After several months of activities being closed due to COVID-19, here in Thailand lockdown has come to an end. Although Pattani province had initially been hard hit by COVID-19, thankfully now the situation is under control. This has allowed the football project in Southern Thailand to restart last month, and children (from 8 to 13 years old- many who are from vulnerable and low-income families) who had been involved in our projects have been slowly returning.
SEEDS partner organisation Yayasan Tunas Aksara recently completed an 11-month program in North Lombok, Indonesia, in partnership with the INOVASI program from Australian Government’s Department for Aid and Trade (DfAT) and the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture.
Indonesia, in common with much of the world, is facing both a health and economic crisis from Covid-19. As with any disaster, vulnerable groups are the ones hardest hit. SEEDS, working with local partners, has already been working in coastal communities to strengthen their livelihoods through education, entrepreneurship, and environmental programs. These programs were designed to make households resilient to shocks but the scale of the COVID-19 ‘shock’ is far beyond their capacity to cope.
During the past few weeks of worldwide change from the spread of COVID-19, SEEDS partners at a nonprofit foundation in Indonesia have distributed food supplies to poor families. Many in the country are struggling to survive in midst of economic hardship related to virus response measures.
It’s hard to overestimate the positive impact of sports on young people. Sports impact youth cognitively, emotionally, socially, and physically. Through participation on a safe and healthy team, youth learn life skills and develop character traits that will assist them when dealing with challenging seasons of life in an urban environment. Over many months, team members also grow in decision making skills, goal setting, self-confidence, and leadership.
Millions of bottles of sweet cordials are sold across Indonesia as families get ready to celebrate the end of the fasting month. Wouldn’t it be great if local fishing communities could grab a slice of this huge market and protect the environment at the same time?
According to UNICEF Indonesia, around one in three Indonesian children under the age of five were stunted in 2019. In this middle income country, unhealthy eating patterns are one of the major causes for impaired growth among children. In the poorer neighborhoods that we work with, it is not uncommon that children don’t eat fruits and vegetables, and consume instant noodles, deep-fried snacks, or sugary drinks multiple times per day.
“Thank you for always encouraging us to be more critical, so that it pushes me to study harder.” A student sent this message to the SEEDS worker that teaches her ‘Speaking for Argument’ class. As a future English teacher, it is great that she appreciates being pushed to think more critically about what she sees and hears.
In recent years, Industrial Revolution 4.0 has been a game-changer in many societies in developed as well as developing countries like Indonesia. In fact, the current government has launched what they call “Making Indonesia 4.0 Road Map”, a vision of preparing the country for this Industrial Revolution that will result in greater manufacturing productivity, higher GDP as well as the creation of job opportunities for Indonesia’s labor force. Indonesia aims to be one of the top 10 global economies by 2030.
Imagine that a recent storm destroyed the only bridge connecting your village to the outside world. The area is so remote that it will take days for outside help to arrive, and on top of that, only a few building materials are available. You are given one day and a handful of basic materials. Can you design and build a bridge to help reconnect your village to the rest of the world?