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our years ago Dita Agustina thought she would not be able to return to school, her family having just been evicted from their house in Tangerang.

Hope was starting to fade away along with her books, school bag and stationery that were destroyed during the eviction. But then she learned about Rumah Belajar Anak Langit, a learning community for low-income families in Tangerang.

Dita was then in her final year of junior high school and hoped to one day become a teacher to teach others of the importance of education.

“I almost gave up hope after the eviction, before I got information about Rumah Belajar Anak Langit,” she told The Jakarta Post on Monday. “Being a teacher will help me raise people’s awareness about that too.”

Another child attending Rumah Belajar, Sela, was arranging her color pencils to form the shape of house when her teacher asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up.

“I want to be a teacher like Mrs. Vina,” said the 6-year old, referring to one of her teachers.

Located just beside Cisadane River, the self-funded foundation is currently helping more than 200 marginalized children reclaim their right to an education, a service they have been providing since 2004.

Rumah Belajar Anak Langit helps children from as early as infancy, through their early education and up to senior high school, to continue their education despite their economic worries.

The community area, most of which was built using preserved bamboo, is open round the clock for the children to learn with volunteers or just visit.

While the early childhood education program takes place in the community area, the elementary school and high school students are financially supported by Rumah Belajar Anak Langit to enter state-run and private schools in the neighborhood and are free to do additional courses in mathematics, English and other subjects.

Vina Nur Afiyanti, a housewife and volunteer teacher at the center, said there was a strict selection process for children hoping to be supported by or enrolled at the community, emphasizing that their willingness to continue their education was the most important criterion.

Vina added that currently the community had 20 volunteer teachers that came from various backgrounds, from housewives to civil servants.

“There are 20 volunteers who teach regularly, but sometimes there are also college and senior high school students who help us to teach the younger kids,” she said, adding that none of them wished to be paid for the job.

As the school has been established for 12 years, many of the graduates have been able to get good jobs. Vina said that helping children to build better lives was the main goal for the school and its teachers.

Vina, who has been teaching mathematics at the community for the last three years, said as a volunteer she was under no obligation to go to the school every day, but said that she was ready anytime her students needed her.

However, the school’s existence could be under threat as it is located less than 5 meters away from the banks of the Cisadane River. Rumor has it that the city administration may soon evict the school to build a levee.

“I hope this isn’t true because we don’t have anywhere else to go,” she said, “I do not want the children to lose their dreams just because they don’t have money,” she said.