Love for orphans and children

            By: Wina SW1

Do you have parents? Do you care about them? Do they care and love you? Or you never care about them, because you do not satisfied with them. You don’t like the way they treat you?
            I have parents. I love them. They love me so much, although I always make them tired with my actions. They always open they heard and hand for me. Their loves seem never ending and always full. Whatever and however I am they love me. Sometime it makes me cry. I don’t know how to give back to them, all their kindness and loves. Yeah, a kid never able to payback all their parents love and time.

How about you?

Do you still have both of your parents? Do they care about you so much?

If yes, you are one of the lucky kids in this world. Although you cannot pay back what they had gave to you, do not mind. What you should do is to love them and respect them.

Do you know, more than 200,000,000 children in this world lost their parents (both of them, father only or mother only)? They became orphans because of many factors. It caused by conflicts, wars, terror, accident, diseases, disaster, divorces, etc. Some of the children in the world were born as an expected child. Their parents through them away and make them have no parents and family.

The orphans are not lucky as we are. They want to meet their parents, but they have no chances. Some of them already meet their ‘new-parents’ or foster parents, but it wills never the same. They miss to share, laugh, talking, playing, and spending their time together with their parents. Sometime they miss their parents voice and hugs.

They want to eat dinner together. They want their parent send them to school and pick them after school finish. They want their parents help them to do their home works. They want their parents play together and go to somewhere together. They want their parents to give them money when they want to buy toys, candies, ice cream, bakso or something else. They want their parents beside them when they go to bed, when they have a nightmare, when they afraid about something. They want their parents’ hugs and supports. They want to pray and learn something with them.

Could you imagine, how sad and loneliness a kid without parents love and cares?

Money could not buy it.

Because they have no parents, they should face anything alone. They feel empty when they saw other children laughing and spending time with parents. They feel sad and want to cry, but it will never bring their parents back.

Some of them have to work hard to survive. Some of them could not continue their study, because they are very poor. Some of them have to be parents for their younger brothers or sisters. Some of them have to live in the darkness as beggars, homeless or enter the prostitute world at a very young age. They have no choice. They have to survive. Some of them jail themselves in sadness without smiles. They try to make their own world. Some of them became depress or did suicide.

In other side, many of them still strong and continue their live seems like never happens. Many of them became success and help other orphans. Many of them try to smile although they are crying inside.

            So what should we do? How to make them keep smiling and survive? How to make them became great person?

            We need to support their heart and their life.

            If we not rich enough, we could support their heart and mental. We can make them laugh and cheer up their spirit. If we have enough money, we could share some of them to support their education. We also could some of our things, such as used-books, clothes, and toys to them. We also could teach them anything we know or give them opportunity to work part time and improve their skill.

            In Indonesia, more than 150,000 children live in the street and 10% of them are under 5 years old (baby). More than 2,000,000 children have to work as labors with under-minimum payment and more than 70,000 children in prostitution world.

            In this world, there are more than 200,000 orphans and 150 million street children.

            After tsunami disaster on 26 December 2004, more than 8 thousand children in Aceh became orphans. More than 2 million children starving and about 1,500,000 children became orphans in Iraq because of the war. The orphans in Afghanistan increased from 35,000 to 2 million children because of the war too. And in Africa, more than 40 million children lost their parents because of AIDS.

            Nobody wants to lose his or her parents. Nobody wants to orphans. But sometime life is no choices. The condition and situation forces some children lose their parents.

            Losing our beloved is something hard and not easy to forget. Maybe time will help, but never able to eliminate the emptiness side because of losing our love. Especially, when someone lose his or her parents. Age cannot be an indicator of the sadness. Because it always the same. Anyone will feel the same sadness when his or her loves pass away. No matter they are kids or adults. Of course, for kids, life became more difficult and harder than adult. Because the children are too young to support their life and to survive compare with adults.

            If you still have your parents, please meet them, hug and kiss them. If you live far away from them, please call them or send them a letter. Please express your gratefulness and love before it will be too late. Please ask your parents forgiveness or do something that could make them happy. Do it know or you would regret it.

            If your parents had pass away, you also still able to express your love to them by praying or send your prayers to them. Be a good one and make your parents proud of you. They had gone, but their loves still here. You are their love. Please make them proud of you and do not regret you’re born. Never give up and make your entire dream come true. Proof to them that you still survive and the best one. You can do it.

            Many orphans and poor children still need our help. Let’s do something! Now! We have to open a door to a bright future to them. Just do something. A small thing also has a great meaning for them.

            Three weeks ago (August 1- 17), I join Ashinaga International Summer Camp (SC) in Tokyo, Yamanaka-ko, Aso-Kyushu and Kobe. This is my 3^rd time to join as an interpreter for the children from Aceh and Yogyakarta.

            Ashinaga (www.ashinaga.org) is one of Japanese Non Profit Organization (NPO) who supports the orphanages education and mental care. Summer camp is one their mental support programs.

            Ashinaga started SC every year in the summer (only 2005 in the winter) since year 2000 or five years after Great Hanshin (Kobe) earthquakes. This year was the last SC. Ashinaga invited 103 orphans (elementary school to senior high school students) from 18 countries to come to Japan and join summer camp with Japanese orphans (senior high school and university students). The orphans lost their parents because of war (Iraq, Afghanistan), terror (New York, USA), because of hurricane (New Orleans), earthquakes (Taiwan, Turkey, Columbia, Algeria, India, Iran, Pakistan & Yogyakarta), because of tsunami disaster (Banda Aceh, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia) and because of diseases and AIDS (Uganda and Nigeria).   

            During the SC, they play together, sharing, walking and became ‘tomodachi’ (friends). Sharing time is the hardest one. Not everyone can be easily sharing his or her sadness and painful feeling. It is very hard to re-tell again about your lose. Especially when they lose because of something unexpected, like war, terror or disaster. It is very difficult to share the memory that you want to forget with others.

            But, it will be easier when you do with people who had same experiences of background. They know how your pain, they know well how your feeling and emptiness. Sharing make you became more relax. Although you just a listener, you could learn something from the other stories. You know that you are not alone. Many of others have the same pain as you. Some of them have to face harder life than you.

            That what Ashinaga wants from SC. Orphans supported other orphans. By offering a friendship, the border of different countries, background, cultures, religions, languages, color, can be broke. Everybody became as one, a big family and friends.

            “Tomodachi ni naru tame ni, hito wa de aun da yo..

            友達になるために人はで会うんだよう。。。

            Orang-orang bertemu untuk menjadi teman

            People meet to be friends

            That is a small part of Ashinaga Theme Songs: Tomodachi (Friends). This song has deep meaning. I love this song words.

            I had joined SC for 3 times. I can see a good change among the children I accompanied. They became more expressive and cheerful. Their spirits cheer up.

            I think it is very important for them. The mental supports make them trying to stand up and continue their lives. But it is not enough. They still need a follow up to continue their study and daily life.

            Before go back to their own country, the participants wrote their hopes in a origami paper, and they also wrote a composition about their problems and imagination if they became a country or world leader.

            Most of them hope there are no more wars, conflicts, and terror. They hope that people of the world will pay more attention and support the orphans around them. They hope the orphans could continue their study and happiness the same as other children. They hope that they can have lots of friends and keep smiling…

            Most of their problems is about economy, education, and mental. They have to work to survive. They do not know how to continue their study to highest level since they have no money and no parents. They still feel emptiness and sadness although they are in crowded places. Their relatives took their parents wealth. They do not have place to stay. They still live in fear ness due to the war and conflicts in their neighborhood.

            If they could be a president, prime minister, leader of their country or leader of the world, they will pay more attention to orphans and children. They will build them a house to stay, place to play, support their education and make them smile. They plan to make the orphans live in happiness.

            Ashinaga will bring their messages to United Nation on September 2007. So, the world will know, what the orphans hopes and dreams. Last year, SC resulted a book of 100 orphans dreams.

What Ashinaga did is very good. I imagine, if many organizations pay more attention to the children and orphans, this world will be better.

            In Kyoto, The Association of Indonesia Student in Kyoto (PPI-Persatuan Pelajar Indonesia Komisariat Kyoto) performs The 12^th Indonesian Night. This annual is to promote and show Indonesia cultures to Japanese in Kyoto areas. All the performers (traditional dancers, traditional music, etc) are Indonesian Student and family in Kyoto. More than 200 people come to see this event. The money from the ticket and the benefit of this programs will be send to Indonesia to support education of poor children.

            Being orphans are not ashamed. Being orphans are not the ends of the world. Being orphans don’t mean that you have no future or no more happiness. No! Everything is depends on you. Happiness is in your hands. What do you need to do is keep walking and grab it. Do not let sadness take away your happy future. You are not alone. You have many friends in every side of the worlds. So, keep smiling and never give up. Make our parents proud of us. We can do something for ourselves and for people around us. Just start it now and smile. So the world will smile to you.

            Friendship, smiles, loves and hugs could bring their happiness and smiles.

            Do you have ones? Why do not share it to the children and orphans around you? They are waiting for you!

            There are many ways to do to support our children to get their bright future. What you need to do are spending a little of your time and money for them. I believe, you know how to do it. So, what we are waiting for? Let’s bring a rainbow to them and be their tomodachi. Smile!!!

(Kyoto, 21 August 2007)