My beautiful sister Treen has been teaching her students about poverty and together they decided to make a difference to some beautiful children’s lives who live at the landfill site in North Jakarta. The AIS students have been very active writing newspaper articles and wanting to make a change so they raised funds by holding lunch time food stalls, selling sweets, carrying out Starbucks coffee runs, and collecting both monetary and food donations.
We were given a tour of the site on arrival, and the living and working conditions for these people was truly heartbreaking and it’s difficult to know where to start to make a real difference for their future. The local children who live and work at the site attend school during the day before helping their parents rummage through the trash and sell their collections once classes are over.
All the students gathered together at the school hall and sang songs and held a quiz before the AIS students handed out their donations of food and drinks and new school bags and stationery to everyone there. It was very touching to watch and to see the faces of the young children light up and I pray that one day they have a true chance for change.
Young local boy outside the Primary School
Mother and child who live at the landfill site
Young boy outside his home - the living conditions are heartbreaking
The AIS students take a tour of the site
Young locals
The site outside the school
Elderly lady who lives and works there
Ladies sort through the piles of plastic collected at the site
A man works to sort out plastic cups and bottles
Workers take a break in the heat
Keisha at the site
A lady sorts rubbish outside her home
