Using traditional play to go glocal - preparing children to fit in global world without losing local roots. Playing Egrang to build tolerance among the children and society and as a youth development.

Problema

We work with the children of Ledokombo, a poor, remote village in East Java. Poverty has forced the parents of many of these children to go overseas and work as unskilled migrant workers (the village is a prominent source of migrant workers for Middle Eastern countries, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Hongkong). As a result, the children grow up as “social orphans,” lacking care and attention, spending their time on playstation and watching TV or roaming around without appropriate adult supervision. The village community, a majority of whom are ethnic Madurese and are heavily stigmatized as lazy, stubborn, and selfish, is drowning in apathy, losing hope and lacking the spirit to change current conditions.

Solução

We believe in children as agents of change, who are able to initiate positive social transformation when they are given the opportunity and space to develop themselves. We also believe that play is a critical element in children's character development. We use traditional games and forms of play as an entry point to introduce various values and skills that will equip the children towards a better future for themselves and their community. Egrang (traditional stilt walking) is an icon to show how local, traditional 'old' culture can be blended with global international 'new' culture. Playing with egrang together gives the children a means to express themselves and provides them with the opportunity to discuss issues and learn together. In this healthy playing environment, they are also motivated to explore skills in fields as diverse as theatre, art, internet technology, language, and other areas(both academic and non-academic) that will help them to shape their futures.

Exemplo

We organize regular egrang festivals to celebrate various events, including international holidays and national days. In these events, children are able to express their creativity and get to know other cultures. We invite people representing difference (ethnicity, religion, origin) to serve as judges, providing an opportunity for people-to-people contact for this rural isolated place. The children are introduced to “the world” (beyond their village), and the world becomes aware of this village as a special place. These children represented East Java in the Indonesia's Got Talent show, and media coverage subsequently increased. The children have sparked hope in the community, showing that with some creativity they can change their current conditions. In the process, the children also realize the importance of learning various skills. We then facilitate a weekly learning group offering courses in math, english, theatre & literature, computer skills, etc. To ensure this change is supported within the community, we also facilitate training for teachers, parents, and preachers, particularly motivational training to change their old mindset.We invite volunteers from various background to share their skills and experience, inspiring the children and opening up interaction with people of different backgrounds. Examples include volunteers from the University of Jember teaching English, teleconferences with Indonesian students studying in Germany, Ashoka Fellow Yohanes Surya’s organization teaching Fun Math, and foreign volunteers communicating in English and Indonesian.

Ofertas e demandas

In Ledokombo itself, there are no organisations that provide the sort of out-of-school support that we provide. We work with organisations such as local state schools to show them what programs we can offer the children, and seek to involve other existing community organisations in our activities so that we all benefit and there is no competition between us in terms of helping the children. There are other organisations in the region that are concerned with preserving traditional play, but our organisation is different because we use traditional play to introduce multiculturalism to the children, helping to initiate rural development.