Sigi Children Initiate a Healthy Environment Movement

“Dear Friends… I’m proud to be an Indonesian child. I was very proud as we paraded around our village last Sunday and shouted, ‘Hooray…!!! We are Indonesian children and we care for our environment!!! “

“It was very funny that we all wore such attractive outfits made from various things we used to call trash, such as from falling leaves.”

“Now I better know that garbage is actually our friend if we can wisely make use of them. Garbage is not our enemy. I learn it all from the Love Your Environment Carnival,” wrote a child, named Apet.

The children's carnival at the Padende village in Sigi district was facilitated by the village leaders and Wahana Visi. Apet is one of tens of children who participated in the Al-Manar Playgroup in Padende.

We are Indonesian children and we care for our environment!

Over the last two years, the children at Al-Manar, one of the groups supported by Wahana Visi, have been showing greater concerns for the environmental problems in their village, such as people who carelessly throw away their garbage, cow dung along the village roads, and the hotter and hotter weather over the last few years.

Therefore, in their activities, the Al-Manar children have started taking the initiative to improve their environment. For example, have used some garbage to make handicrafts. They have also utilized used goods, such as plastic water containers, bottles, jerry cans, pan lids, carton boxes and other goods as musical instrument for their band. And they have also initiated a regular cleaning movement by sweeping and collecting garbage, and then stacking and burning them at a certain location.

In order to attract the community and their parents to support the movement and more actively taking part to safeguard the environment, they have proposed and initiated the Love Your Environment Carnival, which was fully supported by the village leaders and other institutions. 

The children's carnival in Padende was a big success. Scores of representatives from various institutions come to the village to give their support, such as the representatives of the Agriculture and Fishery Office of Sigi, the Women Empowerment, and Children Protection Office and several media reporters.

Padende village chief Laha Leso expressed his hope that similar movement might take place in other villages and even being adopted at the district level to help create much cleaner and friendly environment for the community.

The children also held a fashion show using recycled goods as their outfits, and also performed singing and dancing performances. The children's band also displayed their skills in turning all the used goods as musical instrument to entertain all the guests.*

*Written by Erawinta Aritonang, Fasilitator Pengembangan Wahana Visi Indonesia Kantor Operasional Sigi | Edited and Translated by Hendro Suwito, Senior Editor World Vision Indonesia