Memories from The Jamboree

JAJ... Aha aha, I like it!

That was the song that continuously echoed through the Ragunan Camping Ground, the place where the Jambore Anak Jalanan (JAJ) was held, during a two-day period - Saturday and Sunday, July 8-9 2006. This yearly event that is held in conjunction with National Children’s Day is a routine event for Sahabat Anak – a community of young people that care about the lives of under privileged children in their communities, with a special focus on providing education to street children.
The total number of invited guests was around 350 children from 10 different areas around the capital city – namely Grogol, Manggarai, Cijantung, Prumpung, Jatiasih, Senen, Bekasi, Klender, Buaran, and Gambir. Throughout the two-day and one-night event the theme that was constantly emphasized was the rights of Indonesian Children. Many different kinds of activities were held, such as reception of the children upon arrival, opening ceremonies, a parody, showing a film, decorating their respective tents, making collages, talent show, small group sharing, light morning exercise games, closing ceremonies (including the announcement of the grand winner and distribution of presents), and returning to their respective locations by the special buses rented just for them.

1 Kakak Chaperone 2 Kids
Throughout the Jamboree a system of chaperoning was used, which required 2 children to always accompanied by 1 kakak chaperone (whether eating, bathing, sleeping, playing, or other activities). Therefore, other than the 50+ committee members and the 300+ children, there were also over 100 young adults that were involved in the event this year.
The stigmatisms of being bad, naughty, criminals, disgusting, immoral – faded away as these tiny young mouths told stories of being kicked out from their school each time they couldn’t pay the fee, or when the bruises and scars on their skinny bodies from being beaten when they didn’t come home with the required “deposit” demanded by their parents, were seen. Our eyes were opened that in fact, they are still innocent, exactly the same as other kids. Being so lively and active in the grassy fields of Ragunan, yet when it was time to get on the bus and go home, there was certainly many eyes wet with tears because they didn’t want to separate. The same was true for the kakak chaperones that had to release their beloved “little brothers and sisters” back to their daily lives on the merciless streets.

A Simple Hope
In one of the tent activities, each participant was asked to search for and cut out a picture from used newspapers. The children were then asked to free write about how the picture connected with them – long or short, poem or essay, or any other form of writing.
The result was very shocking. There were expressions of fear and anger, protests against injustice, as well as dreams for the future glowing with hope. Their work was woven with simple hopes for needs that are often hard for them to realize – which was ironic for us who have all we need, yet seldom give thanks for it – like notebooks, money for school, opportunities to do their homework, food, time to play… such simple things.
You can view a small portion of their work on the page GALLERY

SA’s Huge Homework
Our utmost thanks to the donators and sponsors that helped in the carrying out of this event. The yellow HAI t-shirts, take-home gifts, event prizes, food, drink, tents, stage, sound system, field, busses and much more that cannot be named one by one.
Admittedly, this two-day event is not enough to solve the problems faced by these children. The challenge now is to continue to do follow-up, such as routine seminars in the bimbels (weekly free tutorial in some areas), teaching the children manual as well as life skills, health programs and other activities that remain large homework assignments for SA. Would you like to come and help us make them happen?