In the month of April, nearly 100 people from Indonesia’s greater Jakarta community participated in a series of educational art and English programs to strengthen community bonds and promote moral and innovative capacities in youth and families.
Families gather for Life Park Project activities
Established in 1998, the low-cost apartment community Rusunawa Flamboyan is home to over 3,000 residents who have benefitted and participated in Global Peace Foundation (GPF) Indonesia’s Life Park Project launched in 2014. Since its conception, local volunteers passionate about serving and improving their community have helped build a playground, multipurpose court, and toilet facilities as well as installed solar-powered lighting.
Residents consistently participate in drawing classes for children, English study courses for young students, taekwondo for teens and aerobics for mothers. Despite the variety of religious and cultural backgrounds of the residents of Rusunawa Flamboyan, people have been able to come together in the spirit of volunteerism and service to strengthen the community as one family.
Life Park projects aim to strengthen the family unit, an institution that is the building block of healthy societies, by involving all community members, fathers, mothers and children in the education and service projects.
Life Park community members at Rusunawa social entreprenuership exhibition
Life Park’s most recent series of projects was accomplished through the combined efforts of Teach For Indonesia, Bina Nusantara University, the Jakarta government and the Uni Papua Foundation. Local universities promote the project, attracting students who join as volunteers to share their talents, knowledge and mentorship skills.
Participants and local residents benefit from the community-wide effort not only through the construction projects and educational programs. Liany, a resident of Rusunawa Flamboyan, also appreciates the social entrepreneurship aspect, using creative problem solving to address the needs of their community, and working with local government to obtain results. Community members participated in the Rusunawa Social Entrepreneurship Exhibition on April 25-26, demonstrating their skills and creativity while spreading the message of ownership and community collaboration.
Life Park members set up a table at the Rusunawa social entreprenuership exhibition
This bond of community and government fosters relationships to make the neighborhood more than blocks of concrete, but rather a thriving home with people who care about each other and their environment for generations to come.
GPF Indonesia, in partnership with local governments, hopes to replicate this community-building model throughout Indonesia. Local officials have continually expressed their hope that projects such as Life Park can facilitate infrastructural change and development to underserviced areas.
Learn more about the Life Park Project.
