Category: Jakarta Street Kids

LO6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance

Having concluded my time in Jakarta Street Kids (joining up in Grade 11 as vice-chair until Grade 12, where I have to relinquish my position), I find myself much more aware of the scale of poverty in the world, in addition to the ways that out global community must work to address it. To be very clear, I am in no way implying that my time in JSK somehow solved poverty or even took any substantial steps towards relief efforts; we worked to sell their upcycled products, but that is in no way implying that it somehow solved the problem. However, even with COVID reducing the scale of the fundraisers we could do substantially, I find my eyes much more opened to how difficult the lives of those living in poverty are, and how those more privileged in the world should work hard to ensure that the less fortunate members of society are still cared for and looked after.

LO5: Demonstrate the skills and recognise the benefits of working collaboratively.

With Season 1 concluded, the leadership positions within my Jakarta Street Kids GC have been shuffled, and a new round of student leaders have replaced this year’s G12s in terms of leading the Global Concern. I decided to submit an application for the position of Chair due to my interest in getting more involved and “hands-on” with the Concern. I have always participated in fundraisers and in organising activities for GCs (Gili Eco Trust in IGCSE, especially), so I would like to pursue perhaps a different route in service; though I expect to (and wish to continue!) have a role in participating in facilitating, organising and managing fundraisers and other Service-led activities, I also want  to understand the inner workings of the GC, and view from the inside what a leader position truly entails. Despite not expecting so, I was positioned as vice-chair, and am happy to say that I now have a more active role in the GC. So far, as vice-chair, I haven’t done much (mostly due to the fact that we have recently concluded a major fundraising activity [Swim For Life]) yet, apart from taking “Minutes” (a logging document) in our meetings, I look forwards to collaborating with my peers within the Service and setting new goals and fundraisers that we will hope to achieve. I sincerely hope this year in Jakarta Street Kids will be a productive and fruitful one, not only in terms of the service work we hope to achieve, but also in helping me develop my own organisational and communication skills, and being able to assume a hands-on role in a somewhat large group (with JSK numbering easily in ~30 people).

LO2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.

Swimdonesia 2019 was a great start to my service year. Working not only with Jakarta Street Kids but also with a multitude of others, such as Gili Eco Trust and Bali Sharks, it was a great experience not only in raising funds, but also in getting a better understanding of the service process. I had previously worked on Swimdonesia during my time in Gili Eco Trust (mostly managing the merchandise stall for both Gili and Bali Sharks), but also enjoyed managing the food stalls, selling first a drink and later cotton candy. The turnout of people was overall very good, and it was a generally positive service experience, despite some marked issues that were discussed in the following Jakarta Street Kids service session (issues include the popcorn machine being broken, forcing us to use a microwave to prepare the snack [requires more thorough checks to equipment before a fundraiser], there being a significantly higher turnout for snacks such as pizza [as well as us buying too much pizza, eventually “wasting money”], and the fact that people began slipping away from the fundraiser towards ~5:30 [we may need to work on something to keep people consistently engaged throughout the duration of the event, allowing for the maximum amount of fundraising]). I am glad to see that me moving to Jakarta Street Kids has not significantly impacted my enjoyment of GCs compared to Gili Eco Trust in the slightest.