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| In Prumpung, East Jakarta, a boy pumps water from a well for bathing and cleaning. (Photo courtesy of Candice Kitingan). |
Toilets! A
place we visit frequently each day. A toilet can be a place where we find
solitude, escaping from family, friends or work to sit and contemplate deep
thoughts. For others, it is a place that we are happy to enter and exit as
quickly as possible. For most of us, a toilet is an everyday household item
which we cannot live without — but it’s certainly nothing marvelous.
I was a
little taken aback when I attended my first event with some children from
Sahabat Anak Kota Tua at the Mandarin hotel last December. When we arrived, the
first thing I was asked is “Miss, miss, where is the toilet?” So I pointed them
in the right direction, and a couple of the children happily trotted off
together.
They spent
an unusual amount of time in the bathroom, and when they re-emerged, their hair
and faces were wet. In my mind I could not comprehend what odd things they had
been up to. Maybe the toilet integrated bidet had gotten out of control. But
wet hair? How did this happen?
Whenever we
are on our way to an event my boss always says to me, “Oh, no. I worry about
the children playing in the toilet. Don’t you know, this is their most favorite
place, the toilet is so clean and modern and they find it fascinating because
they don’t know how to use it.”
I must say
the toilets at the Mandarin Hotel were lovely, even for me. But for the
children at Sahabat Anak these toilets are incredible compared to what they are
used to. In most of the communities we work in, families cannot afford to have
their own bathroom, simply because they lack running water. Many of Jakarta’s
marginalized communities are still using wells as their main water supply for
washing and bathing.
Poor
communities build communal toilets for everyone, which are make-shift boxes
made from scrap pieces of wood and gyp rock built precariously over a drain,
canal or river with a hole in the bottom. The children love hanging out in the
toilets, be it the immaculate toilets at the Mandarin Hotel or port-a-loos at
an event. They see it as an opportunity to play with all the taps and flushes
while washing their face and hair. I am amazed that something which is so
normal to me could be so fascinating to someone else.
A couple of
months ago a team from Youth Expedition Project Singapore were visiting and
helping to renovate the Mangga Dua building, while also spending some time with
the children. One of the Singaporeans asked “What is your dream?” and one
children responded with “My dream is that one day I will have enough money to
visit Carrefour.” The volunteer broke down crying. She said to me “Every day I
can visit Carrefour, and I think it’s nothing special. And for this little
child it is one of their dreams to visit it.”
Another
time, a friend was talking with one of the children at Prumpung and asked them,
“What is something special you do during the school holidays?” The child
answered “My father takes me to Indomaret (a small convenience store) to drink
Fanta as a special treat.”
Working at
Sahabat Anak and interacting with Jakarta’s marginalized communities has taught
me to always be thankful for everything I have. The students at the school do
not have a lot, yet they appreciate the things that most of us take for
granted, even toilets, Carrefour and Fanta. They do not ask for a lot, just the
opportunity to receive an education and reach for their dreams.
I would
like to remind you that it doesn’t take much for you to also get involved and
help marginalized children — just a couple of hours a week volunteering and
teaching kids to read and write.
Through
friendship, Sahabat Anak aims to journey with street children, helping them to
access education and basic services, and most of all inspiring them to dream
big and achieve those dreams.
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