change language
du bist dabei: home - pressearchiv newsletterkontaktlink

Unterstützung der Gemeinschaft

  

UCAN

1 August 2008

INDONESIA 'School of Peace' In Aceh Cultivates Friendship, Peace In Poor Children

 
druckversion

BOGOR, Indonesia (UCAN) --  A canvas tent near a bus station in Banda Aceh serves as a "School of Peace" where six young Catholics lead 15 Muslim children aged 6-12 in values-oriented activities.

The children, all from poor families, bring mats with them to sit on during the weekly classes in the 5-by-5-meter tent.

Local members of Sant'Egidio, an international Catholic lay community, erected the "school" in February 2006 and run the classes from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. each Saturday.

"During these two hours, we teach the children the meaning of peace, and also how to count and sing," Maria, the school's coordinator, told UCA News on July 24 via telephone.

She explained the school is not focused on academics. Rather, "the main goal is to help the children make friends, experience togetherness and respect one another."

Maria, 26, recalled that Sant'Egidio members sought out the children, who live in huts around Banda Aceh, capital of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province, where Muslims form more than 95 percent of the population. She said local Catholics support the school.

Father Sebastianus Eka, a "spiritual friend" of the local community, confirmed the goal is for the children "to get to know each other and to build friendships through the school."

The priest, assistant pastor of Most Blessed Heart of Jesus Church in Banda Aceh, spoke with UCA News on July 12, the last day of a three-day national meeting of Sant'Egidio spiritual friends. Seven bishops, 40 priests and 13 nuns attended the meeting in Bogor, about 45 kilometers south of Jakarta, to mark the community's 40th anniversary.

During the meeting, Coadjutor Bishop Ambrogio Spreafico of Frosinone-Veroli-Ferentino, Italy, worldwide spiritual director for Sant'Egidio, talked about the community's spirituality. Participants also shared and reflected on their work experience, and discussed working with poor people and spiritual joy. The meeting's theme was His Boundless Love.

The Sant'Egidio community began in Rome in 1968 and is known for its service to the poor and its promotion of ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, peace and human rights. The Church-recognized movement now has more than 50,000 members in more than 70 countries including Indonesia, where it has 300 members in 15 communities.

According to Father Eka, the School of Peace in Aceh instills solidarity in the children. For example, he said, it encourages them to visit friends who are sick and help friends in need, such as by sharing school supplies. The priest added that during Ramadan, the month when Muslims fast daily from dawn to dusk, the school offers the children evening fast-breaking meals.

Father Eka noted that local Muslims welcome the school because they understand it does not introduce religious elements.

"The Sant'Egidio community is not only for Catholics but for all people. We do philanthropic services and do not expect anything from those we help," he explained. The school's name, he added, was chosen to emphasize the community's efforts to promote peace.

The Sant'Egidio community in Indonesia also runs a School of Peace in Jakarta, which holds classes every Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. in a Catholic school's compound.

There, according to Eveline Winarko, a member of the Jakarta community, more than 10 young Catholics teach 150 poor children aged 5-12 the value of friendship through activities such as playing games and singing.

"We give them our hands and embrace them tightly so that they may feel love. We want them to believe they are loved and respected," she said. As in Aceh, the school also holds fast-breaking meals during Ramadan for the Muslim children.

Additionally, Winarko said, the Jakarta school organizes a picnic once a year to an amusement park for all the children -- Buddhists, Catholics, Muslims and Protestants. "The School of Peace," she asserted, "is the arm of Jesus who loves children."

Besides Banda Aceh and Jakarta, Sant'Egidio communities exist in Atambua, Denpasar, Duri, Kefamenanu, Kupang, Maumere, Medan, Nias, Padang, Pekan Baru, Pontianak, Semarang and Yogyakarta.


 LESEN SIE AUCH
• NEWS
28 Januar 2018
MÜNCHEN, DEUTSCHLAND

Das beste Gericht ist die Freundschaft: das bietet Sant’Egidio vielen Freunden an in den Peripherien von München

IT | DE
19 Januar 2018
MÖNCHENGLADBACH, DEUTSCHLAND

Die Geschichte von Rawan: Aus dem Krieg im Irak in die Schule des Friedens in Mönchengladbach

IT | ES | DE | NL | HU
20 November 2017

Internationaler Tag der Kinderrechte: Sant’Egidio an der Seite der Kinder

IT | ES | DE
12 November 2017
INDONESIEN

Der Besuch von Marco Impagliazzo in der Schule des Friedens und in der Mensa für die Armen von Sant'Egidio

IT | ES | DE | FR | PT | CA | RU | ID
10 November 2017
INDONESIEN

Sant'Egidio und Muhammadiyah unterzeichnen ein neues Abkommen für Frieden und interreligiösen Dialog in Jakarta

IT | ES | DE | FR | PT | CA | NL | ID | PL
18 Oktober 2017
BISSAU, GUINEA-BISSAU

Wenn es keine Schule gibt – alle #allascuoladellapace! (#indieSchuledesFriedens)

IT | ES | DE | PT
alle neuigkeiten
• RELEASE
13 März 2018
RP ONLINE

Flucht, Abi, Studium

21 Februar 2018
Vatican Insider

Sant’Egidio si unisce alla Giornata di digiuno per Congo e Sud Sudan indetta dal Papa

7 Februar 2018
Il Secolo XIX

Nessuno è troppo piccolo per aiutare

11 Januar 2018
La Repubblica - Ed. Napoli

Ragazzi violenti servono nuovi modelli

27 Dezember 2017
Corriere.it

Il mondo dei piccoli alla Scuola della Pace

17 Dezember 2017
Il Sole 24 ore

Alla Scuola della Pace

die ganze presseschau
• GESCHEHEN
23 Januar 2018 | ROM, ITALIEN

Presentazione del libro ''Alla Scuola della Pace. Educare i bambini in un mondo globale''

17 Januar 2018 | NEAPEL, ITALIEN

Presentazione del libro ''Alla Scuola della Pace - Educare i bambini in un mondo globale''

15 Januar 2018 | ROM, ITALIEN

Presentazione del libro ''Alla Scuola della Pace, Educare i bambini in un mondo globale''

ALLE SITZUNGEN DES GEBETS FÜR DEN FRIEDEN
• DOKUMENTE

Tanni Taher: the commitment of Sant'Egidio against the death penalty in Indonesia

Appeal "No justice without life" Manila 2014

Il Giappone proporrà l'abolizione della pena di morte

No justice without life 2014,Tokyo - Intervento di Mario Marazziti

No justice without life 2014,Tokyo - Intervento di Alberto Quattrucci

Comunità di Sant'Egidio

La mensa per i poveri di Via Dandolo

alle dokumente

FOTOS

1327 besuche

1075 besuche

1085 besuche

1273 besuche
alle verwandten medien