“Only the healthy and prosperous mother, children, and family can create generation that have great quality, character, and personality, also care for others. [sic]”
– President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), at the 2016 International Conference on Family Planning (SetKab)
The above quote was recently used in the introductory session of the Batu Pertama parenting course. Batu Pertama means cornerstone (or founding/setting stone). In building terminology, it is “the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.” (Wikipedia)
With that definition in mind, it is probably self-explanatory why Batu Pertama is the name of the course. The core principles of the course resonate with President Jokowi’s statement, as they are built on the premise that parents/guardians are a child’s first teacher. Hence the main aims are to affirm the importance of the family, and why it matters; as well as to strengthen the capacity of parents and guardians to fulfil their role in caring for their family matters.
The topics covered are: Building a Harmonious Family, Mother-Child Relationship, Developing Healthy Family Rhythms & Practices, Managing Emotions, Parenting in this Digital Age and so on. We refer to these as some of the foundational building blocks of any family. Ones, which can assist in hopefully providing the best start possible for our children.
Seeds workers in Jakarta are running this course as part of a new partnership with two kindergartens in West Jakarta. The core team facilitating the course includes 6 parent volunteers, 3 from each kindergarten. These volunteers are receiving in-course/ ‘on the job’ training (via what is modeled by Seeds workers, opportunities to be responsible for some elements, after session feedback etc.). They will also have the opportunity to attend a more focused training session once both courses are completed. The hope and the thinking behind this, is that in the future these volunteers will be able to facilitate the course without the assistance of Seeds workers. Thereby, doing our part -as it were- to ‘set a founding stone’ in their communities. As the skills, and knowledge that they will attain will remain, and be developed further within their local communities, and possibly even beyond.
We began with a quote from Indonesia’s President, and it feels fitting to also end with one:
“If families could nurture productive ways of thinking and behaviour, we will be able to produce Indonesia’s golden generation, a generation of winners, a smart generation, a creative generation, an innovative generation, a productive generation, and a visionary generation.” – President Jokowi, National Family Day 2016 (Tempo)