Treble The Learning Through Selfless Acts of Giving

On every Saturday you will find about 15 children from Pusat Kegiatan Anak (PKA) meeting in a small park and then walking down the shady backstreets of Pramuka. Where are they going? To attend music lessons and their lessons are free.

They are learning Suwe Ora Jamu, a traditional folk song on the pianika, a small keyboard powered by air. Their instructor has been hosting these lessons in his home for nearly a year, providing lunch and a drink for them also. The children are all identified as street children, without access to main stream education.

Felix, the instructor, along with his sister Cika and his friend, Adi give their time and money to help these children learn skills they wouldn’t have access to normally. The children recently performed at the Sahabat Anak Jamboree in front of over 1500 people.

While they arrive and their teacher gets ready, one boy picks up a guitar, strumming softly and singing. It is obvious; some of them have talent already.

Their first attempt at this song means the room breaks into a cacophony of competing noise that spills out onto the street. The sound is somewhat like an orchestra warming up in the pit before a performance but the setting and the players are vastly different. The noise clashes in the tiny room but the lesson progresses as they begin to get the timing right.

They learn, one bar at a time until by the end of the lesson, they as a group are producing a half decent rendition of the folk song. Along the way the teacher adds in the bass chords on the keyboard which throws them all into chaos for a little while but soon they are back in unison.

Over the past year, they have been taught guitar and vocals as well.

There are so many children in this country that need the opportunity and guidance of adults around them, to provide them with good examples in life. Many are caught in the cycle of begging that can flow from one generation to the next. And that is no life.

The Saturday’s that Felix, his family and friends dedicate to helping those less fortunate is an admirable action one that will serve these children well, not just in knowing how to play music but in the act of giving, compassion and education.

Jakarta should give Felix and friends a standing ovation for caring for her marginalised children.