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KangGURU Magazine for March 2006
Welcome Letter from Project Manager Hi Kang Guru-ites and welcome to KGRE and to 2006. Along with all the
rest of the KGRE crew - Ogi, Tjok, What's on for KGRE in 2006? It was just a few years ago when KGRE had only two magazines each year. Now we have 4 magazines a year - in March, June, September and December. Newly designed 'Reading and Listening Class Sets' will be made available every time there is a new magazine too. The latest KGRE Teacher Package for SMP is now ready and by the end of July, the next teacher package, for SMA level teachers, will be available. A selection of FREE compilation CD and cassette packages will also be made available this year including Different Pond Different Fish, KGRE Interviews, Best of Radio - Series 49 and 50, Idioms Inggris and Oz-Indo Connections. Now that is a lot of stuff from KGRE, IALF and AusAID, isn't it? All of us here at KGRE hope you like this magazine. The
theme is Youth and Youth Issues. KGRE has interviews with young people
from places such as Noosa, Darwin, Perth and coastal New South Wales.
On the Indonesian side we have interviews with young people from Pontianak,
Jakarta and Kendari.
Youth ActivitiesIn the December 2005 KGRE magazine, readers were invited to send in information about their favorite leisure time activities. Many people did just that! Thank you to all of you. Here are just some of their letters and we have chosen letters to match the general youth theme of this magazine.
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 Stephen
Philby is 16 years old. What's life like for him in Stuart Point,
a beachside community half way between Sydney and Brisbane? Stephen
told KGRE that if the surf is good then he and his friends surf
around three hours every weekend but rarely after school. They have
a lot of homework to do. But if the surf's good they get up really
early in the morning and go for a surf before they go to school.
They also surf after school when the waves are good. That all adds
up to around 12 to 15 hours in the water a week. What about jobs
and work in their spare time? "...because where we live
it's (a) small regional country area, there's very few jobs. It's
very hard to get a job so I don't have a job. School really takes
up most of the time because you have to get on the bus (at) 8 o'clock
for twetny minutes and then school starts at ten to nine until twenty
past three." In the evening, Stephen and his friends generally
do their homework and/or watch television. They usually 'hit the
sack' between 9.30 and 11pm. Okay, what about on weekends? Parties
are very big in Stuart Point on most Friday and Saturday nights.
Parties can be at somebody's house, at the beach, or if the weather
is good, in parks. Cars are important. Most teenagers begin driving
when they are 16 or 17. Owning a car is quite important to teenagers
in Australia. "Yeah, it's pretty important you have a car
because especially where we live everything is so far away. You
have to drive to your friend's place you know, 20 minutes drive,
that kind of thing. Yeah, the majority of people would have to buy
their car, save up and ya know, buy a really cruddy one, second
hand ....." Many Indonesian teenagers love to go shopping
and walking around shopping malls. Stephen says Aussie teenagers
are just the same, especially girls. |
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Kerry, like many Aussie teenagers, borrowed money from her parents to buy her first car. First cars are very important to Aussie teenagers, just like motorbikes are here in Indonesia. She has to pay her parents back though. She works in a hotel. Just like Ngaire (see back page), Kerry has also been a volunteer too. She was a volunteer announcer at a community radio station called 'Groove - 101.7'. The station, and its 14 - 24 year old group of announcers, aimed many of its programs at the youth of Perth. The experience actually taught Kerry that radio announcing was NOT for her. Volunteering is quite popular in Australia - lifesaving, radio announcing, the Red Cross and second hand clothing shops are just a few of the popular places to 'work voluntarily'. Kerry also commented that the Asian tsunami in late 2004 made many Aussie teenagers become involved in these volunteer activities. "Yeah, it's very popular and especially now with all the unrest in other countries it makes us realise that Australia's very lucky and lots of people want to do stuff to help."
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 "The students in our valley are not very rich. Some of these students have been saving for 4 years to pay for their trip to Indonesia. They have studied Indonesian during three years at school and saved their money from after school jobs and work on the weekends. Some of the jobs they do are just like over here. They wash dishes in a restaurant at night. They also work in supermarkets where they unload boxes, unpack the boxes and put the food onto the shelves. Other jobs they do - they work in the video store for renting out DVDs and they also baby-sit for younger children. They wash cars as well and work in cake shops. Many, many jobs, the same as teenagers in Bali". Lee Gilliland - Teacher at Macksville High School, New South Wales, |
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Diana Gullifer is 14 years
old and lives in Noosaville, Queensland. In December 2006, Diana told
KGRE that she is like many other Aussie teenagers, she wears braces.
Braces are used by dentists to straighten teeth. They are made up
of wires and small pieces of metal and are attached to the teeth.
Diana has chosen pink colours for her braces but she can have this
changed if she wants. They are checked every month by the dentist
and adjusted if necessary. After wearing braces for possibly several
years, Diana's teeth will be straight and look fantastic. "Braces
are metal that dentists put on your teeth over a period of time to
make your teeth straighter. I go to once a month or (every)six weeks
to see the dentist so he can check my braces. Mostly everyone has
braces these days". Diana told KGRE that many of her friends in Australia wear braces - both boys and girls. |
The
Weird and Wonderful Kangaroo - Facts about the Roo
Did You Know?
A
group of kangaroos is called a mob. (A disorderly crowd of people is
also called a mob!)weird - aneh, bounce - melompat, pregnant - bunting,
appear - muncul, feeding - menyusu, disorderly - kacau, boxing – beradu
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The Asian earthquake and tsunami had a very bad affect on Aceh’s health system. Many health workers and students and staff at health training schools lost their lives, families or homes. The tsunami destroyed (memusnahkan) or seriously damaged six hospitals, 41 primary health centres and 57 secondary health centres. The province’s main hospital, Zainoel Abidin, was very badly damaged too and much of its equipment was destroyed. Despite the damage, Zainoel Abidin was the main hospital treating the injured after the tsunami. Immediately after the disaster AIPRD gave AUD $10 million to repair the hospital.
The good news is that all the hospital buildings have
been fully rebuilt and all hospital services are working again. The pharmacy
and the pharmacy warehouse have been rebuilt, a three story emergency
building has been restored and the water, sanitation and drainage system
has been rebuilt. Also, all hospital administration systems are functioning
completely and over 350 staff did new training or professional development.
Furthermore, tuition fees have been paid for over 1,450 nursing students
to enable them to continue their training.
Mapping
community land (pengukuran tanah masyarakat) is very important in Aceh
these days. That is because the tsunami destroyed many villages and left
very big areas of empty land. Before the tsunami there were hundreds or
even thousands of homes on this empty land. Who owns the land is a very
important question. That is why mapping has to be done - to identify and
make documents of land boundaries and divisions. Up to February 2006,
AIPRD had recruited 135 young people between the age of 20 and 35. These
young people have been given training in community land
mapping, social skills, problem solving and managing the expectations
of the survivors. Most of these new mapmakers are recent graduates from
university and some of them are still in university. The mappers work
with people in the community, collect information and make verifications
of land ownership (kepemilikan). To verify the land ownership they get
signatures from landlords, neighbours, other witnesses and from the head
of the village. This mapping is essential before people start to rebuild
their homes to make sure there are no problems about ownership in the
future. So far, their mapping has identified 13,000 divisions of land
in three sub-districts and 172 villages.
Azwar Hasan, Deputy Team Leader, LOGICA-AIPRD, Aceh
The Eastern Indonesia Knowledge Exchange (BaKTI)
BaKTI (Bursa Pengetahuan Kawasan Timur Indonesia) was set up by the Support Office for Eastern Indonesia (SOfEI). SOfEI is a multi-donor initiative from the World Bank, and with assistance from AusAID. BaKTI was created as a “knowledge exchange” for sharing information between development agents, government personnel, non-government organisations, community groups, the private sector and BaKTI’s donors in Eastern Indonesia. BaKTI gives individuals and organisations the opportunity to exchange this knowledge through personal contact or through books, reports, profiles, case studies, manuals and other materials. By 2009, BaKTI will be a financially independent centre.
BaKTI makes an information newsletter for development agencies in Eastern
Indonesia. It contains relevant development news and experiences, and
it profiles organisations and individuals doing development work in the
region. For more information about BaKTI and its products and services,
please contact:
The Eastern Indonesia Knowledge Exchange (BaKTI)
Jl. Dr. Sutomo No.26, Makassar - 90113, Sulawesi Selatan
Phone: 0411 - 3650320 / 328249 Fax: 0411 - 322049
Website: http://www.bakti.org E-mail:
info@bakti.org
BaKTI
has set up a wonderful resource center too in Makassar. The center holds
a collection of books and other printed materials as well as electronic
data, which can be accessed through computers in the library. These computers
also provide free Internet access. Wireless Internet connection is also
available. The library is open on working days from 8.30am to 5pm. The
BaKTI Document Database was launched in December 2005. This online database
provides access to these documents via the internet on www.bakti.org
BaKTI provides national and international NGOs as well as local forums
with temporary office facilities. In addition to this, BaKTI Meeting Rooms
(for 20-25 persons) and Outdoor Area (seating for 40-50 persons) are both
available for development-related events. Their equipment includes an
LCD projector, sound system, white board and flip charts. The BaKTI Cafe
is as an informal place for reading and discussion. It can also provide
catering services for seminars and workshops held at BaKTI.
Young Indonesians Building A Better World
On January 31st KGRE visited the Bali Rehabilitation
Fund (BRF) photo exhibition in Denpasar Bali. The BRF is a fund of AUD$1.5
million. This money is used as grants and loans for people and organisations
that lost income because of the Bali bombs. The BRF works with local partners
such as government and non-government organisations who distribute the
grants. The project is closing now but in the last three years BRF’s
grants have funded 70 projects in every Kabupaten in Bali and some in
Lombok. An estimated 4,500 people have benefited from funding and around
60% of those are women. BRF manager Donna Holden said, “I guess
the main thing is that Bali was hit with a major challenge following the
bombings and I have been impressed by the resilience of people and the
willingness of NGO’s, government and communities alike to work in
different ways and look at new strategies to diversify its economy. BRF
has supported numerous initiatives, but it is important that with the
closure of BRF that these strategies continue. The exhibition was our
way to share these strategies and initiatives with others so that they
may learn from our experience.”
At the exhibition KGRE met two fantastic projects organized by, and for, young people in Bali.
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two year old Nicholas Alfendro is a Drug Program Co-ordinator for
the Matahati Foundation. Nicholas explained to KGRE about the work
of Matahati and how BRF funding has helped. “The Matahati
Foundation is a HIV/AIDS NGO in Bali. Matahati trains HIV/AIDS counsellors,
who assist, advise and comfort patients. Many of these counsellors
are young people. Some of them are in their teens. Matahati also
has a vocational program for training HIV positive young people
and former IDUs (injecting drug users). On this training program
young people learn skills such as computer skills, security and
massage. The average age of participants is 25 years of age. BRF
provided three grants to a total of AUD $81,740 or approximately
Rp 603 million. These grants built, equipped and trained 11 staff
for the Matahati Centre and paid for |
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 Kelompok
Kerja Kebon Kaja is a sewing cooperative in Gianyar in Bali. There
are twenty members, all teenagers and young adults, including four
young men. The eldest is 22. This informal organisa-tion was set
up by Ibu Wendyl, an American woman living in Indonesia, and Ibu
Jero, the village’s religious leader and healer. This village
is a very poor farming community that can barely make enough money
to survive. Before the 2002 Bali Bomb, a few people from this village
worked as woodcarvers, a couple as silversmiths and a few worked
in Kuta and sent money home. The sewing co-operative started with
a few young women living and training on a couple of donated machines,
by sewing newspapers! A Sydney woman called Adele Baker collected
money and the group was able to make school uniforms for poor children.
After that they started making men’s clothes to sell overseas.
Two grants from BRF funded extensive skills training and a “train
the trainer” program and training manual. They have built
a new workshop, doubled the number of workers and started a women’s
clothing line. |
Three Indonesian young
people who spend their free time committed to their country and improving
the environment.
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My full name is I Dewa Putu Adika Happy Putra. My
friends call me Happy. I'm 13 years old. In my free time I play
basketball. At the weekend I watch some TV and play computer games.
I like surfing and chatting on the Net too. During school holidays
I sometimes go and hang out at the mall with my friends or go to
their houses. Before I go to sleep every night I like to listen
to a little pop music. I also have some activities with my environment
club in my school. That's about two times a month. But I spend most
of my free time at Tunas Hijau. I go there at least two or three
times a week. And when I am at home I often work on Tunas Hijau
projects. Last July my Tunas Hijau friends and I went to Japan.
We went for the 2005 Children's World Summit for the Environment
(see picture right). There were 65 countries there and more than
600 children. At the summit we were put into groups of ten people
from different countries. Each day we
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more information about Tunas Hijau look at their website on www.tunashijau.org
or look at the KGRE website on KGRE Travel Pages |
 Hi, my name's Andi Kusmianto. I'm 20 and I'm from Surabaya. I study at the Graphic Design Institute in Surabaya. |
 In my free time I like learning about computers, playing computer games, reading, listening to music and hanging out with my friends. |
 I'm also an active member of Tunas Hijau. I designed their characters and I've painted lots of murals about the environment. |
I want to paint more murals around the city to make people aware of the importance of the environment. |
Hi. My name's Marisa. I'm the Princess for the Environment for 2005. Last June we went to Perth in Australia to visit Millennium Kids. That's a big youth environment project - a non-profit and non-government organisation. It was set up and is run by Aussie kids who want to have a say about their environment and their world. We went there to share ideas and get experience so we can use that experience back here in Indonesia. That's me on the right. I'm drinking water from a tap on the street in Australia.
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While in Australia we ...
Australian Indonesian Youth Exchange Program (AIYEP)
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Katerine Reitzenstein or
Kate, as she is called, is from Perth. Kate's association
with Indonesia is strong and goes back a long way. Kate came to
Indonesia in 1992. She has been coming back ever since and has maintained
strong contacts with her AIYEP alumni from over 14 years ago. During
January 2006, Kate returned to Indonesia and this time as an exchange
teacher from WILTA - Westralian Indonesian Teacher Assocaiation.
The 
teacher exchange program is in cooperation with IALF Bali and has
been running for five years. Kate was an AIYEP participant in 1992/1993,
living first in Surabaya then in a remote village called Parang,
in the district of Magetan for one month and then a further month
in the city of Madiun. As an Aussie participant in 1992 (see right),
Kate had an Indonesian counterpart. Her name was Oka, and Kate remembers
Oka as being the most important memory of her time in East Java.
They have kept in contact and visit each other regularly. |
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Communities
in Southeast Sulawesi have been buzzing lately with the arrival
of Australian and Indonesian students on exchange with AIYEP. The
Aussies have flown in from Australia to join their AIYEP counterparts.
These counterparts are from all over Indonesia so Southeast Sulawesi
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Juniardi
Saktiawan, known as Iwan is an AIYEP alumni. He was a part
of the Australia Indonesia Youth Exchange Program in 1998. He went
to Australia and lived there for two months with Australian host
families. His first host family location was Darwin and then the
second location was Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory.
Iwan had a wonderful time and he learnt a lot about Australia, and
Australians. He has fond memories of his time in Oz. He especially
remembers quite a deal about his mates in Australia. Iwan now lives
in Pontianak with his wife and young son. He works in the travel
industry and often uses his English language skills, all with an
Aussie flavor of course. |
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In January 2006, five Australians visited Indonesia. They were participants
in the Muslim Exchange Program from the Australian Indonesia Institute
(AII). This program has been running for many years and has proved
very successful. It basically allows Muslims in Indonesia and Australia
to visit each other's country. Participants have the wonderful opportunity
to experience the Muslim way of life in a new country. The differences
and the similarities are important to understand and appreciate. This year's participants were: |
Maha
Sukkar is a police constable in the southern Australian state of Victoria.
Actually she is quite well known in Victoria as she is the only member
of the Victorian Police Force who wears a jilbab 'on the job'. Maha is
originally from Lebanon but moved to Australia many years ago. She gives
motivational talks in communities and schools where there is a majority
of Muslim students. Maha visits Islamic organisations and mosques to educate
Muslim communities about their rights and obligations in relation to the
law. One of her roles with her fellow police officers is to instruct on
culturally appropriate behaviour when working with Islamic communities
and individuals. Maha told KGRE that coming to Indonesia was a fantastic
opportunity for her. She was particularly keen to see the role of women
in the Indonesian police force and to learn more about the police response
to the tsunami in 2004.
You can find more information about the Muslim Exchange Program on - www.dfat.gov.au/aii/
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Caroline and Denise from IALF Bali went to Kupang in January 2006. While in Kupang for IELTS testing, they met with the members of the Kang Guru Fans English Club - KGCC #012 (see right). They spoke with Gusti, Pauline, Jackson, Melanie and Theresia about the club. The club has 15 active members. Check out their Club Profile on the KGRE website. Here's Gusti - "It has been running for five years and I have been joining this for almost three years now, every Saturday at 9 o'clock. We have also some irregular meeting when we have some western people come, we contact all the members to come. We have, you know, some discussion, some talking yeah. You know the idea of this club is come from that magazine and well, that's how this club start. It helps us improve for English, for me actually the speaking. I also help some outside Kupang activity for example in Rote, the last two years in Soe."
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Uning Musthofiyah was
very brave when she entered the KGRE 2005 Writing Competition. She,
like so many other previous winners, never thought she would win
BUT she did. Together with her sister, she visited Bali in November
2005 as a part of her prize. Here are just two excerpts "On second day Mbak Tjok and Mas Alwi (bottom right) picked us up from hotel. We had plan a tour around Bali. First place we visited was Kintamani. We saw mountain and lake. Those were beautiful scenery. The temperature was so unique. We could feel cool and dry air all at once. On third day at 2.30pm we were picked up by Pak Danu to IALF. Before I got interview we had a tour around IALF's new building. After getting interview with Mr Kevin we went to Matahari Mall. We were accompanied by Mbak Ogi. The Matahari Mall here was different to Matahari Surabaya. It is bigger and very nice for sightseeing and shopping. Then we got an early dinner." |
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Ms Yasmin worked in a high school situation familiar to many Indonesian teachers. Her students were poor achievers and some did not attend regularly. Learning was slow, many seemed lazy and unmotivated, and there were discipline problems. Ms Yasmin wanted to change the situation: "...there are so many things I would like to solve and improve. But I feel powerless."
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Things changed when she joined an action research group working with a facilitator (Rochstantiningsih, 2004). She started exploring new teaching approaches. First, she talked to her students about the problems. She asked for ideas about teaching and learning in her class. Next, she distributed questionnaires asking about activities. The students wanted her to vary the teaching materials more often, the way they were presented, and where the class was held. They agreed to use different locations and keep to class rules about being on time and not disturbing others. The teachers would continue to choose materials but involve the students more. Ms Yasmin noticed an immediate change - students voiced opinions and looked excited - "the good atmosphere in my class was inspiring." In the next lesson they worked in groups under the trees, discussing vocabulary and answering questions. Still, some students were restless. She reminded them about the rules for the next lesson in the library. There, she taught the students a song. They kept the rules and were very involved. Even five students who were often absent came to class. The atmosphere and dynamics were becoming more positive and cooperative. |
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Ms. Yasmin's story illustrates how action research can change teaching and improve an unsatisfactory situation. A teacher can pose and solve classroom problems, using a reflective research cycle of planning, action, observation and reflection:
Ms. Yasmin learned that negotiating the lessons with the students means involving them as members of a team. And this means giving them trust and responsibility as well. |
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Reference: Rochstantiningsih, D. (2004) Enhanching Professional Development of Indonesian High School Teachers Through Action Research. PhD Thesis, Macquarie University. |
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Have
you heard Willy yet on KGRE? If you haven't then perhaps you are not listening
to KGRE as often as you should be. Willy is an Aussie. He isn't a teenager
anymore but still in his 'younger years'. Willy is in his late 20s and
you know what? He loves to ask WH.... questions. In fact, that's just
about all he does, He asks so many WH... questions that it almost drives
Kevin crazy. Why is this? Where is that? Who are you? Which one is it?
On the other hand though, Willy does ask some great questions. Willy has
just written a travel guide book called 'Willy's World Wide Wonders'.
In that book he visits different places and asks questions. He meets people
and ask questions. He thinks about problems and asks questions. He's good
at asking questions. Be sure to listen for Willy all through 2006 on KGRE
on a station near you. And guess what he will be doing on KGRE? That's
right, asking WH...... questions!
Volunteer Lifesaver Ngaire Paszek is 17 years old and lives in the
coastal town of Noosa, south-east Queensland. Ngaire has just finished
her first year at university. KGRE spoke to her in late December
2005 as she was enjoying a two-and-a-half month holiday break from
her studies. She is a volunteer lifesaver and gives up her time
on the weekends and public holidays to patrol the surf beaches.
She helps to make sure that swimmers who may get into trouble in
the water are helped or even rescued. Ngaire is on patrol at the
beach perhaps twice a month. Why does Ngaire do this? What's in
it for her? "I love the beach. I love being a member of
the surf club. It's just great to come down here and spend some
time and it's great when people on the beach come up to you and
actually thank you for what you're doing." As a part of
her training Ngaire has learnt |
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Nippers Faris Mustapa, Marinko Joldzic and Armin Bacevac
all come from different countries but, like most teenage boys, they
all love the beach. They are among 120 young people who have been
learning lifesaving under a joint program between |
Australians
are well known throughout the world for their sailing skills. Around
75 % of the Australian population lives on the coast, therefore
ocean and water sports are very high on the list of leisure activities. |
Sailing |
"Everywhere you go in Australia you'll find yacht marinas and you'll find sailing clubs. You'll find children as young as 3, 4, and 5 sailing their own boat. They can learn it in a school or maybe their parents will buy them a little boat and teach them. And there's special little training boats for young children to learn in." said Ruth.
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Rachel,
Darmika and Alwi - I hope that your New Year is already a great one for
you. We wish you all the best for 2006 and hope you have as many plans
(and dreams) as we do.
interested
in a career in the diplomatic service too. Good luck and we
wish them, plus Dion and Naya, all the best for the future.
photography. Of course there are always stories behind the
photos too.
I
have travelled since I was a child. I used to live in Cirebon
and my grandmother was in Bandung, so my family often visited
her once a week or at weekends. Then on holidays we sometimes
went to Jakarta to visit some relatives or relaxed on the
beach of Parangtritis, or walked along Malioboro Street in
Jogja or even as far as Bali. I'm so interested in travelling,
not only because I can learn about culture, but also because
I have the chance to make new friends and go shopping for
souvenirs. 
Sampoerna
Foundation provides opportunities for students who are currently
in the 3rd year of High School to apply for Sampoerna Foundation
Undergraduate Scholarships. Forty 4-year full-scholarships
are available to study in Economics and Applied Science majors
at UI, UNPAD, UNAIR, UGM, ITB and ITS. In addition, Sampoerna
Foundation also provides scholarships for students who would
like to become student teachers to study at UPI and UNNES.
The application period will start in July 2006. For more detailed
information, please visit the Sampoerna website or call them.
My
Music Passion
can
do everything in just a second. The mobile phone is not new.
But everywhere we go we can see young people gripping this
thing. You can see their fingers playing with it and you can
hear this gadget ringing with beautiful songs called ringtones.
Remember
in the last magazine KGRE gave some information about obesity in
Australia. Obesity (kegemukan) is a real issue for young Australians.
In February 2006, the Australian Government began a series of television
commercials promoting physical activity, especially in children.
The advertisements encourage children to be physically active for
at least an hour a day. The basic theme of the promotion 'Get
Off the Couch and Do Something Physical' (bangunlah
dari sofa dan lakukan kegiatan fisik). The $6 million advertising
campaign also urges parents to be better role models for their children.
Activity fights obesity.
Hello
guys. It's lovely to be here again reading all your fantastic letters.
We received so many incredible letters from young people here in Indonesia
about their lives and youth culture. I'm really sorry we haven't got
enough room to include all of them here. But remember we do read them
all, okay? The next fantastic KGRE magazine will be in June and the
topic will be Science and Technology, so start writing now. Send your
essays and letters before 15th April 2006.
If they publish them I will be happy. I went to Hong Kong. It's
one of the main shopping centres in Asia. There are many tourist
attractions there too. One of them is Snoopy's World playground.
Here's my photograph. 
have
a relationship like a boyfriend or a girlfriend. 
To
ask someone out means to ask someone to go on a date with
you. 
To
break someone's heart means to cause someone emotional pain.
Kerry
Bailey is 19 and lives in Perth. Kerry has completed one year at
university and is now taking a year or so off from her studies.
Why has Kerry 'put her studies on hold'? "I had to save
money to pay off my car and I can't work enough when I'm studying
as well, and also I wanted to save for my trip to Bali. It was difficult
to study without the car, to get to university and to get home and
to work so I needed to pay off my car. I think I'll go back more
motivated and more wanting to study after twelve years at school."
Kang
Guru first met Evan Parker in Darwin
at a reception at the Indonesian Consulate on August 17th, 2004.
Evan finished Year 12, his final high school year, at Darwin High
School last December. He is now 18. He then came to Bali for a holiday
and spoke with Kevin about life in Darwin for teenagers. Darwin
is a remote city in Australia. It has a population of 160,000 people.
The area around Darwin provides a very interesting place to live
and play. "Darwin's quite remote compared to the rest of
Australia. The youth in Darwin would be probably be a bit more adventurous
than the kids down south. We tend to go camping, hunting out in
the bush. We can hunt pigs, buffaloes, geese, they're a big favourite.
We'd usually drive preferably with the four wheeldrive because it's
more accessible to remote areas" Evan does admit though
that many of the girls of his age would prefer to go shopping.
Ricky
is Evan's mate and attended Casuarina Senior College in Darwin.
Whereas Evan is going directly from his high school studies to his
tertiary studies, Ricky is taking a year off this year. He wants
to have a break before he resumes his tertiary studies. Ricky plans
to eventually study a double degree in economics and finance. Ricky
explained that many Aussie students take a year off either do nothing
or maybe get a small job. Many of Ricky's friends work in large
shops and supermarkets. On the other hand Evan is ready to continue
with his studies. He has been accepted into the Australian Defence
Force Academy in Canberra. He will be doing a Bachelor of Science
and studying to be soldier at the same time. According to Evan and
Ricky, young Aussies are generally outgoing and fairly adventurous.
The idea of failing is something that they do not worry about. As
Evan says, "Oh that's not really a problem, I mean if you
give it a shot and you've given it your best you don't have to be
ashamed of anything you know, as long as you given it a shot. ...we'll
probably laugh at you more if you don't give it a go, you know,
tease you a bit, call you wimp ..."
establishment of a computer-training centre and training modules
that has trained 14 young people so far.” 
discussed
different topics about the day's theme. For example, the theme of
the first day was 'air', so all that day we talked about air problem
and how to find solutions for air pollution. The second theme was
'water', after that it was 'the forests' and then 'recycling' and
finally 'energy'. At the end of five days all the groups came together
and we made a petition and commitment to what we would do when we
returned to our countries: 
was
a new experience for them too. A total of 25 AIYEP students have
been working together helping local communities in Pasarwajo and
in the city of Kendari. They have been renovating houses, carrying
out environmental projects along with sporting and English language
activities. By working together the students have developed strong
bonds with each other and with their 'home communities'. After their
first month in Pasarwajo, the students moved onto Kendari where
KGRE caught up with them for interviews. AIYEP is funded by the
Australia Indonesia Institute (AII).
from
her Travel Report. The whole story can be read on the KGRE website's
Story Page. KGRE wishes Uning all the best in the future and thanks
once again for being brave enough to try! 
must
fit in with his studies. "I'm trying to not to put it together.
I only wanna do shooting film when it's on holiday. So the preparation
I can do after studying time and yeah when filming it's on holiday
fully." 
The
future for Nicholas Saputra? Will it be acting or architecture?
"I still have one more year to think about that. To think
about what I'm gonna do after this. Because you know the priority
is like sometimes film's bigger than architecture but the next time
maybe architecture's bigger than movies."
mini
books. She is also very keen on the arts - dance and art competitions
and exhibitions. She loves music, especially dangdut, pop and rock.
Faris is 16 and attends SMA 3 Pontianak. Along with 75 other students,
he attended a KGRE Listener’s Meeting at RRI Pontianak last
January. Faris loves music and in Pontianak music festivals are
very popular. According to Faris, talent contests are very popular
for discovering new talent. Talent quests for individuals and competitions
for bands are frequent events in the West Kalimantan capital.
The
singing careers of Delon, Mike and Lucky really 'took off' when
they appeared on a talent quest -'Indonesian Idol'. This talent
quest has helped many artists to get their lucky break into show
business. Kevin spoke with Mike, Delon and Lucky in late 2005 about
their blossoming careers. You can hear them on KGRE radio in the
first half of 2006. Piyu from PADI is also be on the radio program
talking about his new career - as a music producer. Of 
course
Piyu is still a a member of PADI but he knows, just like the Indonesian
Idol artists, that hard work is essential if they are to continue
in that hectic industry. Listen to Piyu talk about his ever-changing
career - it is really very interesting. He certainly likes to try
new things - guitarist, songwriter and producer.
you could actually could do good things not just getting drunk and
you know pick up women, you know, no, no."
Different
from in Indonesia even though we’ve grown up we’re still
sponsored by our parents financially and we still live with them.
But in Australia the young kids have their own part time jobs, they
live on their own, not all but some of them we met. At least they
learn their responsibilities from a very young age”. 
family’s
sons, "So things that they did when they’ve got leisure
time is like going to the mall, going to KFC or something like restaurants
and movies, a cinema, then I join them and going to the gym. Yes,
they think it’s important because some of the youth I met
there they’re really afraid of obesity so they really like
sport to reduce their risk of obesity.”
about
the sun. They generally wear sun protection so that their skin doesn't
get burnt. Many Aussies love to get tanned, or have brown skin but
Slip Slop Slap is practised everywhere. 
basic First Aid such as giving oxygen, CPR, treating injuries and
actually rescuing people from the surf. The Surf Club not only provides
training and a rescue service but it provides social activities
for its members. Ngaire told KGRE that members of her club range
from young children, called Nippers right up to people in their
50s or even 60s.
the
Ocean Grove Surf Life Saving Club in Victoria, and the Victorian
State Government. The scheme encourages people to learn beach safety.
Faris, 16, who came to Australia from Singapore as a baby, says
he is excited at the thought of saving lives. "We're going
to primary schools and talking to them about lifesaving ... so they
will be more familiar with the beach and the hazards."
Fourteen-year-old Marinko, from Serbia, enjoyed the training so
much that he encouraged his Bosnian friend Armin, 13, to join the
program. The co-ordinator of the program is Bruce Ward, their teacher
at North Geelong Secondary College and Surf Life Saving Australia's
Volunteer of the Year. Sandridge Life Saving Club has used a $5000
grant to attract 24 people from Kuwait, Lebanon, Thailand, Indonesia,
Malaysia and Sudan to do lifesaver training. 
Ruth
Rhynehart lives in Darwin and is a keen sailor. Ruth owns a 11 meter
yacht. She has sailed between Australia and Indonesia many times.
Nothing gives Ruth more satisfaction than sailing the high seas
and visiting places such as Ambon, Flores and Bali. Ruth told KGRE
that sailing for so many young Australians is also a passion. With
annual events such as the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race as motivation,
many young Aussies are setting their sights on the glorious world
of sailing.