Yayasan Balita Sehat

Kartini Day is at the end of April every year, celebrating Kartini (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kartini) and efforts to advance women's rights in Indonesia. There are a lot of very powerful women here, but there is also a long way to go for many. This year, I was invited to attend the celebrations at Yayasan Balita Sehat (YBS - organization for healthy under-five year olds) for a show where the students represented all kinds of professions--traditional and modern ones.  

All of the students were dressed up and did the runway walk, and then performed a dance. In true Indonesian style, there were judges (rating the perfomance of the under 5 year olds!), and awards for each grade level.  No "medals for everyone" here.

This program is interesting because it is a preschool that gives disadvantaged children good start, and it focuses on the health and nutrition of the kids.  Not only are they taught about good food at school and fed healthy meals, but the staff also educates the mothers and helps them learn a skill so that they can earn money while their children are in class.

class picture

The winners from the youngest grade, with our friend Lou (top row, far right), who is the Executive Director for YBS.  I ill be helping with some support for the management of the organization, and to help develop a method to expand YBS to other locations.  See here http://www.fmch-indonesia.org/ for more information, and let me know if you want to support their efforts!