By Jessica Chang, voluntrekkers.com
I could smell it before I could see it. I had to cover my face with my hand to continue on. I didn’t even realize where it came from till I got there. The slums – a side of Jakarta, Indonesia most tourists don’t usually get to – or necessarily want to see. I was there in 2007 as a volunteer for a nonprofit organization, called International Humanity Foundation (IHF), escorted by a handful of children who I was there to work with on a digital photo project. This was their home – a place where no child should grow up.
It wasn’t long before I discovered where that stench originated – a mountain of trash right there in the middle of their “neighborhood”, just a few steps away from the homes.
The people there constructed their shack-houses with whatever materials they could find – bricks and plywood for their walls, tin and metal scraps for their roofs and random pieces of wood to fill in the gaps. A whole family lived in one shack the size of a walk-in closet by American standards.
Some homes had a river running through their backyard – a brown, multipurpose source for cooking, bathing and washing their clothes.
The children there ran around with no shoes on, making me nervous about what their little feet could step on. No matter the filth and squalor that surrounded them, I was struck by how happy these children seemed. They played, like any other kid, but they also helped their parents by collecting pieces of trash to reuse and resell, and made toys out of scraps. Xbox, PlayStation and iPod were not part of their vocabulary. They knew no different.
They also knew of no future outside these slums. That’s where the International Humanity Foundation steps in. Their local volunteers find orphans and impoverished children to live in their orphanage/safe-home, where they have a solid roof over their heads, regular meals and opportunities to go to school. When I was volunteering there, seven children lived in the center.
They were a family – the older ones picking up the younger ones from school, cooking with each other, singing together.
They were beautiful and loving children, so grateful for the chance to have a home, an education and a promising future they never thought was possible before IHF.
IHF provides these opportunities to children around the world. The organization has six different centers – four in Indonesia (Jakarta, Bali, Medan and Aceh); one in Chiang Rai, Thailand and another in Nakuru, Kenya. While it doesn’t cost much for a child to live there, IHF needs our help to give more children a chance to live on.
For $37 a month, you can bring a child into an orphanage/safe-home. That cost covers food, toiletries, housing, clothing, utilities and housemother wages.
For $10 a month, you can send a child to school. Public education is not free in most developing countries, which is why poor children can’t afford to attend. Many of those children end up working in sweatshops and rice fields instead.
For $30 a month, you can sponsor a class of 15-20 students taught by volunteers at each center. That’s just $1.50-2.00 per student! Because IHF cannot afford to send every child to a public school, volunteers teach English, math and computer classes.
For $15 a month, you can sponsor a child’s medical and dental expenses, including regular exams, prescription medications and emergency care.
Please go to International Humanity Foundation’s website for more information and to sponsor a child or a class.
Sponsoring a child through IHF is one gift that gives back, but how would you like meet them in person? Maybe you can plan your next vacation in Indonesia, Thailand or Kenya. My trip to Jakarta in 2007 has forever made an impact on my soul. While I was there to teach the children photography and English, I gained so much more in return. The children there taught me about compassion, resilience and the importance of family. They helped me put my life into perspective and realize how privileged, and often spoiled, we are in the United States, and that happiness isn’t measured by how much money you have or the car you drive, but by the people you have around you.
That trip got me hooked as a voluntrekker. Since then, I was consumed by wanderlust – waiting for the right time, when I had enough money, when I could take a break from work to serve others in a third world country again. This past summer, I made it happen. I spent three months traveling and volunteering in 2 other countries in Southeast Asia – teaching English in a rural village in Thailand and taking care of disabled orphans in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. That was the best gift I could ever give myself. To read about my experiences and voluntrekking opportunities for you, visit my blog - voluntrekkers.com.
No matter a donation or a volunteer vacation, you make your mark around the world.
Jessica Chang is a journalist, volunteer, traveler and adventurer. To learn more about her and her volunteering adventures, visit her blog voluntrekkers.com.
Thanks for the inspiring post Jessica! A new lens on volunteerism + tourism. Lovin' Voluntrekkers
Great story! Only wish I had the time to head out on a trip like this… Also, my girlfriend might not like me leaving town all the time.
Props to all the great work you do while traveling. When I was in HCMC, all I did was eat banh mi sandwiches and pho.
This is a very touching story. I think we should all help others. I admire you for your big heart to volunteer in a poor country.
If only our world had more people like you – someone with a heart to serve others and make a difference, selflessness to put in an abundance of time, energy and money to help others in need with no expectation of anything in return, the willingness to leave the comforts of your home that we all take for granted and to travel to unfamiliar places, and the tenacity to overcome and/or adapt to whatever is thrown at you – it would be a much better place.
"The heart of a volunteer is not measured in size, but by the depth of the commitment to make a difference in the lives of others." – DeAnn Hollis
If what DeAnn says is true, you have a big, big heart!
Interesting Perspective and look into people on the other side of the world. Great piece.
Hi here is a great film about kindness from strangers. Check it out! http://americanbearfilm.com/ If you are interested in this, please support us on kickstarter.com! http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1130468428/american-bear-an-adventure-in-the-kindness-of-stra?ref=live
Your donation means a lot!
Jessica! What an amazing journey for such a wonderful cause. I've had such a similar experience in Uganda and wanderlust to head back and give and give consumes me all of the time. I love the idea behind volunteering and tourism! I think this is a big market. Great job and good luck!
the willingness to leave the comforts of your home that we all take for granted and to travel to unfamiliar places, and the tenacity to overcome and/or adapt to whatever is thrown at you – it would be a much better place.
Thanks for the inspirational post! I am eager to learn more about voluntrekking.