I have chosen to learn more about Indonesia, specifically the orphans left behind after the devastating Tsunami of 2004. So many years have passed that people have forgotten all the horrible devastation that occured there and how over 500,000 people were left homeless.
Through the World Forum Foundation Radio podcasts, I was able to hear from Meridas Eka Yora who is the founder and chairperson of the Fajar Hidayah Group. His organization started boarding schools for the 400 orphans of the Tsunami in 2004. They employ teachers who not only teach these children but act as their mothers and father. He said in the podcast that "this is a big home, a big family for us", as they are trying to provide as normal a life as possible for these children. Today Fajar Hidayah Group runs four schools in Aceh, Indonesia housing over 2000 students ages 2-17.
I also researched poverty levels in Indonesia and found that as of 2010, their total population was 239,870,937 and of that number 18,436,000 live below the poverty line. Here are some statistics from http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/topic:
Statistics
Poverty, hunger and malnutrition
- More than one billion people in the world live on less than US$1 a day
- 2.7 billion struggle to survive on less than US$2 per day
- More than 800 million people go to bed hungry every day, including 300 million children
- Every 3.6 seconds a person dies of starvation, and most of those who die are children under age of 5
- Every year 6 million children die from malnutrition before their fifth birthday
When you read these things it really opens your eyes to the poverty that exists around the world. I look forward to getting more information and to see if there's anything we can do to advocate and possible make a difference. So much devastation for so many children, it's just awful!!
References:
Website: World Forum Foundation Radio. Includes links to podcasts of conversations with early childhood professionals.
http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/radio.php
Website for Dimensions of Indonesia: http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/topic
Hi Jeannette, These are some very discouraging statistics. I was talking with one of my co-workers the other day about the devastation in Moore, Oklahoma after the tornado and I was telling her that we go through life on a daily basis surrounded by these tragedies without really thinking about them until they are on tv or within our own personal experience. The sad thing is that every minute of the day someone is suffering or experiencing tragedy and we have learned as a society to block a lot of it out. I think that is where much of my frustration with our current systems and policy makers--perhaps they are too far removed and have forgotten what devastation these experiences are doing to our children each and every day. We take many things for granted and life is one of them. This was brought very close to home with me when I lost one of my best friends to cancer about a year and a half ago. One of her biggest regrets was that she had not lived long enough and had so much more she would like to experience and accomplish. I found your posting very informative and eye-opening. It seems like a lot of the learning resources this week repeated themselves, but perhaps the more we read it and hear it, the harder it will be for us to push it to the side or the back of our focus after this class. I think even the smallest effort from a single person can do a lot of good if we all participate. Cindy Ferguson
ReplyDeleteIt is sad to read about so many children being left behind after the Tsunami of 2004. Therefore, there were many children left being orphans. Nevertheless, it is important for various organizations to step in and provide services to the children. The children need a home in order to feel warm, safe, and secure. It is sad to see children go hungry and do not have a place to stay and food to eat.
ReplyDeleteHello: It was a great tragedy back in 2004. It was devastating for that area, families were separated and children became homeless. There is some great people out there to build places for them. Children are the future of our world, we own it to them to leave a safe place for them
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