I'm Awesome (Oh, and My Kids are Pretty Cool Too)!

We are all proud of our kids. But let's be honest, most of the time when we brag about one of child's accomplishments, there is a little (or maybe a big) piece of us bragging about ourselves because we managed to do something right in this difficult task of raising children (and we should be proud of ourselves). So here is my, "Pat Myself (and Chris) on the Back, disguised as Look How Awesome My Kid Is" post!  

Photo Credits to Mr. Miller

Last month, we took a family trip to deliver flood relief. This was Chris and Dustin's first trip into a Jakarta Kampung. We explained the purpose of the trip to Dustin, but I honestly didn't think he got too much out of it. He's not a fan of the attention he gets by the locals in Indonesia and this attention was at a premium in the Kampung. He shied away from the constant touching and spent most of the day clinging to Chris and hiding from photos. 

We talked about the trip at dinner that night, but other than hearing Chris and I talk about flooding amongst ourselves or us asking Pak Firman how his family was faring with all the rain, we never really talked about it with Dustin again. 

Last week, as we were walking to school, it started raining. Not a measly little Arizona rain, but a true tropical downpour. Dustin watched the water accumulate into puddles very quickly and turned to me. 

"Mommy, those people we visited are going to get flooded again. Their houses are going to fill up with water. Do you think they will still have food?" 

I honestly told him I didn't know. 

And he said, "Mommy? Maybe we should bring them some."  

Insert swelling heart here. 

I was so proud that my 4 year old made such a great connection nearly a month later and that he was able to see the consequences of the weather beyond the fact that it meant he wasn't going to be able to play on the playground that day. 

These JIS Volunteers are standing on the river bank.  You can see how the homes are below the river and will easily flood every time the river overflows.

The river view while standing on that same bank. Yes that is a home across the river.

The Community Bathroom

Doing the Laundry in the Flood Waters

 Scooping Water Out of Homes

The group of volunteers on this trip consisted of students, parents, teachers, administrators and friends of JIS

My hope is that we can continue to give our kids life experiences to help them remain caring individuals.

EXTRAORDINARY

Today I had one of the most powerful experiences of my life.  Emilie's school, JIS, is very big on service projects.  In fact, all of the kids are required to participate in a service project outside of school hours.  The school has a division called JIS Peduli (JIS Cares) and they work on ways that JIS students and parents can help in the community.  Today, they partnered with an organization called Gerakan Kepedulian (concern movement), and we went to a couple of communities affected by the recent floods.  We had the opportunity to hand out much needed supplies and tour the communities.  These areas are considered some of the poorest of the poor in Jakarta.  Most of the members are trash pickers - they walk the streets of Jakarta (usually barefoot) with a giant wheelbarrow type of cart.  Trash is collected and traded amongst themselves and then sold to their "boss" for whatever he deems appropriate for what has been collected that day.  The average household income is approximately US$70/month and their rent is US$20-$30/month.  The kids go to local schools and while these are considered free, they are still required to pay for uniforms, books, supplies, and exams.  These expenses range from US$200/year to US$1000/year (depending on the grade level).  The homes are along the rivers and prone to flooding.  Many of the homes are literally under the ground.  One of the communities we visited had flooding about 7 feet high.  They had water rising from the river  - as well as coming in through the leaking roofs from the rain.  They were forced to leave the community and lived in the parking lot of a nearby gas station for several days while waiting for the water to subside.  Now, as they work on cleaning up their homes and salvaging what they can, they are bracing for the next flood which is expected this weekend.   We have been lucky that the last few days have been relatively dry.  That being said, it started raining while we were there and it was amazing to see the already saturated ground become mush in the short time we were there.  There were even areas of the community that we were not able to visit because of the amount of water that accumulated just today.  Gerakan Kepedulian goes into these communities and spends several years working to make their lives better.  They don't just throw money at the problem.  Their philosophy -"Poverty is not a lack of resources, but a lack of caring and sharing." They work with the free clinics to make sure they are providing medical support.  They educate the community members on medical issues and help them become more productive in their community.  They help them build better housing structures.  They help them to feel more empowered, a better sense of community and a greater sense of pride.  The list goes on and on and on...it truly is an inspiring organization.

The people were all gracious and kind. 

This woman took a break from cleaning up after the flood to show us how high the flood water was at her home.

These men were working to remove the mud from the floor of their Community Center.

The members of the group that went today hope to go back after the next round of flooding.  We plan to bring more supplies and much needed food items.  After flooding, the communities lose electricity and are unable to cook.  We will be working on putting together food items that do not require cooking.  We also hope to tour one of Gerakan Kepedulian's completed communities so we can see the amazing results of all of their hard work.