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Former teacher uses puppets to teach threat to world’s rarest rhinos
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‘Save the forest’: Children hold cardboard puppets and a poster that reads “Save Indonesia’s forest” during a show about animal conservation by former teacher Samsudin. (AFP/Timur Matahari)
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em>A former teacher in Indramayu, West Java, uses puppet shows to raise awareness on rhinos and forest conservation among children.
In a small fishing village, a man with a fake rhino head perched atop his own puts on a puppet show for a group of eager children.
Former teacher Samsudin is educating the kids about the plight of the critically endangered Javan rhino — the world's rarest — using cardboard figures, comical expressions and exaggerated voices to spread his message of conservation one story at a time.
The 50-year-old asks the children in the village of Cemara Kulon, Indramayu, West Java, to mimic the animals and teaches them the importance of guarding the forest and the wildlife unique to it.
"I want them to know rhinos need pristine forest and that human beings are not the only creatures on earth," he told AFP.
"I want children to love nature and grow up into people who are aware and care about our natural resources."
Javan rhinos — one-horned mammals that can weigh up to two tons and have folds of loose skin that resemble armor plating — once numbered in the thousands across Southeast Asia.
