Day 43: SMPN 3 Batujajar

May 15th, 2011
Days Left to Journey: 8 Days

Our Experience.
The Fulbright English Teaching Assistants (ETAs) were placed at a wide range of schools this year. From a private boarding school with Smartboards, CCTV, landscapers, security, and a pool (like mine) to public schools with a library but no books, a classroom with metal sheeting for roofing (regular heavy rain + metal sheets = teaching against a badly tuned percussion), and several canteen huts about 2x2 meters for several hundred students. In our 9 months here, many of the ETAs came across or volunteered in other educational settings that made our schools look like Hollywood gated communities. BikeJava will help one of those schools with limited resources near Bandung.

A Short Note.
Given the number of difficulties and obstacles we will not be working with a women's health organization. Both Heather and I were intent on assisting one of these organizations in Indonesia. However, on the bright side we found a great school in great need. Read on.

SMPN 3 Batujajar.
Say what?! "SMP" is the equivalent of an American middle school or junior high school; "N" means it's a public school; "3" indicates that it is the third school built in the district; "Batujajar" is the name of the area. Here's a run-down and description of the school and its conditions. One of the ETAs volunteered some of her free time here and can verify that they're quite limited on supplies.

SMPN 3 Batujajar is located on Jalan Desa Girimukti (Village Girimukti Road) in Batujajar, Bandung Barat (West Bandung).

Surrounded by Saguling Lake; Not quite the most convenient spot.

There are two routes to go to the school. The first is from Padalarang or Kota Baru Parahyangan through Cikande village or Cipangeran village, but the road is rocky, not maintained, and very muddy when it rains. Although this isn't uncommon in Indonesia, it shouldn't be something a young student has to worry about.

The Road to School.

The second route to school is from Batujajar through Galanggang village. The road is not bad but you have to go across the lake by a boat from Cibogo.

Or the Boat Ride to School; Do the cool kids still sit in the back? 

The school is quite remote. The teachers tend to take the boat from across the lake, while the students are from the nearby villages. Most of the students are from poor families and go to school by foot. It can take them between 30 minutes to 2 hours to get to school.

Students Traipsing Their Way Through Fields to School Every Day.

There are twelve classrooms at the school: 3 for the 7th grade, 3 for the 8th grade, and 6 for the 9th grade. The school has a science laboratory, a mosque, a library, a computer lab, and a workshop for the students to learn how to sew, and a basketball court. SMPN 3 Batujajar may sound well equipped, but their computers have no Internet connection and those computers do not have modems. Remember when the Internet was almost non-existent? - we played solitaire, typing games, and minesweeper. A school teacher let us know that the library would benefit greatly from several types of books: English learning books, books on improving communication in English, and English story books. But the truth is that any books such as novels, comics, other language books will be happily accepted.

Fortunately one of the teachers is trying his/her hardest to improve the school's condition and has created a website for the school: http://smpn3batujajar.wordpress.com/

90% of what was just written about the school is taken from information sent by a teacher at SMPN3 Batujajar - Mr. Aji Jehan Fellani

What We Will Do.

Ideally, we will donate books (if Gramedia sponsors us then we will have a perfect set of books to donate) and some school supplies to the students. We will also conduct an English lesson or two for fun, and maybe just hang out and even teach a couple kids to ride a bike (if they don't know yet). I know our time there is merely symbolic. The hope is that the supplies will allow a student to focus on learning for a while without worrying about how he/she will buy supplies; as for our time there, our hope is that it may motivate them to keep up the great work both students and teachers are doing. I have no grand delusions about myself, yet I can remember a time when a guest speaker who walked around the world came to my school to speak. I wanted to do that too even though I didn't really understand what he meant by "being shot at"; I was young. So if a kid or two looks back on the crazy Americans who cycled around Java to sing goofy English songs and give some books and wants to do something similar to help her/his community, then this cycle trip's mission will have been accomplished.

Some of the Kids of SMPN3 - Batujajar! Help them out with a donation for books and supplies!