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Jokowi entertains kindergartners
While it is usually not easy to organize meetings with high-ranking officials, dozens of young pupils have proven otherwise
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W
hile it is usually not easy to organize meetings with high-ranking officials, dozens of young pupils have proven otherwise.
As many as 104 pupils of Cahaya Permata Indonesia kindergarten and Jendela Dunia learning group in Marunda low-cost apartments in North Jakarta on Tuesday visited City Hall on their first ever field trip and were personally greeted by Jakarta Governor Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo.
The pupils, donning blue uniforms, arrived at around 10:30 a.m. and were escorted to the main hall.
While waiting for the governor, the teachers asked them to sing a number of children's songs and the kindergarten's anthem. A number of meetings were being simultaneously held in two different rooms, but were not disrupted by the children's loud voices belting out songs.
Though they appeared excited, most of them seemed perplexed when asked whether they knew where they were.
'In the Presidential Palace? We're meeting the President!' a pupil said.
When asked who the current President was, the students answered 'SBY [Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono]!'
The older children from the Jendela Dunia learning group were more aware of the building they were visiting.
'We're meeting Jokowi, the governor of Jakarta,' an elementary schoolboy said.
About an hour later, Jokowi emerged from his office and was warmly greeted by the children and their teachers.
The governor played a question and answer game with the children while handing out backpacks full of books, snacks and stationery.
'What's the name of the Jakarta governor?' Jokowi asked first, which was met with an immediate answer 'Jokowi!'
Jokowi later made sure that his partner shared the same popularity, asking 'what about the deputy governor? What's his name?' to which the children answered 'Ahok [Basuki Tjahaja Purnama]!'
They grew ecstatic when the governor handed over backpacks featuring pictures of various cartoon characters, including Spider-Man, Barbie, Princess, Hello Kitty, Angry Birds and Ben 10. Some of them were not patient enough to wait for their turn to answer the questions, walking toward the governor and other high-ranking officials and asking for a backpack themselves.
'I am happy to meet these students. They look happy too. They need field trips to visit various places like museums and botanical gardens to broaden their knowledge,' Jokowi said.
Kindergarten teacher Yusnita said that the field trip was the first for the pupils of the kindergarten, which was established in December last year.
Another teacher, Hengky Prasetyo, said that the visit was initiated by North Jakarta Mayor Heru Budi Hartono two weeks ago.
Heru said that the field trip aimed to boost the children's self esteem.
'They used to live in slum areas before relocating to the Marunda low-cost apartments. An experience like this ' visiting City Hall and being greeted by the governor ' will be a valuable experience for them. It will remain in their memories and hopefully it will boost their self-esteem and belief that they can achieve something in the future,' he said.
He emphasized the city administration's commitment to providing proper education facilities for children living in Marunda low-cost apartments, which were among the first apartments that accommodated squatters from Pluit reservoir in North Jakarta.
'We plan to build facilities for elementary students inside the compound. The facilities, as well as learning activities will be affiliated with the nearest public elementary schools ' because opening a new public school is a lengthy process,' Heru cited.
