AND THE CLEANUP BEGINS

Last week I (Eileen) was notified that a group was looking for someone that could help teach hygiene to an area that was hard hit by the floods.   I volunteered and we went with our puppet show to the area of Kampung Melayu to teach about the basics of health and hygiene.  As we arrived at the grade school we saw that the playground was covered with mud and workers were washing off desks with hoses.  The children were sitting at their desks smiling and waving at us eager to see visitors.  The school normally has 125 children.  Friday was the first day in 2 weeks that school had been held.  I asked how many children had homes that had been flooded. The teacher responded that all had been flooded. She showed me the line on the wall where the floodwaters had reached in the school. It appeared to be have been about 8 feet high. 

We taught several puppet shows in Indonesian that included the importance of proper hand washing and washing your food before eating it.  We had the children use the analogy of glitter for germs and I showed them how they could pass germs from one person to another by shaking hands.  Then they tried to wash the glitter off by dipping their hands in water.  It didn’t come off!  It was only when they scrubbed hard with soap that all the glitter (germs) would come off.  Initially the children weren’t sure what to do with a bar of soap. Perhaps they are used to liquid soap.  I also discussed how although it might be fun, the children could get stomachaches and skin infections from playing in the floodwater.  We had seen many children swimming in the floodwaters a few days before.  The rainwater was probably mixed with sewage.  A professional storyteller came in and re-emphasized the points that I had made on hygiene and also brought Angry Bird in with him.  The children seemed to have fun and we gave out treats and rewards at the end.  It was all very moving to see children happy despite having so little.  On the way home we saw families living below the overpasses of the freeway.  It is hard to know how best to reach all the needs here in Indonesia.  We are hoping that we may be guided by God to know how best to use the resources under our stewardship to help those in dire need.

BROTHER AND SISTER SUNARDI SHOW US WHERE THE WATER WAS IN THEIR HOME

ARI AND TATOK BRING SUPPLIES TO NEIGHBORHOOD BY JL. DAAN MOGOT

CLEANING OUT THE RIVER BENEATH THE RAILROAD TRACKS BESIDE OUR MEMBER'S HOME

OOPS, MAYBE SHOULDN'T HAVE GONE THERE

CLEANING OFF THE MUD AT SCHOOL

TEACHER WITH CLASSROOM, NOTICE THE BROWN WATER LINE ABOVE THE GREEN LINE

THIS ONCE WAS PLAYGROUND, NOW WITH 5-6 INCHES OF MUD,  THOSE ARE GOAL POSTS FOR SOCCER

INTRODUCING VERN THE VIRUS

SCHOOLCHILDREN

THIS STORYTELLER WAS FABULOUS

PLAYING ANIMALS OF THE ECO-SYSTEM

GIVING OUT PRIZES

IT'S ONLY A BALLOON AND KEYCHAIN

BLOCKING THE STREET SO WE CAN'T GET BY

JESS MORGAN IN RED AND BLUE SHIRT, HIS BROTHER IN BLUE,  REPORTER FROM THE STRAITS TIMES,

GARBAGE CLEAN-UP FROM FLOOD

PEOPLE TAKING REFUGE UNDER THE OVERPASS

WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN WITH ALL THE REFUSE?

PEOPLE WAITING TO GO HOME

NO HOME BUT UNDER THE OVERPASS