Indonesia: A school for indigenous children
When Begarak (10 years) and Ngusor (12) read, write and arithmetic, their flashlights are not far: Usually their lessons begin when the sun is gradually falling over Sumatra.
The two boys belong to the indigenous group of the "Orang Rimba", the "people of the jungle" in Indonesia. It is not a matter of course that the children of the community can go to school. Because on the day you have to help with field and gardening, sometimes also when collecting or hunting. Some parents do not even allow their children to go to school because they see it as a "obstacle" for the daily tasks. However, more and more families understand how important education is - not only for the children, but also for the continued existence of their entire culture and way of life.
"We Orang Rimba still lacks recognition from people outside of our community," reports Melak, 20 years old, "some call us" Orang Kubu "to mock us." In the Malay language, "Kubu" has a negative meaning in the sense of "primitive" or "stupid". The Orang Rimba live in the Indonesian jungle far from modernity, move from place to place and usually have no formal education. This makes them vulnerable: outsiders penetrate their traditional forests, pick them up and put on palm oil plantations. Again and again Orang Rimba are attacked, driven out and injured. Many do not know how to defend themselves, which would be possible, for example, by laws to protect traditional communities. “We are all the same. The communities of the jungle have their own customs, as well as people outside the jungle have their customs, «says Melak.
Education helps the children to enforce their rights
For him, education is the key to speak to outsiders at eye level and to be respected by them. He himself already had the chance to go to school: Terre des Hommes opened in 2005 and the local partner organization "Sokola" the "Sokola Rimba" ("Jungle School"). Melak started school at the age of ten. Today, ten years later, he teaches himself there. The school made it possible for many children to learn to read, write and arithmetic without having to give up their homeland and their identity. The lessons take place here in their own language, in a way that corresponds to the teaching and learning methods of their culture.
Melak realizes that the rights of the children of the Orang Rimba are far from fully fulfilled. But at least: thanks to the Sokola Rimba, you now know these rights and know how you can protect yourself against land robbers - with the right and law. And they have completely new chances of going their own way. “I actually wanted to be a police officer. My father even gave me his blessing, «says Melak. Only for the time being, he has taken a different path because: "If I become a police officer, I couldn't teach the children here anymore."