LOOKING AT GOD’S WORK IN RAWINALA

By: Purnawan Kristanto

Transletter : Abelle J Mantiri

Maria covered her face down to the table when we entered the basic class at MDVI School, Rawinala, in east Jakarta. “Come and say hello, Maria,” asked Mrs. Agatha, our guide for the day. Maria sat still. While Olin, her classmate, looked very enthusiastic. She stretched out her hands, wanting to shake ours. Olin is a student with Multiple Disabilities. She is both blind, and mentally retarded.

After spending some moments of persuasion, Maria finally lifted up her face. My Dear God, I couldn’t hide my surprise after seeing Maria’s condition. The face of the 9 year old girl really moved me. I don’t have the heart to describe it in detail here. All I can say is that her face looks like a melted candle. She had a small towel wrapped around her neck to keep her saliva from falling.

Maria is not a fire burned victim. She is a victim of her mother’s bad treatment. Her mother, who is a paramedic in one of a famous hospital in Jakarta, did not want her presence. I’m not exactly sure what she did when she was still conceiving Maria, but it definitely affects Maria’s present condition. Maria is also suffering from intellectual and mental retardation. Her problems continued when her own Mother rejected her. At the present, Maria is being cared by her Stepmother, and is currently living in Rawinala.

When we stepped out of the class, we saw an approximately eleven year old girl crawling her way up to the trampoline at the school’s yard. She was not yet standing straight when one of the teachers jumped in to the trampoline with her. The child’s body immediately tossed around on the swinging canvas. Her hands reached out, trying to grab anything. When she finally found the teacher’s body, she immediately hugged her and jumped along with her. This girl’s name is Yona. She also has multiple disabilities: blind and deaf. These conditions make her difficult to communicate to other people. If she is only blind, then she would be able to be taught to communicate verbally. If she’s just deaf, then she would be able to communicate in sign language. But Yona has both disabilities. It is much more complicated for her.

At this moment, Yona communicates by relying on her sense of touch. “We are still trying to find a better way to communicate with Yona,” explained Mr. Sigid Widodo, who was accompanying us. Despite of her hearing and seeing disabilities, Yona was able to move around agilely. Bored with the trampoline, she walked over to the slide, without help. She climbed to the stairs unhesitatingly, and when she reached the top, she felt the sliding board with her hand for a moment before finally placing her body on top of it. Then, with full confidence, she let herself slid down to the grown. When she reached the ground, she grabbed her teacher’s hand, and dragged her to the garage. She wanted to play the tandem bike. That’s Yona. Although she cannot see and hear, she is very active.

“How do you keep yourself persistent in this field of service all these years?” I asked amazingly to Mr. Sigid. The Director of Rawinala School did not respond immediately. Instead, he told me a story from the land of Palestine, 2000 years ago. There was a teacher, who was walking around with his student, when then saw a beggar, who is blind from birth.

“Teacher, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blinded?” The disciples asked. At that time, when a baby was born blind, then the society automatically accused that it was a curse. That it must be the fruit of sins.

The teacher did not want to stigmatize. “It is not because of his sin, nor his parents; it was so that the works of God might be seen openly in him,” The teacher explained wisely. “While there’s still time, we have to do those works,” He added.

“That also applies when we see the condition of these children here, don’t ask who sinned that they are like these. They are special because God uses them to openly show His works.” Mr. Sigid explained as we sit in his simple office. “We are grateful because by working here, we are able to see God’s works,” he continued with a bright face.

After 2 hours tour around Rawinala, we could really see the hands of God working miraculously there. There have been lots of miracles happened, because many people experience a change of life there. It didn’t only happen to the children, but also to the parents. Parents who rejected before are now able to accept their child whole heartedly. Parent who were formerly over protective, now are able and willing to give their child an opportunity to develop according to their own potential.

“Really, we are not the one who is helping them. Those children really gave us many blessings.” Mr. Sigid Widodo said modestly.

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You can be a part of God’s works by donating to Rawinala Multiple Disabilities Education Foundation through:

1. BCA KCP Rawamangun. Account no.: 094.300.2689

2. Bank Mandiri KCP MH. Thamrin. Account no.: 129.000.128.1449