My First Visitor

My first visitor to the new office was Zan Darusman. She came to the office this afternoon with her husband and Prof Minas. I knew Zan from Farida Flemming. Zan used to work with universities in Australia, particularly dealing with issues related with foreign students. Zan helped me in analyzing data from baseline survey, for my program in Pidie. Prof Minas is a psychiatrist, Head of the International Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Australia. He is in Pidie to help Zan' husband to develop a Community Based Mental Health Program. One of the issues with mental health is to identify them at the beginning/early stage and what better way to start from primary school level. Zan informed him about the worked I have done and issues on trauma with the teachers. They are interested in having dscussion to discuss the potential to involve the teachers in community based mental health in early detection in children. I always interested in community based program. Particularly for Pidie, where the children affected by Tsunami and or conflict, the Community Based Mental Health is very crucial. The good thing of community based program is that it will empower people who are interact with children in daily activities. It will not only build the capacity of teachers who are interact with them everyday, but also with parents and community. This is very important because children mental health condition is colored by the family life or the neighborhood. The community based program will enable parents and community members to recognize and identify children mental health condition, and to know what to do or wher to go if they need help. I understand that this program will involve at least two key stakeholders, they are Dinas Kesehatan (Health Office) and Dinas Pendidikan (Education Office)at district level. I am pretty sure that the two stakeholders will support this program and willing to cooperate. This program is related with my program, the revitalisation of the school cluster system. In the cluster program, despite of teachers and supervisors, we also build capacity of parents and community so they can provide their best contribution to support children education and health. We have a dream that schools in Pidie can become a center of community education and health. We try to develop school as a healthy and enjoying environment for children. Although our journey is still long, at least we are doing something to reach that dream. I really hope that the program can be developed and implemented promptly in Pidie. Pidie people are eager to make positive change, and they are committed to support and implement any program as long as they understand that it is relevant with their needs. Good luck Prof Minas, hope we can work together to improve the children mental health in Pidie !

Sundanese

When Mary offered me a new job, she asked me to propose the salary. "The good one !", she said. I have a quite good salary from my previous job (with TAFE Global - DET New South Wales) which also funded by AusAID. So I just asked a little higher salary from the previous one. Mary and Karen said that I deserved more than that and they add my proposed salary with AUD 500 per month. When I told this incident to my uncle, he said that I am Sundanese typical. Maybe he is right. I always think that money is not everything and that it is not wise to asked high salary. The most important is to perform the best. However, I feel awful when I knew that the employer provided a very high salary for the other position below mine with less responsibility. My God, didn't they consider the tasks and reponsibility of the two different positions ? Well, this is a lesson learnt indeed. We have to act and think as professional. However, I hope my employer can re-consider their un-fair decision. Krishna

Keikhlasan berbuah semangat

Hari ini saya mengunjungi SD 1 Kota Bakti. Salah satu sekolah dasar di Kabupaten Pidie yang merupakan binaan ERA (Education Rehabilitation in Aceh). Program ini yang didanai oleh AusAID dan bertujuan untuk meningkatkan kualitas pendidikan dasar. Sekolah ini terletak di kawasan yang dahulu merupakan daerah konflik. Tidak seperti layaknya sekolah lain, bangunan sekolah ini terletak di dua tapak (site) yang dibatasi oleh sungai kecil selebar sekitar 8 meter. Dulu sekolah ini memiliki 2 bangunan untuk rumah guru dan ruang kelas yang cukup untuk tempat belajar siswa dari 6 kelas. Sayangnya kedua bangunan untuk ruang guru itu sudah hancur total, tak lagi dapat digunakan. Terlihat juga 3 ruang yang rusak sehingga tak dapat digunakan untuk kegiatan belajar. Saat ini SD 1 Kota Bakti hanya memiliki 6 ruang yang dapat digunakan untuk belajar dan kegiatan manajemen sekolah. Tiga ruang kelas berada (kelas 1 - 3) di sebelah timur sungai dan tiga ruang kelas lainnya (kelas 4 - 6) berada di sebelah barat sungai. Karena tidak memiliki ruang guru dan ruang kepala sekolah, maka untuk memberi ruang bagi kegiatan kepala sekolah dan para guru, separuh ruang belajar untuk kelas 6 juga digunakan sebagai ruang kepala sekolah dan guru. Ketika langkah kaki memasuki tapak yang berada di sebelah timur sungai, ada kesedihan dan kegembiraan yang sekaligus terasa di dada. Sedih melihat bangunan yang sungguh tak lagi layak digunakan sebagai tempat belajar anak-anak kita. Perasaan gembira terasa karena di halaman rumput yang hijau dan bersih, terlihat anak-anak sedang melakukan kegiatan olahraga. Mereka bermain kasti dengan ceria. Siswa-siswi kelas 3 ini sedang bermain kasti, karena guru mereka sedang mengikuti kegiatan pelatihan di Sigli. Dua orang guru sedang melaksanakan kegiatan belajar di kelas 1 dan 2. Perasaan sedih dan gembira sekali lagi menyeruak. Sedih melihat ruang kelas yang plafondnya sudah rusak dan warna dindingnya pun tidak lagi putih. Gembira karena terlihat para siswa belajar dengan ceria. Kedua guru yang sedang mengajar mencoba menerapkan PAKEM (Pembelajaran Aktif Kreati

Lansekap berwawasan lingkungan

Alhamdulillah, dengan perkenan Allah semata saya diundang oleh TAFE Global (suatu unit di bawah Department education and Training/DET New South Wales) untuk berkunjung ke Sydney. Kunjungan dalam rangka belajar atau study visit. Hari pertama adalah kesempatan bertemu dengan CEO dan para project manager di TAFE Global. Hari kedua Farida Fleming, Project Manager kami menemani saya mengunjungi Sydney Opera House, Botanical Garden, dan sejumlah tempat wisata lainnya. Hari ketiga, John Bladen yang adalah Technical Specialist kami, membawa saya ke Featherland. Di tempat ini kita bisa menyentuh kanguru, koala dan ragam jenis satwa Australia. John juga mengantarkan saya ke Blue Mountain yang terkenal dengan hutan nasionalnya. Dua hari rekreasi membuka mata saya bahwa sebagai salah satu negara maju yang 'cenderung dinilai oleh orang Indonesia sebagai kerap bertentangan' dengan sikap politik Indonesia ini, memiliki cukup banyak kemajuan maupun kebijakan yang patut dicontoh. Apartment yang saya tempati berlokasi di Manly, suatu kawasan yang cukup terkenal di Sydney. Apartment ini tepat berada di dekat pelabuhan feri, dimana orang bisa menggunakan feri untuk mencapai kawasan sekitar Opera House atau beberapa daerah perkantoran lainnya. Pantai yang berada tepat dimuka apartment saya sungguh sangat bersih. Tidak ada satu sampah pun saya lihat disana. Padahal sejak pagi begitu banyak orang menggunakan pantai ini untuk ragam kepentingan. Ada yang berjalan menuju pelabuhan, ada pula yang jogging, berjalan-jalan dengan binatang peliharannya, mengasuh anak atau bayi, atau hanya sekedar duduk untuk sarapan pagi dan minum kopi. Siang sampai malam, tak terhitung banyaknya orang yang melakukan aktivitas di sepanjang pantai itu. Tapi, lagi-lagi tak ditemukan satu pun sampah bertebaran. Daerah 'kota' Sydney sunguh unik. Farida mengatakan, yang ia senangi dari Sydney adalah 'perpaduan bangunan lama dengan bangunan baru' yang sungguh cantik. Farida benar. Selain gedung pencakar langit yang sangat kuat kesan modernnya, Sydney melestarikan cukup banyak bangunan lama. Bangunan yang terbuat dari batu (karena dinding asli adalah dinding batu) atau bebatuan seperti bata merah yang sangat keras, bersanding dengan bangunan baru yang modern. Bahkan ada satu hotel yang bernama the Blue Sydney, yang dulunya adalah tempat pemotongan dan pengolahan wool, tidak menghilangkan mesin-mesin yang menempel di dinding hotelnya. Unik dan sangat menarik. Saya teringat Surabaya. Ketika kami ada pertemuan nasional di kota pahlawan ini, pak Lutfi selaku 'tuan rumah' mengatakan: "Mohon maaf karena ketidakramahan kota ini. Mohon maaf karena disini orang sangat sulit menyeberang jalan". Betul apa yang dikatakan pak Lutfi. Betapa menakutkannya kalai kita perlu menyeberang di jalan-jalan di Surabaya. Banyak jalan besar tanpa zebra cross, tanpa jembatan penyeberangan (kalau pun ada, letaknya cukup jauh dan tinggi pula). Pengemudi di Surabaya pun tak peduli pada pejalan kaki. Rasanya hampir semua mobil tidak memperlambat jalan kendaraannya, walaupun mereka melihat ada yang sedang berusaha menyeberang jalan. Sungguh berbeda apa yang saya temukan di Sydney. Walaupun kendaraan tidak terlalu padat, dan kendaraan melaju dengan kecepatan yang sesuai dengan yang tertera pada rambu-rambu, tidak ada orang yang menyeberang jalan secara sembarangan. Di setiap persimpangan jalan, tersedia alat bantu untuk penyeberang jalan. Hanya dengan menekan tombol, orang akan memperoleh kesempatan untuk menyeberang jalan. Pengemudi kendaraanpun sangat menghormati penyeberang jalan. Di negara maju seperti Australia, kerap saya temukan kaum lansia berjalan sendiri walau harus menggunakan kursi roda, tongkat atau alat bantu lainnya. Tetapi, mereka tetap terjaga keamanannya, karena setiap pengemudi telah memiliki kesadaran dan kedisiplinan yang tinggi dalam berlalu lintas. Apa yang saya lihat di Blue Mountain, adalah sungguh mengagumkan. Hutan nasional ini merupakan salah satu obyek wisata yang banyak dikunjungi wisatawan. Saya melihat cukup banyak rombongan turis dari Jepang dan Korea, selain rombongan dari sejumlah negara di Eropa. Dengan menggunakan skylift atau juga kereta yang menggunakan rel, kita akan diturunkan di suatu area dimana kita dapat turun dan berjalan di tengah hutan. Yang menarik adalah bahwa mereka membuat semacam foot path (tempat berjalan) terbuat dari kayu, yang dibangun sekitar 2-3 meter di atas permukaan tanah. Semacam jembatan, yang memungkinkan pengunjung kerindangan dan keunikan hutan tanpa merusak permukaan tanah dan juga pepohonan diatasnya. Disana-sini terlihat papan informasi yang menjelaskan tentang jenis pepohonan, usianya dan keunikannya. Sungguh, kesadaran akan lingkungan yang tinggi ditunjukkan dengan penataan lansekap yang berwawasan lingkungan. Dua hari berwisata, cukuplah sudah. Keindahan alam maupun lansekap buatan manusia di kota ini, memang tak akan terlukiskan dengan kata-kata. Sebenarnya alam Indonesia pun indah, demikian juga kota-kotanya. Sayangnya, kesadaran akan lingkungan belumlah terbina. Bandung yang dulu dikenal sebagai Paris van Java pun sekarang ini dipenuhi dengan sampah. Sampah juga saya temukan di sekitar daerah Taman Hutan Nasional yang terletak di jalan Banda Aceh - Pidie. Dalam lima tahun ke depan, mungkin Taman Hutan Nasional pun akan terambah dan rusak. Alangkah sayangnya. Apa kabar arsitek dan dinas perkotaan kita ?

An Excellent Househusband and Father

Two weeks ago ERA Banda asked me to attend a Memorial in celebrating the life of Paul Hehir (1966 - 2006) who died in an motor cycle accident in Jakarta. Paul Hehir was Bernadette' husband and father of Thomas and Emma. For me, a moslem, it was the first time I attended a memorial. In our traditions and customs, people come and do the prayer for the late. Although we usually talked and shared information and stories about the late, there was no formal or planned occasion purposely to share good memories about the late. Although I never met or even knew Paul Hehir, from the memorial I got a wonderful picture of him. There were so many people came and shared stories about him. Thomas and Emma described how wonderful their father was. A loving father who always there everytime they need, who thaught them not to worry about how their look but more concern about their attitude and works. Dino, his friend, shared stories about how Paul loved his family and put his children in the first place in his life. One female from the neighborhood shared another Paul goodness. Apparently Paul was a concern and thoughtful person. Although he didn't know them, he assisted people from Kampung Kid in providing food to support malnourish students. Even more, within only 2 weeks, Paul found at least 5 donors who willing to support Yayasan Kampung Kid. I didn't have a chance to dig more information about Paul Hehir. If I am not mistake, he is a houseman. His wife works in Australian Embassy. But, although maybe he did not work at any office or for anyone, he done so many wonderful things for people around him. He supported his children school by helped them in creating and publishing a book "Letters for Aceh". He socialize with people from the neighborhood and voluntary helped them finding donors to support their works for poor and malnourish children. In my country, Indonesia, people tend to view a housewife as no one. That is why if you ask a woman who do not work in the office or decide to stay at the house and committed to raise and take care her children at home, she will say that "I am just a housewife". Women who are housewives do not have a pride. It seem that she done nothing compare to the professional or career women. If a housewife does not have a pride, can you imagine how people view a househuband ? My experience attending memorial for celebrating the life of Paul Hehir, changed my view on a housewife or a househusband (I really dont know whether this term is right). Paul Hehir committed to support his wife. Bernadette could not performed her best performance without her husband' support. Paul took care some of domestic works which could not done by her. Helped, took care and accompanied the children while she was away. Moreover Paul done so many wonderful things for people around him and the neighborhood. Dino said "The strongest diplomacy or communication between people is communication from the heart. And Paul has proven that he was an excellent diplomat". Thomas quote his father words "Remember, you are a person. You are who you are. Ignore wthat other people talk about you". Some lessons learnts I gained from the memorial. Everyone can do anything to contribute in changing the world. You don't have to become a president, governor or senator to contribute in making changes in the world. Do what you can do to help people and the neighborhood. A simple and small help from you can be a huge support for others. A meaningful support that can make significant changes in the community. Paul Hehir has proven that. He built his children' character. Contributed to people in the neighborhood and his children school. He become inspiration not only for his children but also for many people interacted with him. He changed people with his own style and approach. He taught people how to love, respect and appreciate a mother. God Bless You, Paul ! Although there is unsual for Moslem family to conduct a memorial, I shared my experience with my sons and agreed that it is great if we could celebrating someone life. Everyone must have a wonderful stories of life. And it is important to share his/her stories to his/her family, friends and relatives; so they can learn something from the one who left us. Something wonderful to keep in our mind. Something to be delivered to the children and young.