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Indonesia: Children With Disabilities
Indonesia: Work With Children With Disabilities
“Your handicap is a punishment from God.” Children with disabilities in Indonesia still suffer from this stigma. A women's initiative of the Taraja Church breaks through the isolation of these children and stands up for their rights.
A dark corner in the house – that was Augustine's allotted place. The Indonesian girl is blind and in the first years of her life, she received little attention. Today, everything is different. She sits at table and forcefully cuts a large squash. One only realises she is blind when she stands up to fetch a saucepan. It is quite natural for Augustine to help around the house today. She has even learnt to read and write Braille.
Out of the corner, into the midst of society
Augustine managed all of that with the help of volunteer women of the Toraja Church who have supported the girl for the past eleven years. In the middle of the 1990s, they started looking for children with disabilities and supporting them with the programme "Rehabilitation into society" (RBM). Their motivation: Indonesian families often lock up children with disabilities in a hidden part of the house. This is because that traditionally, these children are seen as "a punishment of God" as a consequence for wrongdoing by the family. This view is also widely held in Indonesia, even among Christians.
The female co-workers of the RBM try everything to have children with disabilities accepted from an early age as the image of God in families and parishes. They also support the rights of the girls and boys to medical care and education – also at national level. The female volunteers visit the families locally in their mountain villages. Together with doctors they discuss how to support the young children individually according to their skills. In order to overcome prejudices, they organise informative seminars and include the children in worship services and church festivities. Some of the children are taught in a new building which was finished in Rantepao in 2013 – this was also made possible by the many donations contributed to the EMS.
Indonesia
255 million inhabitants, of which 22% are disabled with no school education
Leading an independent life
The aim of the project is for children with disabilities to lead a more or less independent life. "The fact that this is possible is shown by the many young people we have supported or are still in the process of doing so. They work and so they contribute to their livelihood," says Milka Sarangalla with delight. She heads the programme. Augustine is also one of these 550 children and young people. With a small loan from the RBM she opened a kiosk where she mainly sells hand-woven bags which she made herself.
Project goals
“I hope that the children will gradually be able to live on their own and that they will be accepted and respected in the congregations as people with disabilities s,” says Tandu Ramba, a co-worker of the Toraja Church. The work of many volunteer women helps to integrate children with disabilities in society and promotes their mental and physical health.
Project work
About 550 pupils of both genders are looked after by the Toraja Church project. Besides the centre in Rantepao, classes are held in about 20 external schoolrooms in the villages of the Toraja highlands. Besides educational work, the work of many volunteer women includes making home visits with physiotherapy and holding talks in villages to create awareness among villagers for people with disabilities.
Project partner
The Toraja Church (GT) is similar to a people’s church on a small scale. About 75 per cent of the population living in the Toraja mountains in South Sulawesi are Christian. The church today has 650,000 members in over 700 congregations. The GT runs very advanced diaconal programmes, such as the support of people with disabilities and rural development. The church is committed to vocational training and runs several schools and two large hospitals.
We are pleased to hear that you are interested in this project. If you have any general questions, please use the contact form below. We are also happy to help you personally if you have any questions or require further information – by phone or by E-mail.
Djoko P. A. Wibowo
Liaison Secretary Indonesia
+49 711 636 78 -36
wibowo@ems-online.org
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