KangGURU
Travels to
Bima written by Kevin
Kevin traveled to Bima in Sumbawa to meet with English
language teachers, a KGRE Connection Club and to
check out some of the work of AusAID and WSLIC 2. I
also paid a visit to Radio Pelangi - KGRE's
broadcast station in Bima.
Bima - November 7th - 9th, 2005
It was a little odd actually as I had not travelled for KGRE
for quite some time. But on Nov. 7th I was off again to visit
language clubs, teachers and radio stations – this time to Bima in
Sumbawa, NTB. The flight by Merpati was on time and the trip was smooth
and scenic. At Bima’s airport, Hasim Salahudin, members of the
Organizing Committee were there to meet me and to start our adventures in
this very dry part of the country. It was the very end of the wet season
so Sumbawa, or parts of it, were very dry. The trip from the airport to
the hotel was scenic as the road ran along side the bay on which Bima
sits. There was a lot of activity on the water with boats and fishermen
but also along the roadside as people gathered in groups under trees
having picnics. It was also the last few days of the Idul Fitri holiday so
people were out enjoying themselves.
We went onto lunch at the Srikandi Restaurant. Most of the other places
were still closed due to Idul Fitri bit the choice of Srikandi was a good
one- delicious food. I was accompanied by Inah from Bifi Foundation, Feny
from SMAN 1 Kota Bima, Sri Hastuti and a gentlemen called Syahruna. These
are the same people who me at the airport.
After lunch we headed from Radio
Pelangi, a popular radio station in Bima which plays KGRE every Sunday
at 4.00pm. There I met with Budiansani (in grey t-shirt), brother
of the owner and a young man who seems very interested in not only his
radio station, but English too. It was obvious to me that Radio Pelangi is
keen to help their English language presenters and KGRE. Later in the day
Radio Pelangi provided the equipment and technicians (4 people) to do a
live broadcast and interactive telephone hook up for the club meeting at
Bifi at 4.00pm. Great job and you know what? Different from some of the
bigger radio stations I visit – not talk of money – they were just
being helpful and supporting their programs and staff.
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We chatted for quite a while about Radio Pelangi
and how KGRE can help them with their English language interactive
program. Innah and Feny are certainly keen to get fresh ideas on how
to make their radio program, in conjunction with KGRE, more
interesting and attractive to listeners. I am sure they will be new
members of the KGRE interactive Radio Presenter’s Network soon.
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| Later in the afternoon I went to
the home of the Bifi Foundation and met with members of the BiFi
English Club, a KGCC and the first in Sumbawa. There were about
50 young people there, some members of the club and other just
visitors. Pak Maryono Nasiman, Assisten Bina Aparatur Pemerintah
Kota Bima was also there to take telephone calls and to join in with
the activities. There were questions from callers by telephone, and
from people at the meeting, and it was all live on radio thanks to
Radio Pelangi. The questions, answers and discussions lasted for
almost 2 hours. It was a lot of fun. |
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The Bima Workshop began promptly at 9.00am with
everything ready to go. There was a very short opening speech by
members of the committee and then the workshop got underway. The
teachers were terrific although it took them quite a while to get
into groups of two. We laughed about that. Activities ranged from
Tina Arena and Lake Toba from the original KGRE Teacher Package to
Shanty from the August 2004 Reading Class Set. There was plenty of
interactions between the teachers themselves and with me as well. It
was quite lively. According to the feedback, teachers really enjoyed
the day’s activities and are hoping KGRE can return soon. Teachers
were also very interested in the ‘soon to be released’ SMP
Teacher Package from KGRE and so they should be as it is going to be
terrific. |
About 60 students arrived at the workshop venue at 3pm
for a short KGRE Student Meeting. The levels of English that I heard
there were really fantastic. Zainal was there and he was very happy
because his letter was printed in the Aug 2005 KGRE magazine. It was
great to meet and chat with him – great English too. I also met
Rahmat Hidayatullah who was one of the Runners Up in the 2005 KGRE
Writing Competition. He was good too and I am sure we will be
hearing more from both of these young men in the future.
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Pak Wahidin brought 8 of his SMP students to the
meeting from their school about 25 km from Bima. They were keen and
active and KGRE will be sending Pak Wahidin a FREE SMP Teacher
Package as soon as they are available – great effort and his
students are lucky to have a teacher like him for sure. English
language teachers and students are certainly enthusiastic in Bima.
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On Wednesday morning I met with several people at
the hotel before Ileft for the airport. One of them was Sri Astutui. Sri
Hastuti is an active young lady from Bima. She is a member of AusAID’s WSLIC
2 team in Sumbawa (Water and Sanitation for Low Income Communities 2).
WSLIC 2 has been assisting locals working in villages in the Bima area for
the past 3 years to improve their own water and sanitation services.
Facilitating activities such as digging wells and developing water systems
are just two aspects of Sri’s work for WSLIC 2. Helping villagers to
identify their water problems and needs is one thing but Sri even helps to
make sure the concrete used in the building of the wells, for example, is
correctly mixed to last a long time. Local communities are a vital part of
the team too. The participatory cooperation system being used is often
called ‘In Cash, In Kind’ - groups of villagers contribute to
the construction in the form of cash (4%) and in the form of work
(60%).
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On Wednesday morning I met two young students at my hotel. Their
names were Yudhi and Ani and we had a lovely chat together. Listen for
them on KGRE soon. And once again, I met with the wonderful Organizing
Committee led by Innah (above left picture, far right). They all
accompanied me to the airport and that was nice of them. I enjoyed
Bima a lot and hope to return some time in 2006.
Return to Past Travels of KGRE in Indonesia
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