Project Citizen: Kami Bangsa Indonesia
MONITORING REPORT
Sorong - West Papua, 26 April 2008

By Acih Sari, Program Coordinator

Monitoring is an important part of the Kami Bangsa Indonesia (KBI) program. As the second city that was visited to monitor the implementation of the KBI program, the civic teachers in Sorong have shown me, as a CCEI Program Coordinator, their enthusiastic response by inviting me to come to their schools and to watch their students learn and present their portfolios.  The portfolios “tell the story” of their work, as teams, to try and solve public policy issues relevant to their communities. Three schools were visited on 26 April 2008, they were SMPN 5, 1 and 2 Sorong.

There were three civic teachers in SMPN 5 Sorong who joined KBI training and taught KBI to their students. They helped and supported each other in teaching KBI to their students. They also succeed in holding a school showcase two weeks before the monitoring. Steline, one of the local students, said, “This program (KBI) taught us to be brave, to solve problems at in our communities that at first we thought would be difficult and complicated to solve”.

Steline (right) and Debora (left) in their classroom

Jekson (right) and Hari (left) when they are studying KBI

Jekson, whose job was to find information about school’s facility problems such as the needed for fence and cleaning equipment said, “I like to interview people because it’s fun! I can interact with them and also get closer to my teachers”.

At first the principal of the school was worried if the students would always protest their teachers or every regulation at school, but after he realized that his students became more active and try to solve problems at their school, he found that KBI is a good program for his students and for the community.

Principal and civic teachers of SMPN 5 Sorong with their students

The visit to the second school, SMPN 1 Sorong, was very impressing. Twenty of the best students performed their portfolio and hoped to get selected to represent their school in the local showcase in Sorong in 24 May 2008. Suryati, the civic teacher, said since she taught her students KBI program, they do not sleep in her classrooms anymore.

Suryati, the civic teacher (in the 2nd row, 2nd from the left)
 with other civic teachers and their students

KBI seems to bring the students to get closer with their friends, especially with their teachers and also with their community leaders. The students started to speak with priest, ulema (religious leaders), policewoman etc. Kumalasari explained how she has fun learning KBI by saying, “Now I can express my own opinion in front of the class and show my talent and hobby. I don’t feel shy anymore!” Another student, Nanda, said, “KBI is so interesting because we can learn how to speak properly and be active!”

Nanda is explaining the action plan of her project

The fourth panel (action plan) present their jingle before starting their presentation

Principal, civic teachers and their students after presented their portfolio

The third school visited was SMPN 2 Sorong. Having a bilingual class made the students try both in English and Bahasa Indonesia to present their project about child labor. Olifiani said she liked KBI because she could work and discuss together with her friends and expressed her opinion. The principal of this school, who is also CCEI local trainer in Sorong, was very supportive of KBI implementation at his schools.

Based on my observation in these three schools, the students participated fully in the KBI learning process and the schools leader were supportive. Students with different religion and ethnic background were able to identify specific problems in school and their community. They worked together to solve these problems. Thus, the students raised their civic awareness.

Olifyani (on the right) and her friends get feed back from their teachers
after presenting their portfolio

Other students watched their friends` presentation

Civic teachers and their students after presenting the portfolio