WHY WOULD YOU BE A GREAT PARTICIPANT GLOBAL UGRAD PROGRAM?
As the fourth most populous country in the world, Indonesia has approximately 200.000 schools, 45 million students and 2.7 million teachers. Unfortunately, we are also one of the countries with the lowest educational performance. According to PISA (Program for International for Student Assessment), Indonesia ranks 62 out of 70 countries. Recent research from Professor Lant Pritchett that examining the learning abilities of children especially 15 years old found that children in the capital city are 128 years behind compared to other countries. This is sad because as the capital city of Indonesia, Jakarta's education is still lagging behind, especially compared to those in remote areas. These facts have opened my eyes to help in improving the quality of education in remote villages, especially in my city. I then joined the Rumah Berbagi Asa (A House of Sharing Hope) community where I volunteered to teach for four days in Pattanyamang Village, a rural village in Maros district, South Sulawesi, which had no electricity and no cellular coverage.
I then got the opportunity to teach 6th-grade with only four students. One of my students named Sarmila said that the distance from her house to school took two hours. She also had to cross the river by rowing her wooden boat. The school facilities are in disrepair and unsuitable for use. For example, we use a chalkboard to teach, broken chairs and tables, and the school floor is just plain dirt. The number of students at that school decreases every year because many parents do not send their children to school and prefer to send them to work or get married.
Unfortunately, education inequality doesn't only happen in remote areas but also in a metropolitan. I see that there are still many children aged 8-15 who do not attend school but become panhandlers. This is due to family economic problems so the parents tell these children to make money instead. On one occasion, I met with Syarifah, a 5th-grade student who had to work a part-time job as a scavenger. This she did to fulfill the economic needs of her family. She said that she wasn't ashamed if she had to scavenge as long as it wasn't stealing. Unfortunate because a child her age should be playing with her friends and focusing on studying.
I also volunteered to teach English to blind children. Every weekend starting at 4 pm until dark, I, along with friends from the TuSiWork community, taught vocabulary and speech. One of the students who I admire for her self-confidence and enthusiasm for learning is Afifah. A few weeks ago she won an English speech contest at her school and that made me very happy and encouraged me to devote myself to those who are needed.
From my experiences, I see that the potential and enthusiasm of children to learn is very high. Unfortunately, the access, facilities, teaching staff and also the unstable family economy push these kids to work harder. For this reason, the need to improve education and welfare, especially in the environment where I live, encourages me to continue to help and devote myself to increasing the quality of education in Indonesia and also in the world.
By joining the Global UGRAD Program, I will have the opportunity to share the story I experienced and together look for solutions in the fields of education, human rights, and emancipation. This program will help me to expand my knowledge. I can also improve leadership, teaching, and problem-solving skills because from my research, I saw that many past participants from Indonesia have amazing skills that inspired me to become a better person.
