Buku Buku: Chapter 2: Lawamena Mission Experiences = 8 Reasons

 so it wasn't all a touristic adventure

there were a number of reasons why we went 

as a team representing Lawamena to Ambon ...

reason 1:

was to help set up a reading corner in the library of two primary schools

to make it inviting & interesting & welcoming & a great place to go to read

& to encourage the teachers in their good work
these are the wonderful VHC wall panels that we planned, my mum basically
made with the help of P&Sq ... & i just finished the binding
don't they look great!

i also decided to make a couple of "I Spy" quilts/mats

to take to each school

this was another little extra to help create a wonderful 

welcoming exciting place for the 

children to go to read 

but to also use as a starting off point for 

story telling/writing

i did my very best to talk to as many 

class room teachers & the principals 

 via translation to explain some of the ways 

that these quilts/mats can be used 

.... i hope they are the starting point for many 

wonderful imaginative ideas!? 

reason 2:

was to take donated supplementary books for their library collections

in both Bahasa Indonesian & English

reason 3:

& to impart the idea of using children's literature as a starting point

for cross-curricular learning ....

to help illustrate this we split into 2 groups

lead by Robyn (years 1, 2 & 3) 

& myself (years 4, 5 & 6)

we rotated through the classes repeating our programme 

as we visited each class

we used the wonderful story of

"The Very Hungry Caterpillar"

written & illustrated by Eric Carle

if you've been following here for a while you've probably noted that by now!!

we read the story in English

& it was translated as we read for the children

its a simple story that is really pitched at much younger children 

but given the language barriers we deliberately chose a story that was simple

has lots of layers of learning

its brilliant colour is of course endearing

& in Ambon they have amazing butterflies!!

the size of small birds mind you!!

didn't ever quite get a live pic of one .... as they are so quick!

we then did some 'work' type exercises based on the story

we demonstrated how to use children's literature to teach 

maths, language, science etc ....
we encourage the teachers to think about some of their
own stories that perhaps they could use the same idea with ....

we held a quiz & do you know ....

... you can just never ever underestimate a child
no matter where they live or what their background might be!!

question: 

What's the scientific term for the process 
when a caterpillar changes into a butterfly???

do you know?

answer:

metamorphosis 

one little boy knew
he knew the word!!
its a scientific word so its the same in any language
& he described the whole process!!

i was seriously impressed!!

these 2 boys were setting to & having a look
at the special pop-up book when we were leaving!!
whoo hooo!!! it worked!!

reason 4:

 it's all about learning to love to read

in Ambon they have a saying

" Tiada hari tanpa membaca"

which basically translates to

'read everyday'

Lawamena is offering a scholarship to one child
from each of the 2 schools
we worked with
it has been arranged with the principal that the child
who reads the most books will receive
a scholarship for one year for their education
i made/ photocopied book marks for each student
with a caterpillar
... each section of the caterpillar's body is a space
for the teachers initial when a book is witnessed having been read! ....

 hopefully we were able to encourage them to get to & read & learn ...

reason 5:

Lawamena is sponsoring a serve of UHT milk

being distributed to every child at 3 schools

once a month

so next time you have a glass of milk

.... treat it like gold!

reason 6:

Lawamena sponsor about 50 primary & secondary students

they & their families are interviewed

& their circumstances are seriously considered

scholarships are given where there is a need 

& where Lawamena has sufficient funding

i am proud to say that last year i personally helped with fundraising

for this non-profit organization

so that you know ...

.... you can directly sponsor a student to help educate 

an individual through Lawamena

its not much but i know it would change a life

Lawamena held a special presentation & dinner

for the scholarship recipients

at the presentation the students were give a gift bag filled with goodies

i'm sure they felt the 'love'

.... including a handmade pencil roll or exercise book cover

it was so much more meaningful being there to meet the children

& see how proud they were

it was held at the Governor General's offices

& was a great evening

as a group we served them the meal

it was a bit overwhelming in some ways to have the likes of us serve them

but we didn't see it that way!

i met 'Angel' the very first student that Lawamena

sponsored - she has finished school & is now doing a office admin course

she would never have been able to finish school without this support

she was a lovely young lady with goals & aspirations like anyone her age

 reason 7:

at the same event

Lawamena also presented scholarships to

6 mid wife nurses to complete their final year of study

below is my friend Aretha in the centre with the nurses

...... we were sung to

danced for

served food & water

we were hugged & kissed

& we were photographed

it was a wonderful experience to 

share our love & care

which really was very very little effort

in the grand scheme of things ...

... & more effort is required

& i can probably safely say

that we all felt as if we walked away the richer in our hearts

our little aussie blonde haired blue eyed pale skinned boy

was quite simply adored

of course to us he is our world

i hope that every child we met is equally 

loved & adored by their families & carers

they captured my heart ...

... in fact the morning we arrived in Ambon

exhausted from an overnight flight with no sleep

we found out that one of the schools had thought

we were visiting them directly from the airport

ahhh .... there is nothing like miscommunication in any language!!

so a few of us jumped in cars & went

there they were assembled all 300+ students

impeccably dressed in freshly pressed uniforms

it was hot, i was dripping

& they sang

& sang

& moved

& clapped

& smiled

& danced & we danced too

& i cried .... slow uncontrollable tears ...

streaming down my face

see i think God catches us out sometimes 

when he wants to speak deep into our souls

... sometimes we need to be struck hard!!!

if i'd had head space & time 

I would have stilled my heart & paced myself in preparation

knowing there were heart strings to tug at
however ...

.... i didn't get to prepare myself

& i'm now the better for it!

reason 8:

to see & hear & feel & love & show kindness & care

to learn, to be aware

to be able to come back home to

share ...

so this is me sharing the story

there will be another Lawamena Mission Trip ...

... do you want to go too?

anything is possible
we would go again in a wink ; )