I won't give up on children's education

Surya, 41, lives in Parimo, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. She lives in a village where most of the residents work as cocoa and coconut farmers. She realizes that villagers also need to develop themselves through education, because education is a key to the future.

In 2013, Surya joined with Wahana Visi Indonesia (WVI), a partner of World Vision in Parimo. At that time, WVI started to assist her village. Before joining with WVI, Surya was a teacher of an Early Child Care and Development (ECCD) center called Al-Hidayah. When the center was first established, she donated her money so parents could bring their children there. Surya was sad because at that time, many children were left at home alone while their parents were working on plantations.

Surya even bought chalk and other class equipment with her own money. At that time, she didn't want to burden children's parents by asking for school fees because most of them live in poverty.

However, she never gave up of teaching.

WVI's assistance empowered her though. She was able to speak in front of people- she never imagined that she could be a public speaker if there was no assistance and training from WVI.

*Written by Setyo Lesmono, Community Development Coordinator, Wahana Visi Indonesia at Parimo operational office