Futura Indonesia® - Education for a better future

Education is the most powerful weapon to change the world - Nelson Mandela

The UN Children’s Rights Convention states that “Every child has the right to education”.
In Indonesia this right is far from being taken for granted.

In 2009, at the invitation of the local education authorities, Gabriela Sokti spent six months teaching at state schools on Lombok, a neighbouring island of Bali.
As a rule, schools in Indonesia practice the traditional teacher-up-front style of instruction in combination with learning by rote.

Gabriela had, on a number of occasions, the opportunity to demonstrate active learning techniques based on the Montessori method. The results highly impressed all those involved, and the Minister of Education of the province of Nusa Tenggara Barat invited Gabriela back in 2010 for another teaching period.

During that second stay, she came across villages without any school at all. All too often the nearest school was a long walk away, or parents could not afford the transport fares. And even if there was a village school, many families were too poor to pay the fees, low as they were.
In such areas only one child out of ten in Lombok attends school at all, and illiteracy is widespread.

It was there that Gabriela had the idea to launch an independent, integrated kindergarten and school project along the lines of the Montessori method.

She tackled the project in earnest during her next visit to Lombok in 2010/11.
While she quickly found a suitable plot of land for the school, lack of adequate financial resources forbade immediate construction measures. Instead Gabriela decided to start with a kindergarten for children between 4 and 6.

While looking for a suitable kindergarten location in one of the villages, she was offered free use of an abandoned workshop as a temporary classroom. Although the place was in shambles and far from suitable for its intended purpose, diligent - and ongoing - cleaning and renovation works soon quickly changed that, and the area is now beginning to look fit for children. The whole setting is designed for the use of both structured Montessori and unstructured material.

Following careful scrutiny by Gabriela, 25 children between 4 and 6 from socially deprived families have now been registered. In subsequent stages the kindergarten will accept more and younger children.

The site boasts a beautiful outdoor area with rambutan trees ideal for climbing and rope swinging. Additional wooden racks will offer further climbing, balancing and other moving opportunities. A special place for free experimentation is in the planning stage. Read more