Loving Pre-School Education in Java, Indonesia

Dear Friends and kind Supporters,

Go Green and Show the Way!

Thank you so very much for all your wonderful support.  On behalf of everyone at our school, The Lilliput World, we are happy to say that in the past few months we have been able to continue our activities and also launch some new initiatives.  

The academic school year in Indonesia usually ends in June and so, at the end of term a few weeks ago, we celebrated the graduation of the very first graduates from The Lilliput World.  Much has changed since we opened our doors to our first eight students and these first three graduates will always have a special place in the school’s history.  As we sent these first three newborns on from our community, we were happy to celebrate their achievements and growth while also sad to see them go.  We wish them a bright future ahead and know they will always remain members of The Lilliput World family, where a warm welcome awaits them whenever they remember us.

The long school holiday does not mean everything stops and it has already provided the chance for us to hold our first holiday camp.  We welcomed an enthusiastic group of children from ages 3-12 for five full days of activities and are so proud of our wonderful teachers who created a joyful atmosphere and days packed with fun, learning and warm memories.  Many thanks to student volunteers from Gajah Mada University and the Indonesian Art Institute, to chef parents, our sports and yoga teachers and staff who so ably supported our class teachers in creating a worthwhile and enjoyable learning experience for all.

Parents’ programmes continued well this past term and saw a strengthening of our community and parents’ involvement with school.  We focused on the well-being of mother earth by running more waste management campaigns and held a session on how to make healthy homemade snacks for school snack time.

A highlight of April was Earth Day and a campaign called Go Green! It's Our Turn to Lead! in which students learned how to reduce, reuse and recycle waste and shared their knowledge and practices with others.  

Other recent activities include:

1. A visit to Laron Sarungan, a waste recycling NGO community, during which Lilliputian parents learned about organic composting.
2. One Tree for a Friend – all school members brought a small tree to school and exchanged it with others while making a promise to love and take good care of it at home.
3. Save a Day without a Computer or TV Movement – parents were tasked with creating activities or games with their children at home without gadgets, computers or the TV.
4. Kamis Pahing Day, Story Telling with Rumah Dongeng Mentari – the facilitator for this event shared a story about the journey of a stripey plastic bag that was thrown “away” and after being blown around from place to place landed in the ocean where it was eaten by a fish.  This made the fish sick but luckily it was saved by a group of Lilliputians who were playing at the beach that day.  The story gave children an insight into how a piece of plastic waste can cause a problem for others and nature.  It was very touching that two months after the event there was still a buzz of talk about the story and children were excited to be waste superheroes, taking care of their own waste and even reminding each other to do so too.
5. Waste Management Campaign for the Community – this was held in in collaboration with Gajah Mada University Postgraduate students who led a walk around our village inviting villagers to gather rubbish and sort it out together for recycling as well as introducing how food waste can be composted and used as a garden fertiliser.  
6. Open House-Bulk Market – class teachers and children made noodles with vegetables that they harvested from our small garden and wrapped them in banana leaves and the children themselves then approached parents to buy them and some other items.  The funds raised were then used to buy rice, sugar, flour and oil that were distributed to needy people.

 We remain committed to helping making quality pre-school education available to those who do not otherwise have access to it and close with thanks again for all your support as we continue our activities with the motto of Learn, Understand and Grow!

With best wishes from all of us at Yayasan Taman Cipta Karya Nusantara.