Step Into My World: Rural Indonesia

Let's step into rural Indonesia today! From the pictures that I've seen of Indonesia, the rural setting is absolutely beautiful!

I have one child in Indonesia:

Sagitaria

Compassion doesn't work in one or two specific places in Indonesia, but instead, works all over the country, which is made up of 17,000 islands! However, only 6,000 of those islands are inhabited by people. But, that's a lot of space for Compassion to cover.

Homes in rural Indonesia are typically shanty style homes made with thin slats of wood and have iron roofs. These homes are not good at protecting the families from Indonesia's extreme rainy season. Leaking roofs and flooding floors are a normal way of life for families in these areas. These homes, generally, do not have access to running water or adequate sanitation. Some, however, do have electricity, but not all. 

Cooking in these homes is over a wood burning stove. These ovens are not properly ventilated and many people develop respiratory diseases due to constant smoke inhalation. Though, cooking in this country is a very important activity. Family members come together to cook and eat. It's an important family activity. 

The literacy rate in rural Indonesia lags severely behind the literacy rate in the bigger cities. This is due to the fact that schools are few and far between outside of the cities. Many children do not attend school at all. Those that do attend are often in for a long walk into the city to reach the nearest school. These walks can often being dangerous, especially for girls, who are can be seen as targets for abuse and exploitation. Compassion teaches children to walk to school in large groups, for safety. 

In these rural areas, farming is often the only way for families to earn money. Typically, each family has a plot of farmland near their own that they tend themselves. Families rely on their harvested crops for food. Anything extra can be sold in a nearby market. Young children that aren't old enough to attend school either follow their parents into the fields or they are left at home, to entertain themselves. Child neglect is a huge problem in rural Indonesia. 

At their local Compassion project, children are taught that they are valued, loved, important, and have a bright future. Children are taught various skills to help raise a positive self esteem. Some of these activities include: music, speech, handicrafts, art, and sports. In this photo, some girls are rehearsing a praise song together. 

Of course, the Compassion staff at each project also provide the children with tutoring and homework help before and after school. Compassion works very hard to make sure all children enrolled in the program receive a quality education, to help them secure a better future. 

Rural Indonesia has the following prayer requests for their projects and children: 

- Pray for the children who grow up away from their parents, who sometimes leave the community to find work. 

- Pray that the church will be able to teach Christian values to the children. 

- Pray that parents will recognize the value of education and support their children's academic pursuits. 

I will now share two children with you who are waiting for a sponsor. Both of these children live in rural areas of Indonesia. 

This little guy is Putra. He is 4 years old. His birthday is September 29th, 2010. He lives with his father, mother, and 1 sibling. Putra is too young attend school, but will start soon. For fun, he likes to play cars. He also enjoys attending church activities. 

You can sponsor him here

This precious girl is Princess (yes, that's her real name). She is 6 years old. Her birthday is June 24th, 2009. She lives with her parents and 1 sibling. She has average performance in kindergarten. For fun, she enjoys singing and playing with dolls. 

You can sponsor her here