North Jakarta

Last Monday I had the privilege of heading to a slum area within North Jakarta. I went with Maria, the same lady that picked up my parents while they were here. In fact, she took me to the same area that they went to. What you see here in this photo is the marsh area over which the houses are built. Most of the houses are built on bamboo poles as is the entire walkway system. The wooden structure in the foreground is the remnant of a very well-used walkway. You can see Maria walking very carefully across a pathway that is still in use. It is the main means of getting from one area to the next. If you click on the photo to enlarge it you can see down into the marsh below the walkway...and it is full of garbage. There's no where else for the people to throw it.

The slums are illegally built on a parcel of land owned by the government. At any time the government can come along and tell them they have to leave. Every rainy season the floods come and the marsh rises into their homes, especially those that are "fortunate" enough to be built on land. One of the things that I noticed was that the toilet (an outhouse structure balancing on the bamboo walkway) flows right into the marsh waters, and from this same water 20 meters away a man was fishing for his daily meal.

One of the main forms of subsistence in this particular slum is the harvesting, drying and weaving of the water weed that you see in the photos; it is called enceng gondok. The fellow in orange is literally a "snake man," and his job is to get to know the snakes that slither amongst the weeds (and come up onto the walkways during the flood season) and to persuade them to go elsewhere. I was told that he talks to them, and has them leave the particular area that the workers are trying to harvest (I have a few friends here who would probably love to hire him!!). Once the grass is harvested, it is washed and laid out to dry. This takes longer during the wet season, and therefore this is the time that the grass is mostly left to grow. Once dried, the grass is split and woven into various items, such as mats, bags and baskets. I didn't actually see any of the final products so I am not sure if the people in this slum do the weaving or just the harvesting and preparing.

Maria's position in this slum is one of teacher (guru). She is focusing on teaching a particular group of women about "personal empowerment." What this means is that she teaches them about hygiene, interpersonal skills and coaches them in areas of self-employment. Maria herself is an Indonesian with a Catholic/Christian background, and all except one of the women she works with is Muslim. This particular slum is just one of 6 that Maria visits (voluntarily) weekly. She is the woman dressed in pink, and the necklace she is wearing is one of the ones that the ladies have made to sell. The sewing machine pictured here is the only one these ladies have, and it is a very basic model. There are a number of people in Campbell River, BC who have donated cash to my mom and dad to put towards another machine. The one that these ladies especially want is a little more elaborate; it embroiders and buttonholes and things like that. I totally agree with them because then it would raise the quality of their sewing projects. So, thank you to any of you who may be reading this that have contributed in some way towards another machine. When the purchase actually occurs and the machine is delivered, I will be sure to post photos.One last thing I just had to mention because it was so cute is the "Banana Song." Unfortunately this photo is a little dark, but it is of Maria singing it with the kids..."You peel the banana/ Eat the banana/ digest the banana/ exit the banana/ flush the banana!" They think it's a hoot and I wish I'd got a few closer shots of their faces while they sang.

Thanks for reading.

ps. I am having stomach issues that seem to be increasing rather than decreasing. Your prayers are valuable and needed. Thank you!