ROTA Volunteers Return From Indonesia
During a week long visit to the Indonesian island of Java, a 141-strong team of student and teacher volunteers from Qatar-based schools helped with the final preparations of a 960 student school which is being constructed by Reach Out To Asia (ROTA) in the earthquake struck village of Bayat Klaten, south of Jogjakarta.
ROTA's "Indonesia V-Crew 2007", returned to Doha on Saturday, having spent the previous week carrying out a program of activities at the school which included painting of newly plastered exterior walls, landscaping, and carrying buckets of concrete, in an effort to help have the school ready for the new academic year in July.
At the same time, each of the eight participating schools had prepared a program of educational and cultural activities to share with the children of Bayat School. In order to overcome language barriers and add impact to their teaching, students used a variety of fun methods, including call and response songs and rhythm clapping games.
In return, the Indonesian students shared their skills in the traditional arts which they practice as part of their curriculum. This included both batik and terracotta pot making - crafts which feature strongly in the local economy. They also invited the visiting students to join them in their gamelan orchestra practice and the girls demonstrated their Javanese dance skills.
"The interaction between the students developed as the week progressed and they relaxed with each other," said David Burton, Volunteer Program Manager for ROTA, who lead the field trip. "We come on trips such as this with the intention of giving, but ultimately we take away with us much more than we give. The unanimous feeling of our V-Crew was admiration for the positive spirit displayed by the Indonesian children in the face of hardship and disaster, and for the immense value they place on their education. These children have continued to come to school on a daily basis, even though they have had to learn in makeshift classrooms which offer little protection from the intense heat, humidity and tropical rain, and with the bare minimum of resources. I think we were all inspired by it and I am sure that our own students will be much more aware of their own educational privileges."
The volunteers, from Park House English School, Gulf English School, Pakistan Education Centre, Al Wakrah Independent School, Al Khor International School, Qatar International School, Doha Independent Secondary School for Boys and Qatar Academy, were also taken to a number of cultural sites during their visit, including the 9th century temple at Borobudur, an iconic Buddhist monument considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World. After a tour of the historical site and an interactive demonstration of some cultural dances, the temple was illuminated against the backdrop of the night sky - only the fourth time that this has ever been done!
During the mission trip, members of the ROTA team carried out an assessment of the readiness of the school for the second phase of the project; implementation of a connectivity program, the development of the curriculum, a teacher training program and the twinning of the school with a Qatar-based educational establishment.
Travel arrangements for the trip were supported by Qatar Airways, ROTA's strategic partner, who commissioned a special flight for the team from Jakarta to Solo City.
For further information on how to join ROTA's Volunteer Club, send an email rota@qf.org.qa.
