Children of the future

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 06/18/2007 9:40 AM  |  Life

""I want to be a photographer,"" Adista (Adis) Yuliani, 15, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday at the entrance gate of Monas (National Monument) in Central Jakarta.

This was the second visit to the capital for the girl who lost her mother, four siblings and grandmother during the massive tsunami of 2004.

Adis who visited Monas two years ago, along with her friends from the Media Kasih care home in Banda Aceh, appears to have been inspired by the photography workshop conducted by Save the Children.

Her photo is among the 60 on display in the A Child's Eye exhibition at the Hotel Gran Melia, and shows her friends sweeping the floor and cooking a communal meal in the kitchen of their panti asuhan.

""I like my friends at the panti,"" Adis remarked about her photograph. Her father, Hanafiah, lives in a shelter outside Banda Aceh.

On Thursday, the Acehnese child photographers were taken by Save the Children on a tour to Monas and Dunia Fantasi amusement park while their works hung in the five-star hotel.

Not all the children at the care homes are tsunami survivors, and most were placed at the homes as a result of conflict or poverty.

""The panti is not only for orphans,"" said Askur, who lives at the Al Mahbubiyah care home in Pidie. His parents live outside the town.

For A Child's Eye, the 13-year-old student took pictures of friends who were playing or exercising at the care home.

""I like the program. I also like to visit Jakarta. It's my first visit,"" he said simply.

Another photographer, Fauziah, 14, from the Amal Saleh care home in Lhokseumawe, also expressed her pleasure at her first visit to the capital.

The junior high school student said she took pictures of daily life in her care home.

""The one of the friend who gives a speech is my favorite,"" she said.

-- A. Junaidi

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