The First Week in the Project!

A week ago, a Becak (motorcycle with attachment) parked in front of a yellow, three-story building and a small garden. On the facade, the sign: Bukit Lawang Trust- Education Center

We're here! Finally! Excitedly, we carried our backpacks into the house and made ourselves known. We were greeted warmly by Lily, the current supervisor, and embraced. Curiously, she showed us the premises, and we were amazed amidst overwhelmings, tiredness, and surprise. There are various classrooms, all of which are very individual and lovingly designed. Most of it is designed with the children, paintings, crafts, and above all dedication are put into these four walls. Colorful colors, bunting, animals, beautiful quotes, sometimes we feel like we are at a festival. Then Lily took us to the roof of the school and we were amazed! A large developed roof, the walls painted in vibrant colors, and the view extends into the distance over the jungle and mountains. That's our new workplace, she said, and we can hardly imagine.
So we plunge into a first week full of new impressions! We decide to create a surprise for the team on Monday to start the shared time together full of energy. For this, we prepare all our/your donated items, stack diabolos on juggling plates, balls, scarves, and school materials, and make a donation check.

Guys, you won't believe the joy, enthusiasm, gratitude, and surprise we saw on their faces! And that's thanks to you! You, who have collected so many donations with us, with which so much can be made possible here! 2355 euros! You are amazing, and a huge thank you goes out from everyone here, from all the children who can now continue to enjoy school. Wow! We have really achieved something great together, such a large donation has not been received in this project before, and the money ensures that it can continue to exist in this form, that the kids can continue to go on excursions, visit the farm, receive fruit, and have the materials they need to learn! Awesome!
With this positive energy, we plunged into the first week. In the morning, the Playgroup comes, a group of 2-4 year old kids who are allowed to experience their first contact with the English language, play a lot, and above all, laugh! Perfect for us! We laugh together with lots of songs and games, and the kids are just great! In the afternoons, children from various surrounding villages come to the project, either on the roofs of various trucks that play techno music (we love it!) or three of them on a motorcycle, with the oldest (usually around 12 years old) driving. It's completely normal here, and we can forget all the safety precautions and protective measures we have learned.

Once a week, each group has an English lesson (as a voluntary addition to regular school lessons), and there is also a Rubbish Pick-up in one of the villages once a week (collecting plastic in 40 degrees, a laborious task but so important! There is jungle trekking to raise awareness of the importance of the rainforest with all its beauty and significance, and excursions to, for example, a farm where sustainable fruits and vegetables are grown! There is also a volunteer activity every day! For example, we do theater, sports (dodgeball on a field between two rivers, looking into the jungle, amazing!), circus, crafts (we built a catching game from old plastic bottles, see pictures) and so on! The beauty of it: we can let loose, make free decisions, just do it, and it's so much fun! In the lessons too, the goal is to learn as playfully as possible, through activity, singing, sports, and games. The children's English is incredibly limited, and learning in the project is markedly different from learning in school...there, they repeat what the teacher says, don't contradict, don't ask questions, just do it, like robots. You can see that in the children, who sometimes answer as if they were little machines. Through alternatives in the project, an attempt should be made to break up these patterns...not an easy task, especially since most kids haven't experienced anything else for years...but that's why it's all the more important!
The village around is a dreamy place...small huts by the river, restaurants with a view of the jungle, and a colorful market full of delicious food and colorful scarves. The mood is so relaxed and easy-going, guitars play everywhere, and there is nothing better than watching the hustle and bustle with a fresh fruit shake.

We're having a lot of fun, and after just one week, we can say: we feel comfortable and have arrived! The people are so warm-hearted, Tri and Fitri, two of the project's employees, are great, exciting women* with whom we will definitely have a lot of fun in the coming weeks!
Now we're sitting on the terrace of a wonderful bungalow that we chose for the free weekend...right in front of us is the river, behind it, the jungle, which rises up like a green wall. With a happy grin, we look back at the past week. What we're doing here feels so meaningful and so much fun! We're doing so well! Occasionally, a macaque monkey passes by us, and we watch it and think of all our favorite monkeys! Before the monkeys steal our bananas, we prefer to quickly jump into the river and cool off from a hot first week in Bukit Lawang!
Next week, we'll visit a farm, continue collecting plastic diligently, and start our circus project! We're thinking of you, hoping you're doing well, and sending hugs from afar!
Thank you, best regards from the jungle! Sampai jumpa lagi! Love and Kisses!

Jasmin & Toni