Build a Village School in Indonesia!

Dear friends and kind supporters of Taman Cipta Karya Nusantara Foundation,

Warmest greetings to you all as we look back on another quarter full of meaningful moments, new friendships and the kind of quiet, steady growth that is at the heart of everything we do. The world beyond our gates continues to present its share of challenges and uncertainties and yet within our school community we are reminded daily of how much goodness, warmth and possibility can exist when people come together around a shared positive purpose. We are deeply grateful for your continued support which makes all of this possible. This quarter has been particularly rich in human connection, reaching outward into the community and welcoming the community back in, and we are pleased to share with you some of the highlights from the past few months.

Grandparenting – Stories, Nature and the Power of the Older Generation
On the 24th April we hosted a Grand Parenting event which wove together the warmth of intergenerational connection with one of the most pressing concerns of our time, namely the state of the natural world or environment. The theme was introduced to young children through the power of literature and the morning brought together grandparents, parents and carers alongside two outstanding speakers to explore how the oldest members of a family can play a uniquely important role in shaping the values of the very youngest.

Theresia Enny Anggraini, PhD, lecturer in Literary Studies at Universitas Sanata Dharma, opened the session by introducing participants to the rich world of early childhood literature, from folk tales and fables to picture books and illustrated stories, and to the ways in which stories can lay the foundations of character and environmental responsibility in children under the age of six. She was followed by E. Ira Savitri of RAJO, Reading Aloud Jogja, who brought the room to life with practical storytelling methods and tips for making books a vivid, shared experience between grandparent and grandchild.

What made the morning particularly special was the moment when the children themselves joined the session. Welcomed in from their classrooms, they sat alongside their grandparents and carers to experience storytelling first-hand, a living demonstration of everything the session had been building towards. The sight of small children leaning in close as a story unfolded, and of grandparents rediscovering the art of telling it, was a reminder of something that no curriculum can fully teach but that a morning like this one can bring effortlessly to life.

At the heart of the event was a belief we hold deeply: that caring for the environment can begin not with facts and figures but with wonder, with stories and with the gentle guidance of those who love us most. It was, in every sense, a morning full of heart.

Donation to Orphanage – Giving from the Heart
One of the most enduring lessons we can offer a young child is the understanding that they have something valuable to give to others. This quarter our children and their families took part in a donation drive in support of a local orphanage, and what made it particularly meaningful was that the children were involved in every step of the process.

In the weeks leading up to the visit, the children took part in collecting supplies, gathering everyday essentials and useful items that had been contributed by families across our school community. There was something quietly powerful about watching small children handle each donation carefully and thoughtfully, already beginning to understand that these things would make their way to other children who needed them. It was a practical, hands-on introduction to generosity that no classroom lesson could quite replicate.

When the time came to send the supplies to the orphanage, the sense of purpose and pride amongst the children was plain to see. The act of giving, however modest, plants a seed of social awareness and care and we hope that this seed will grow with our children throughout their lives. We were moved by the warmth and enthusiasm with which families entered into the spirit of the initiative and we are grateful to all who took part. It is a reminder that even the smallest hands can make a very real difference.

Capacity Building – Investing in Our Teachers
Behind every happy and thriving schoolchild is a confident and well-supported teacher and team. This quarter we continued our commitment to professional development through a dedicated Capacity Building programme for our staff, in which our educators engaged in training and collaborative learning designed to strengthen their skills and deepen their understanding of early childhood education.

A school is only ever as strong as the people within it and we are proud of the dedication our team brings not only to the children in their care but to their own ongoing growth as educators. The energy and openness with which our staff approached this process was, as always, an inspiration.

Dental Day – Healthy Smiles at The Lilliput World
Health education is an important part of our holistic approach to child development and this quarter the children of The Lilliput World enjoyed a very special Dental Day visit. With the help of dental health professionals, the children learned about the importance of caring for their teeth through hands-on demonstrations and plenty of enthusiastic brushing practice. It was a lively and joyful session and the children left feeling like true champions of their own health, armed with new knowledge and, we hope, some very good new habits. There were, it must be said, a great many bright smiles on display throughout.

Montessori Haus Asia at The Lilliput World
We were delighted to welcome Montessori Haus Asia to The Lilliput World again this quarter for an event that proved to be one of the highlights of our educational calendar. Montessori Haus Asia is widely regarded as one of Indonesia’s foremost authorities on Montessori early childhood education, bringing a depth of expertise and a genuine passion for child-led learning that made their involvement here particularly valuable.

We opened the event not only to our own teachers and parents but also to Montessori enthusiasts and educators from schools and centres in the surrounding area, and we were pleased to see such a warm and engaged gathering come together under our roof. For our own staff it was an opportunity to deepen their understanding and to reflect on their practice in the company of like-minded colleagues, while for parents it offered a clearer window into the philosophy that underpins so much of what their children experience each day at The Lilliput World.

Rooted in the principle that children learn best through freedom, independence and hands-on discovery, the session was a wonderful reminder of how much young learners are capable of when given the right environment and the right support. It also reinforced something we have always believed: that the best education happens when teachers, parents and the wider community are all pulling in the same direction. Collaboration of this kind enriches not only our own practice but contributes, we hope, to the broader raising of standards across early childhood education in our region.

As the above shows, the school is very much in operation and while there is still some work continuing on the building, mostly fixing the inevitable defects and sorting out final details, the main fabric of the building and the vast majority of the interior work is now finished.  One important task that remains to be completed is building our school and community library and would warmly welcome contributions of books for readers young and adult.  As we have said before, none of what has been achieved over the past few years would have been possible without your generous and faithful support, and the trust you have placed in us, for which we are deeply grateful.

As part of that effort, one of our team members is walking about 160 kilometres from southern France over the Pyrenees into Spain along part of the Camino de Compostella to help raise funds for the library and would warmly appreciate your sponsorship via our GlobalGiving page.  Importantly, there in a few weeks there is a chance to amplify your gift:  from 22.00 British Summer Time on 15 July to 22.00 on 16 July, we will participate in GlobalGiving’s July Bonus Day campaign, in which GlobalGiving is providing $150,000 in matching funds (and bonus prizes) on donations of $100 or more, up to $1,500.  If you are able, we would be very grateful if you would consider making a special gift during the 24 hours of the campaign.  We hope that soon after that we will be able to say that the objectives of this project and appeal have been met and so will then close this project page.  Our on-going project of “Loving Pre-School Education in Java, Indonesia” at https://www.globalgiving.org/dy/v2/pe/project-edit/edit-page-1.html?project.projId=57955 will nevertheless continue and we hope that you will follow it and our website at https://tamanciptakarya.or.id/.

Finally, thank you again – and please do share our story with friends and others who might wish to join us in supporting the children of Yayasan Taman Cipta Karya Nusantara.  You would also of course be most welcome to come and visit us if you are in the region.

With much gratitude and warmest wishes from all of us at Yayasan Taman Cipta Karya Nusantara.

Links:

• https://tamanciptakarya.or.id/
• https://www.instagram.com/thelilliputworld.jogja/
• https://www.instagram.com/tamanciptakaryanusantara/