By Christopher Drake | Project supervisor
Onwards and Upwards!
Dear friends and kind supporters of Taman Cipta Karya Nusantara Foundation,
Warmest greetings on this sunny day in Yogyakarta and very many thanks for your kind support which has played such a significant role in helping us get to where we are today. The past few months have been packed with activity and an important (and long-awaited!) moment was the completion of the main roofing work, including the covering of the atrium. The transparent covering will allow light to flow all the way down to the large tree on the first floor while also providing some sheltered space on the rooftop where we plan to develop a small hydroponic garden. While up on the roof during a couple of gloriously clear days the iconic view of Mount Merapi inspired us to reconfigure some of the layout of the top floor of the building to make the most of the view. Solar panels have been installed on the roof and successfully tested while we also now have a mains electricity connection and completed the digging of two deep wells to complement mains water supply.
Work has continued apace on the interior with completion of the first and second floors now in sight and, as we focus on final details and finishing, the third and fourth floors are clearly taking shape and it’s great to see the vision of sizeable, airy and bright classrooms coming to fruition. Meanwhile our two traditional buildings, a two-storey limasan and a wooden joglo are now well-established and we’ve been making good use of the limasan as an office and meeting space while watching the decorative carved wood features populate the ceiling and walls of the joglo.
Although the main building is not yet complete, we were delighted to make use of it in April to hold a couple of Open House days for The Lilliput World, our Montessori pre-school. It was wonderful how the first two floors were brought to life by excited young children trying out games and activities – and very special that both days were fully organised and arranged by our wonderful Parents Community, putting into practical reality our vision of a values-based community school in which we saw all participants playing their part, and doing so amazingly well!
As we prepare to welcome a batch of new students for the start of the next academic year, we’ve already welcomed eight new teachers and are planning a number of outreach activities in the months ahead. In the meantime, we continue with classes and activities in our existing building, ongoing news of which is at https://www.instagram.com/thelilliputworld.jogja/. Highlights of the past term included collaborating with Montessori Haus Asia in Jakarta to run a whole day of workshops and seminars for parents and with Sarjanawiyata Taman Siswa University, in Yogyakarta, for another full day of growth and development presentations and activities for parents by Viji Clinic from Jakarta. It was a nice surprise that many new friends from different places around Indonesia came to join us for the day while on other occasions we have also been very happy share our joy and enthusiasm with visitors from India, the USA and the UK. As one commented “Our visit to the school was lovely. We felt connected and bonded. We could see happiness, passion and commitment. The new school has very positive vibes. I am so happy to have visited the school surrounded with greenery. We carry with us sweet memories.”
As the building, our new home, has made its way upwards, so also we are increasingly excited and committed to move forwards, ever grateful for your support. Thank you once again for helping to make life-changing education available to young learners in Indonesia!
With gratitude and warmest wishes from all of us at Yayasan Taman Cipta Karya Nusantara.
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