The children's Home As-Syifa

Kids in “AS-Syifa” Need our help

My name is Tarika Blin and I work in childcare in Tasmania where I live.
As a student I have volunteered to work in Indonesia in an orphanage “As-Syifa” which is located in Lampung on an Island in the South of Sumatra.

A lot of these children in the orphanage have seen or experienced terrible things. Most of them have lost love and faith and are scared of what is around them – this is not a way to live life.

Helping these children is very important to me, because I was once one of them.
I was born in Thaïland and I was living in an orphanage in Songkhla in the south.
In my orphanage we had toys to play with and the water wasn’t too dirty to be able to clean ourselves and cook. The food was very simple with only three ingredients.

Being very small growing up with no family and living with the nannies, we all became a family and treated each other with respect. At a young age we were educated very fast. When I was three and a half I was adopted by a French couple that were living in Tasmania. Since that day I was loved and cared for in a beautiful welcoming family. My adoptive family became my Mother, Father and brother and I am grateful for having them beside me.

After I spent 13 days working and helping in the orphanage of “As-Syifa”
I discovered that most of the children were very talented and noticed that they were always ready to learn new things.

In the orphanage there were 10 boys and 9 girls between the ages of 7 to 15 years old. The village children would also go to the same school as the orphanage children.

The children need to be in a good environment where they feel loved, cared for and safe. The orphanage is very poor and needs your hep.

Nasir Mansyur is a very important man for the orphanage and the school. He is the Director of the “As-Syifa” orphanage and also the Director of the school and a history teacher. “As-Syifa” does not get reserve funding from the government. Mansyur has tried several times to contact them for their help but they have refused to contribute which is why he has four jobs in his life including Bee therapy, reflexology massage, being a teacher and the director of the orphanage. He is a busy man. His wife sells vegetables from their garden and cooks food for the orphanage children and she’s also teaching in the school.

During my experience as an English Teacher I had time to get to know the children and their background story. Every story was very emotional and sad. My routine during the day would be waking up at 5am, getting ready for class; sport would be first in the morning. Class would be from 8am to 12pm when we had a lunch break, which went until 4pm. During the day the children would rest because of the heat. Water was supplied in large bottle tanks. We were taught to not drink the water from the tap. At around 4pm the children started their homework until dinner at 8pm. Bedtime would be 10pm. Most of the times the kids would be in bed before.

Here are two of the most terrifying stories from the children that I looked after:

A fourteen years old, Rio, was abused by his dad since he was 11 years old. He would get beaten up every single day by his dad and be covered in his own blood. He was raised in a small village in Lampung. He lived alone with his dad; his mum disappeared when he was young. He has three scars on his face, one on his left eyebrow and two on his cheeks not to mention his neck and body are covered in scars. His uncle left him at the orphanage because his dad didn’t want him anymore. When the Director found Rio, he was covered in blood. Rio is the smartest kid in the classroom but also the most mature kid. His eyes tell you he is scared of life but his smiles tell you he is now safe and happy.

A thirteen year old boy, Farel, was abandoned in the jungle for several months. He knew his way back but he also knew if he went back his parents wouldn’t want him. He was separated from his little brother. His brother was used as a slave by another family. He soon learnt how to hunt food and climb trees. Every day the Director would drive through the jungle and realised the boy was always by him self. This is when the director asked Farel to come with him and live in the orphanage.

*These are real cases but the names have been changed for safety of the children.

Money in Indonesia
Meals would often start as low as 10,000-15,000 rupiah ($1.00-$1.05 AUD). Living in Jakarta is much cheaper than in any of the western countries. You can expect to spend less than half of what you would spend in Europe, USA or Australia. Yet still today it is one of the poorest countries in the world.

I have set up this campaign to raise money that will go directly towards the orphanage providing food and a new kitchen and a library room with books for the children to learn and read. While poverty remains such a huge issue in this area, making sure the kids are attending school and in a good family or being looked after in the orphanage, is one of the safest ways to keep them off the streets and away from drug abuse and gang violence. Every small donation will make an important difference in the lives of these children, for their future, education and living.

Thank you readers, for more information about the orphanage I have invited you to look at my video of my interview with Nasir Mansyur, and photos will be displayed on the my page.

Quote:
“There is no greater violence than to deny the dreams of our children.”
-Kailash Satyarthu nobel