A day for the Panti Asuhan Muhammadiya in Padang, Indonesia

From the funds we gathered out of the ice cream sales, the next was to do the feeding activity.

Considering everyone’s availability, we have scheduled the outreach date to be 25 October. 

Days before the event, I have come back to the Orphanage to confirm our arrival on the 25^th, and this time they want us prepare for 60 people (as opposed to 35 which they have initially told us). Nevertheless, if we are cooking the food, then this number is achievable.

Everything in the preparation side went well, and we ran on schedule. We have prepared all the ingredients day before, and so, thanks to my peers too who I’ve invited to help out in the cooking, given that we had to cook 3 dishes for 60 people in 3 hours, we managed to get things done on time.

During the meal, we ate by hands in a boodle, and sat between then. 

We put a portion for Introduction to establish comfort and to be sure that the boys aren’t shy to play our games. For the games, the boys especially enjoyed the passing of the water balloon through fabric. We played with them too, and not just anchor the games. 

After finishing the games, we had a little snack. After which, we gave our final message and appreciation and left to give way for their afternoon prayer.

Thanks to my co-participants at the UNAND Dharmasiswa 2015-2016, Cicilia Elviani who has lend her time despite her overly busy schedule, as well as her house and utensils, and other friends who has pledged support for this outreach event. Many many thanks.

From the funds we gathered out of the ice cream sales, the next was to do the feeding activity.

Considering everyone’s availability, we have scheduled the outreach date to be 25 October. 

Days before the event, I have come back to the Orphanage to confirm our arrival on the 25^th, and this time they want us prepare for 60 people (as opposed to 35 which they have initially told us). Nevertheless, if we are cooking the food, then this number is achievable.

Everything in the preparation side went well, and we ran on schedule. We have prepared all the ingredients day before, and so, thanks to my peers too who I’ve invited to help out in the cooking, given that we had to cook 3 dishes for 60 people in 3 hours, we managed to get things done on time.

During the meal, we ate by hands in a boodle, and sat between then. 

We put a portion for Introduction to establish comfort and to be sure that the boys aren’t shy to play our games. For the games, the boys especially enjoyed the passing of the water balloon through fabric. We played with them too, and not just anchor the games. 

After finishing the games, we had a little snack. After which, we gave our final message and appreciation and left to give way for their afternoon prayer.

Thanks to my co-participants at the UNAND Dharmasiswa 2015-2016, Cicilia Elviani who has lend her time despite her overly busy schedule, as well as her house and utensils, and other friends who has pledged support for this outreach event. Many many thanks.

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Puncak Gagoan in Solok, West Sumatra

Upon reaching Solok, it was time to look for something to do, or somewhere to go (other than the Danao Kembar in Alahan Panjang which I have been too already). I just really wanted to see the city, but if there is some interesting place, then that could be a bonus.

I remembered there is this friend who showed me a picture of a nice cliff in Solok, and looking at instagram posts too for Solok, shows the same pic.

At night, while having nasi goreng in one of the warungs, some nice lady gave us information, and even called a friend who can help us go to the place. However, we did not really want to bother anyone, especially seemingly a guide, so I told my friend to just get the contact details and we will call him in case we need some directions.

Even more fortunately, this friend I am travelling with has a friend in the village where the cliff is. We stopped at their house, and took his motorbike to go with us.

It was a total of less than an hour drive from Solok Town Center, through a dirt road, and some broken concrete. The slopes were, just like most of them here in Sumatera Barat, steep, but nothing is steep and dangerous enough to an Indonesian driver.

The view would have been very stunning had there not been the haze from the burning forests on the other side of the Sumatra Island. At the spot are also warung vendors earning a living from the flocking visitors. Of course, there were those random people too with buckets asking for money along the way, and the parking guys which seems to the staple job around.

Some of the rocks are marked with red X to caution as they risk falling.

There don’t seem to be any angkot going inside, and the commuting option might only be via ojek from the highway. The road plies the perimeter of the singkarak lake, plus the mini rice terraces on the side.

Upon reaching Solok, it was time to look for something to do, or somewhere to go (other than the Danao Kembar in Alahan Panjang which I have been too already). I just really wanted to see the city, but if there is some interesting place, then that could be a bonus.

I remembered there is this friend who showed me a picture of a nice cliff in Solok, and looking at instagram posts too for Solok, shows the same pic.

At night, while having nasi goreng in one of the warungs, some nice lady gave us information, and even called a friend who can help us go to the place. However, we did not really want to bother anyone, especially seemingly a guide, so I told my friend to just get the contact details and we will call him in case we need some directions.

Even more fortunately, this friend I am travelling with has a friend in the village where the cliff is. We stopped at their house, and took his motorbike to go with us.

It was a total of less than an hour drive from Solok Town Center, through a dirt road, and some broken concrete. The slopes were, just like most of them here in Sumatera Barat, steep, but nothing is steep and dangerous enough to an Indonesian driver.

The view would have been very stunning had there not been the haze from the burning forests on the other side of the Sumatra Island. At the spot are also warung vendors earning a living from the flocking visitors. Of course, there were those random people too with buckets asking for money along the way, and the parking guys which seems to the staple job around.

Some of the rocks are marked with red X to caution as they risk falling.

There don’t seem to be any angkot going inside, and the commuting option might only be via ojek from the highway. The road plies the perimeter of the singkarak lake, plus the mini rice terraces on the side.

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Overnight camping in Pesisir Selatan, Sumatra Barat

Upon my arrival in Padang, and meeting some locals, I have been shown of this place where there was a cliff dive. Heights have always been in my bucket list, and this coming Wednesday holiday, we thought of camping overnight from our dismissal from class on tuesday.

It was already around 3pm when we left campus. It was a little bit of a buzzer beater plan and so the friend who was in charge of the transport had a bit of a challenge finding a good deal. Nevertheless, as we are travelling in a big group of 11 people, he managed to get us a van from campus to the jump off place for the same price of the bus travel from city center to the nearest highway. 

It was almost 6pm already when we reached the jump off as we had to stop once in a while to buy food and stocks. The boat readied was also relatively small so it had to be done in 2 groups. As with our previous travels in this region of sumatra barat, we were again dealt with unnecessary interrogation from officials. Nevertheless, we all got to the island at a little past 7pm.

There were no cottages especially for guests in the island, although there were some warungs that sold food in the morning. Thankfully, we had some place to prepare our food that night.

....sleep! other than the bonfire, nothing much in the story that night though as alcohol was so expensive.  Nevertheless, there were plenty of planktons at a corner of the island.

The morning came and after breakfast, we tried some of the rides. It was only $2 for a ride, which would have been about $7 in my country, so I thought about trying it. Yet, imagining how much fuel was burnt to shake my nerves for a few minutes (when there are in fact some others who can’t eat)... probably no more next time for me.

A little past lunch, we went to the most exciting part... the cliff dive.

There is no docking area in the rock island so the boat had to be tied onto the rocks. From there, using some rope, we needed to climb up. There were 5 of us who climbed the cliff, but only 4 jumped. For me though, i’d rather jump than do down again on that rope. It was such a bad fall though; I had to buy menthol plasters and balm rub for the night.

From that island, we docked on the nearby island to have some snacks. There were plenty of garbage too around, and rather than just sitting the whole time, we thought about collecting garbage too. There were several monkeys in that island too who shared a papaya with me. J

Expenses:

Van from Campus to Jump Off: 30,000.00 ppx

Boat to Island, hops, and Back: 700,000.00/11=~64,000 ppx

Entrance Fee to Island: 0.00

Flying Fish Ride in the island: 30,000.00 (package of 3 rides including donut and banana boat available for 75,000)

Van from Jump off to Campus: 30,000.00

Food Share: 21,000 (including some extra we paid to the boat owner for lending us utensils, stove, etc).

Total: 175,000.00

Upon my arrival in Padang, and meeting some locals, I have been shown of this place where there was a cliff dive. Heights have always been in my bucket list, and this coming Wednesday holiday, we thought of camping overnight from our dismissal from class on tuesday.

It was already around 3pm when we left campus. It was a little bit of a buzzer beater plan and so the friend who was in charge of the transport had a bit of a challenge finding a good deal. Nevertheless, as we are travelling in a big group of 11 people, he managed to get us a van from campus to the jump off place for the same price of the bus travel from city center to the nearest highway. 

It was almost 6pm already when we reached the jump off as we had to stop once in a while to buy food and stocks. The boat readied was also relatively small so it had to be done in 2 groups. As with our previous travels in this region of sumatra barat, we were again dealt with unnecessary interrogation from officials. Nevertheless, we all got to the island at a little past 7pm.

There were no cottages especially for guests in the island, although there were some warungs that sold food in the morning. Thankfully, we had some place to prepare our food that night.

....sleep! other than the bonfire, nothing much in the story that night though as alcohol was so expensive.  Nevertheless, there were plenty of planktons at a corner of the island.

The morning came and after breakfast, we tried some of the rides. It was only $2 for a ride, which would have been about $7 in my country, so I thought about trying it. Yet, imagining how much fuel was burnt to shake my nerves for a few minutes (when there are in fact some others who can’t eat)... probably no more next time for me.

A little past lunch, we went to the most exciting part... the cliff dive.

There is no docking area in the rock island so the boat had to be tied onto the rocks. From there, using some rope, we needed to climb up. There were 5 of us who climbed the cliff, but only 4 jumped. For me though, i’d rather jump than do down again on that rope. It was such a bad fall though; I had to buy menthol plasters and balm rub for the night.

From that island, we docked on the nearby island to have some snacks. There were plenty of garbage too around, and rather than just sitting the whole time, we thought about collecting garbage too. There were several monkeys in that island too who shared a papaya with me. J

Expenses:

Van from Campus to Jump Off: 30,000.00 ppx

Boat to Island, hops, and Back: 700,000.00/11=~64,000 ppx

Entrance Fee to Island: 0.00

Flying Fish Ride in the island: 30,000.00 (package of 3 rides including donut and banana boat available for 75,000)

Van from Jump off to Campus: 30,000.00

Food Share: 21,000 (including some extra we paid to the boat owner for lending us utensils, stove, etc).

Total: 175,000.00

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Ice Cream sales fundraising in Andalas University

We, along with the other dharmasiswa (2015-2016) participants, planned to start this at lunchtime, but the ice cream arrived almost when the students are on their way back to their classes. I was getting worried if ever it will arrive; Then again, it was 300 ice creams, and with the local fascination for people with white skin, I was just so positive it will sell like pancakes; Though again, yes, it would have sold much more easily during the breaks.

We had the ice creams available at around 1, and from there, we went to our designated locations.

One big box went to the business center (University food court), another to the Library, and ours went to the Fakultas Teknik.

It was quite easy selling to Ibus (elderly staff of the university) especially knowing that it is for fund raising. Along with the ice creams, we handed out thank you cards with our contact numbers for those who would have pre-loved toys and clothes for the boys in the orphanage.

all ice cream sold in Fakultas Teknik in 2 hours

In no time, we were running out of ice creams. I have called the other groups, and they are almost closing the box. After 2 hours, we met back in the Business Center.

Approaching the table, a man, along with some others, and some Ibus from the warungs are with the other classmates and are looking for the person who started it all.
Just when i wanted to rest my throat, and legs, and shoulders, here I am over to an explanation.

Apparently, one warung have called local community officers and told them that some students have been selling ice creams and in the name of an orphanage (oh well....).
They have asked me where this orphanage is, and told them (and sketched) the location. I also showed them some pictures of the orphanage and some shots of the way to it. Then again, they don't completely understand what I am talking about, and so had a local friend translate for me. I gave them the number of the person I spoke to in the orphanage, and we called them.

Later, they advised us to seek a stamped letter from the institution on future projects.

Overall, we made 844,000 IDR in 2 hours which, not too much, but will be enough to feed the 25 boys for one sunday afternoon on 24th October.

Post coming later about the outreach.

meeting after the sales about the food and activities we are doing on the agreed date, 24th October

We, along with the other dharmasiswa (2015-2016) participants, planned to start this at lunchtime, but the ice cream arrived almost when the students are on their way back to their classes. I was getting worried if ever it will arrive; Then again, it was 300 ice creams, and with the local fascination for people with white skin, I was just so positive it will sell like pancakes; Though again, yes, it would have sold much more easily during the breaks.

We had the ice creams available at around 1, and from there, we went to our designated locations.

One big box went to the business center (University food court), another to the Library, and ours went to the Fakultas Teknik.

It was quite easy selling to Ibus (elderly staff of the university) especially knowing that it is for fund raising. Along with the ice creams, we handed out thank you cards with our contact numbers for those who would have pre-loved toys and clothes for the boys in the orphanage.

all ice cream sold in Fakultas Teknik in 2 hours

In no time, we were running out of ice creams. I have called the other groups, and they are almost closing the box. After 2 hours, we met back in the Business Center.

Approaching the table, a man, along with some others, and some Ibus from the warungs are with the other classmates and are looking for the person who started it all.
Just when i wanted to rest my throat, and legs, and shoulders, here I am over to an explanation.

Apparently, one warung have called local community officers and told them that some students have been selling ice creams and in the name of an orphanage (oh well....).
They have asked me where this orphanage is, and told them (and sketched) the location. I also showed them some pictures of the orphanage and some shots of the way to it. Then again, they don't completely understand what I am talking about, and so had a local friend translate for me. I gave them the number of the person I spoke to in the orphanage, and we called them.

Later, they advised us to seek a stamped letter from the institution on future projects.

Overall, we made 844,000 IDR in 2 hours which, not too much, but will be enough to feed the 25 boys for one sunday afternoon on 24th October.

Post coming later about the outreach.

meeting after the sales about the food and activities we are doing on the agreed date, 24th October

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Fundraising for Panti Asuhan Muhammadiya in Pasar Baru, Padang, Indonesia

Going to Indonesia was not just learning bahasa Indonesia, travelling the country to a wider extent, understanding its people and culture, but also do the same things I have started doing back in my home country.

As soon as I got to Padang, I have been on the lookout for cause oriented groups which I could join, and perhaps cooperate with for community development projects. Meantime, I have not found the appropriate group just yet, so along with my other classmates in the scholarship program, we decided to start a small one on our own.

I have been asking some new acquiantances here to help me get to the orphanages (Panti Asuhan) and thankfully, a Padang Couchsurfer helped me get to one.

Two days ago, we visited the Panti Asuhan Muhammadiya in Pasar Baru, which is just a few kilometers off campus. The center has 25 boys, aged 9 to 17, who were turned over to the center even from other provinces of their parents or relatives. A few are complete orphans, while some were from single parents or underserved families.

This coming tuesday we will be selling ice cream in campus (Andalas University) to fund a feeding and activity on the 24th October in Panti Asuhan Muhammadiyah.

If any reader in Padang is interested in handing out pre-loved items for the boys, Hubungi: 0813 1860 0294.


read here for article for the actual fundraising project.

Going to Indonesia was not just learning bahasa Indonesia, travelling the country to a wider extent, understanding its people and culture, but also do the same things I have started doing back in my home country.

As soon as I got to Padang, I have been on the lookout for cause oriented groups which I could join, and perhaps cooperate with for community development projects. Meantime, I have not found the appropriate group just yet, so along with my other classmates in the scholarship program, we decided to start a small one on our own.

I have been asking some new acquiantances here to help me get to the orphanages (Panti Asuhan) and thankfully, a Padang Couchsurfer helped me get to one.

Two days ago, we visited the Panti Asuhan Muhammadiya in Pasar Baru, which is just a few kilometers off campus. The center has 25 boys, aged 9 to 17, who were turned over to the center even from other provinces of their parents or relatives. A few are complete orphans, while some were from single parents or underserved families.

This coming tuesday we will be selling ice cream in campus (Andalas University) to fund a feeding and activity on the 24th October in Panti Asuhan Muhammadiyah.

If any reader in Padang is interested in handing out pre-loved items for the boys, Hubungi: 0813 1860 0294.


read here for article for the actual fundraising project.

Read More »