome and am looking forward to my next week at IHF Jakarta!

3rd December 2012, by Tess

Six weeks at the Jakarta center, and I feel like I’ve learned more than I did in my three year degree majoring in Indonesian Studies. Well maybe not quite, but I’m finally learning about what it’s like to be Indonesian, to live in Indonesia, and how to speak Indonesian. Up until this trip, my knowledge was academic, now it’s grounded in reality. For a start, the wonderful family here. Nia and Adit, the cutest kids in the world, even if they are a bit cheeky. Ayu and Ade, whom I have so enjoyed talking with, helping with their homework, and generally bothering them with questions and getting them to go on walks with me. Ibu Rini, whose cooking is amazing, by far the best Indonesian food I’ve ever had, and whose company I’ve really enjoyed. She’s teaching me a lot about speaking Indonesian, since she doesn’t speak English. Bally from England has been here guiding me through my experience, and I was very sad when she had to leave to go to Medan.

Teaching is a steep learning curve. I’m enjoying it, and doing ok, but everyday I have more respect for good teachers I’ve met. At first glance, it seems easy, but as I go on I realise how much there is to it. I soon learnt that with the young children, it’s vital to keep them occupied at all times. If they have a moment of free time, they will use it to be cheeky. It’s hard not to smile at them when they are though, as they are all absolutely adorable. The older kids I’ve just begun teaching as Bally left, and I feel that this is what I’m more suited to, and I’m looking forward to studying teaching next year to become a high school teacher. But it didn’t take me long to realise how little I knew about English grammar! I have to be sure to go by the book.

I’ve been really interested to see the new registration process in action, and how important it is to gather a little bit of information about our students and check that they are attending regularly. It was great to meet all the parents, and have little chats with them in Indonesian. I got a lot better as I went on. We are starting to look for new students for The Education Program, and I think I would love to sponsor one. It was really something to hear Nia describe a family as rich when the father supported two children for a month on what I earn in a day. It’s this kind of day to day reality that I had no idea of back at home in the classroom.

It feels like home here now and I’m really sad to leave. I hope I can come back soon!

5th February 2012, by Shuang

The happy family in Jakarta center

When we first arrived at IHF center in Jakarta, Ade introduced the whole center including their family. It is a family which is small but full of energy. There are five members as well as a lovely cat. Nia and Adi are the two other children staying in our center. Both them are 11 years old. Nia is a cute girl. It seems that she smiles all the time and her smile is very charming. Adi is a shy but handsome boy. Adi likes animal very much. He has a turtle and some small fish. He gave name to every pet and also introduced his little friends to us. We usually play games after dinner. It seems that Nia and Adi will never run out of energy. Every time they are still energetic while we are tired. We also play Uno together. Nia and Adi are very good at it. As a beginner, Ming and I always lost.

Ayn and Ade are older than Nia. Ayn is a quiet and kind girl. She helped us a lot. She told us where market is and where to buy the SIM card. In addition, she also brings us to change money. Ade is our director. He is also very quiet. However, he likes music very much. According to our friends who live in the first floor, Ade always listens to the music in the early of morning, which wakes them up every day.

Our house mother, Rini, is very kind and we all like her. She cooks well. Meal time is a happy time for all of us. Rini takes good care of everyone and we all love her

In conclusion, it is a happy family full of love. We had a happy period together. The life in Jakarta will become a valued memory for us.