On Saturday, July 29th 2017, Project Child Indonesia had successfully conducted the first meeting of Sekolah Pantai in Pacitan, East Java. After two years of preparation and almost a year of construction, the school building had finally been ready to use. The school, located in Pancer beach Pacitan, comprises an open-space classroom, an office building, a kitchen, a sanitary facility, a playing field, a campfire site, and a chill out area, making the school a sufficient and comfortable place for children to learn and explore.
Around 30 students from the neighborhood showed up in the first class, bringing along their curiosity and enthusiasm. The first meeting was intended to get the children to know each other and also the volunteers, therefore we had prepared some introductory and ice-breaking games. The games were delivered in both Indonesian and English and we could start to see how good their English vocabulary is. We had a class full of energetic group activities from 3 PM to 5 PM, and the children were very excited to join all of them. The activities took place in both the classroom and the sports field. The wide school area allowed the children to move around freely, thus they seemed to love the space! Some of the children even stayed longer after class to play some sports with the volunteers.
The volunteers also did a wonderful job delivering the class. There was a total of 15 volunteers and staffs helping out in this first meeting, consisting of local staffs and volunteers from Pacitan, Yogyakarta, and foreign staffs and volunteers from Germany. By the end of the class, we could already engage well with the previously shy children. We could also see the parents’ interest. Some dropped their children off, encouraging them to join the class, and some stayed in the school area throughout the class session to watch their kids with joy. It seemed like this first meeting was a pleasant experience for everyone involved, signifying a positive start for this program.
We are hoping to see a great future from Sekolah Pantai, that will allow us to reach our goal to impact the communities in Pacitan.
Written by Margareta Danastri
