By Karen McDaniels | Project Leader
Indonesian culture is rich in the theater arts. From the famous wayang shadow puppet shows to the haunting and hypnotic music of a gamelan orchestra, or the endangered art of traditional dances, every Indonesian is raised in this cultural heritage.
So, when 12 students from the International Student Theater Association (ISTA) from Australia visited the XSProject community at the Cirendeu landfill in April, our Middle School students were prepared with a full program and lots of questions.
Before their tour of the XSCommunity, each Middle School student was paired with an ISTA student. This gave them an opportunity to get to know each other on a very personal level and allowed the ISTA students an intimate look at life in the trash picker community. Our Middle School girls took their new friends to their homes to meet the family and to see what home life is like. For some of the ISTA students, it was the first time they had ever been in a home where the entire family lived, ate and slept in one room.
The next stop was a tour of a local food stall, called a “warung”. The Middle School students explained the different dishes that are typically prepared for diners at a warung and talked about their own favorite foods.
That afternoon, after a final tour of the XSCommunity, everyone got back together to share their experiences, ideas, hobbies and dreams. From singers to doctors to professional athletes, both groups shared with enthusiasm and laughter. In a few hours, they had all become friends.
It’s hard to say who had more fun or who learned the most that day. Both groups were culturally enriched through the sharing of their lives. Whether a young person is living in extreme poverty or financial comfort, they all have hopes and dreams, goals to be reached and memories to be captured and treasured. This was one day these students will remember for a very long time.
By Karen McDaniels | Project Leader
By Karen McDaniels | Project Leader
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