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Courtesy of Ramadhani Setiawan " Children of Lewoleba "
Playing With Children of Lewoleba
Playing With The Children of Lewoleba
>> By: Ramadhani Setiawan
I never would have thought that I’ d enjoy my job this much. The first time I heard that I was being sent to Lewoleba, my first instinct was to Google it. That’ s how little I knew about the island. Once I got there, I was floored with how simple everything was. The little shops; homely and individually managed, felt private and customer-oriented in a way. Everyone shopping would feel like a VIP, a stark contrast to the huge shops in Jakarta.
Everything felt so peaceful and I could hear the constant rumbling of the sea just around the corner. What struck me the most was how friendly the people was. I remembered wandering around the beach just after work and hearing the sound of people laughing. I braced myself, fearing that there might be robbers, but that’ s far from the case. The children were challenging one another to jump into the sea, doing backflips and just generally being playful children. I watched their silhouette behind the setting sun, and wondered why they didn’ t mind being wet and dirty with the sand.
And then one of them saw me and asked me to join. As I took their hand, as I hesitated and stopped myself, as I finally let the sea water skim my bare feet, I felt exhilarated. How many times a day have we let ourself to be touched by the nature? How many times in our life have we let our hair down and just go with the flow? The children of Lewoleba surely had their own problems, but they definitely didn’ t let those problems deter them from having fun. We played until the sunset, and I went home soaking wet, with a bit of blisters on my feet and the hem of my jacket torn. But I was happy. And I thank you for the opportunity to see another side of Indonesia.•••
12 # the colors of pratesis / I / JULY 2016