First night in Yogyakarta

At 5 pm this morning, I hurriedly kissed Girlie good-bye and took a taxi to the Centennial airport. The PAL flight to Jakarta had a brief technical stop in Singapore.

I browsed at the airport bookstore, and found a new book on “neuroplasticity,” which I read while waiting for the domestic flight to Yogyakarta. What I have read so far is stimulating. I renewed my decision to read up more systematically on neuroscience, not for its own sake but to guide my interest in “designing learning processes.”

The flight to Yogyakarta was delayed, and when I checked into the hotel, all the other participants were already gathered for introductions. I am attending a Southeast Asia workshop on RWS – “real world strategies” in advocacy for EFA.

I would have preferred not to leave the Philippines today. I had to miss a follow-up meeting with the Dorotan and Bulatao couples about our mantra “We deserve better.” I also had to apologize to the PARRDS board for my absence at the scheduled meeting today.  But Thea, national  coordinator of E-Net Philippines, said that I need to be present at this planning workshop since I am the E-Net president and also an elected board member of the Global Campaign on Education. In that capacity, I sit on the steering committee of the RWS in Asia.

After supper, our Indonesian hosts, E-Net for Justice, invited us to watch a short theater performance of a group of migrant domestic workers. We were told that Yogyakarta is the cultural center of Indonesia. It attracts migrants from neigboring villages.

The theater piece reminded me of Philippine agit-prop cultural presentations, with the added feature of Indonesian percussion instruments. The issues of unskilled domestic workers were linked to the lack of education of the girls, who had to drop out because of poverty. The play ended with the girl joining a school for domestic workers, where she learns about her rights, but also skills for “professional” domestic work.

There is an actual school for domestic workers here in Yogyakarta, Yanti of Enet Indonesia whispered to me that she helped design their first modules. The performers are students of that school’s course that lasts for three and a half months.

The issue of migration and education has been identified by Indonesia and the Philippines as an important issue. At the program committee meeting tonight, we asked ourselves how we can put that on the priority list of the Global Campaign on Education. I made a mental note to take that up with those who are involved in the October Global Forum on Migration which will be held in the Philippines.

Before turning in for the night, we asked the hotel if there is any internet cafe we can use. We walked down the stree to another guest house and found this one-unit internet cafe. The price is comparable to the Philippines – 4000 rupiah for an hour, which is equivalent to 20 pesos. But it’s a bit slow.

Still, I can check my e-mail and post this brief blog. Good night.

Explore posts in the same categories: Education for All, Migration