Taufik and the Child-Friendly Village
Mohamad Taufik, now 18, was in junior high school when he first joined activities in Joyful Learning Development (JLD). The JLD’s activities are supported by Wahana Visi Indonesia, a special partner of World Vision Indonesia. These children and youth group have made a great contribution in creating Pegirian as child-friendly village.
“While I was young, I wanted to get good experience. I didn't want to have negative influences, like my older brother did,” Taufik says. He shares that his older brother was sent to jail twice because he was involved in the wrong doing with his friends and that he left school when he was only in class 9.
Taufik and other youth in the JLD routinely give extra lessons to children attending study groups in Pegirian village, allowing them to be in a positive environment.
Taufik often gives advice to the children about how to behave and make friends. “If you want to maintain friendship, do not quarrel each other,” he says.
Besides holding routine activities in study group, JLD also proposed the idea to celebrate National Children Day, a yearly event. During the Children Day Celebration, the JLD usually holds several activities, like a competition to create creative cheers, washing hands with soap to familiarize healthy lifestyles, and planting plants to encourage children to love the environment.
The 2013 theme for the National Children Day was “Children's Voice's for Pegirian Clean and Green.” As children play a significant role in the celebration of National Children Day, Taufik says children could be change agents for the community.
Pegirian village has been declared as a child-friendly village which means it has a clean, healthy, and calm environment. This includes: no smoking; no child abuse; children can freely express their opinion and receive attention; no mockery among children; parents support children to study; parents pay attention to children; and the government supports child-friendly village.
Taufik just graduated from senior high school. He would like to continue his study at the state university in Surabaya. He wants to make his family proud.
(IDNO/BM)