An Indonesian Adventure

In our last issue edition we reported on the great work that Southbourne-based church charity BEATS were doing in the run-up to Christmas. The British Earthquake And Tsunami Support foundation, which was set up after the devastating tsunami hit South East Asia on Boxing Day 2004 by members of the congregation at St John’s Church in Southbourne, has been working hard to help an orphanage in Aceh as well as two others in Medan, Indonesia.

In this edition, we speak to some of the local sponsors living in the PO9&PO11 area, who tell us their story of their visit to Indonesia. These are sponsors who are currently supporting some of the children living at the orphanage in Medan and Aceh:

Elaine Hooper, from Southbourne (left) said "I went to visit the orphans and children in Indonesia in 2011. I was so struck by their thankfulness for BEATS and the genuine appreciation for the support the children and young people receive. I was overwhelmed with how little they have and their willingness to give to us. Most of the orphans live in poverty but are far happier than most families here in the UK. Their attitude to education and respect for their school uniform is quite humbling. I would encourage anyone to think about sponsoring a young person or teacher as it has changed my outlook on how much we have and how little they have. Listening to their stories of survival from the disaster they faced is quite incredible; clinging to life and losing so much, yet still full of hope and willingness to give to others. Going out to Indonesia has made me much more aware of the wonderful work that BEATS are doing. It is not just about our giving to the children but it is also about building relationships, showing our love to them by spending time with them and taking personal messages to them from their sponsors. The children and families welcomed us warmly with thanks and gratitude for the support we give. Meeting my sponsored child was a wonderful experience. I felt welcomed and embraced immediately by his whole family. I feel privileged to have been able to meet him and be welcomed into his home."

Geoff and Janice Collett (right), who live in PO10, sponsor Hema, a young lad who is living at YACAN Children's Home, Medan, Indonesia and who is a victim of the 2005 Nias Island earthquake.

Geoff visited Indonesia in 2008 with Sarah Page, the charity's Chairperson. In his usual dry sense of humour, Geoff says, "A trip to Indonesia leaves a lasting impression, if nothing else of the climate. The constant high temperatures day and night, together with the high humidity, make it a challenge to Westerners. A thunderstorm with torrential downpour is something to be welcomed; it is an excuse to run into the street with very little on, enjoy the drop in temperature and luxuriate in the rain. The downpour does have a negative side, in that it makes the frogs croak even louder! At night, when the noise of the traffic has dropped a few decibels, the frogs are a constant background noise; but, if you go with the flow, it could lull you off to sleep, as long as the necessary air conditioning is not too noisy!"

27 year old Chris Johnson from Southbourne (pictured above) went out to Indonesia in 2012 to provide educational support to the YASAH orphanage, which looks after more than 100 children. He stayed out there for three months where he taught English and kept a diary of his time out there. An extract of which is as follows:

“I arrived at the YASAH orphanage, which translates as "Streams of living water and grace foundation”, after a very long flight. The orphanage was home to over 100 children who were sleeping in girls’ and boys’ dorm rooms on bunk beds. I was given a room to myself, which I felt extremely grateful for.

Something which struck me about this place, was that despite there being more than 100 children, there are no toys whatsoever here. They have a few footballs but the children make do with what they can find – I have even seen them playing with rocks and sticks. In spite of this, you rarely see a sad, upset or bored child and it caused me to make a stark comparison to the privileges I had in my own country.

When I was brought into the school, I was introduced to several classes of children and I would be teaching a range of ages, from 9-16. As with every class there are a range of abilities in them, but sometimes the ability gap seems huge. In one of the classes it was particularly noticeable. There was one child who managed to learn the numbers 1-999 in a single lesson. On the next desk however there was another child, who, after 3 lessons can barely say 1-10. It just goes to show that it really is possible to make a difference, no matter how big or small, and those children really appreciated being taught first hand and enjoyed the learning processes.

Despite the trial and tribulations, I really enjoyed the teaching. It does make me smile when I teach them one thing and they next day they are using it in conversation with me. There is one girl, Bella, who I am determined to get up to a near perfect level of English before I go. Her English is already pretty good so it won't be that hard!”

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