Four years ago, in a church-operated school in Bali, Indonesia, two teachers wanted to encourage their students to get involved in looking after the area around the school. Although famed for its beautiful coastline, plastic pollution haunts the island and the beaches near to the school were covered with rubbish. The teachers wanted to educate the children about the dangers and impact of garbage on the environment, but learning in the classroom wasn’t very fruitful. They looked for ways to deepen the understanding of the children and decided to get them involved in practical ways. They shared their ideas with the school, who were very supportive and encouraged them to research more.

The teachers began by getting the students to make compost and create fertiliser and soaps from the rubbish. Later they heard furniture could be made out of plastic and discovered on the Web that to make a chair, you simply had to stuff old plastic into plastic bottles to make them hard and stable and then connect the bottles with rope! They even collected and bought textiles to make cushions for the chairs.

The children got enthusiastically involved in making the furniture, and their parents were astonished to find out what their children were making out of the rubbish. They encouraged their neighbours to be more aware of the rubbish and plastic around them and began to help gather the plastic too.

BRIDGING THE COMMUNITY

From the beginning, this project was a way to involve the community and help raise income for the people. Many from islands around Bali have settled in the area over the years but they are marginalised because they aren’t ‘local’ and many struggle financially.

As time went on, the community leaders saw the visible impact of the project as the environment was now cleaner and they even wanted to introduce the project to others, including a local mosque.

Though operated by a church, the school’s pupils and their families are from many different faiths. With this and other projects, bridges have been built between the various faith groups, not just in the school but through the whole community.

Some parents also naturally began to ask questions like, why was the school doing this for the community? The teachers in charge told them that it was because the God they believe in is a wonderful Creator and His creation is worth saving. They said that it is not honouring to God to create so much rubbish.

This led to deep dialogue with many and some even embarking on spiritual journeys that continue to this day.

FROM PROJECT TO PROGRAMME

What began as two teachers’ desire to educate their students about caring for the environment grew into so much more. From a simple project of re-using collected garbage, a long-term Creation Care programme was formed. A bazaar was held in the school to create awareness about the programme and to showcase the soap and furniture made from the rubbish. The students themselves feel a sense of responsibility and are learning to take better care of things.

In addition, groups that were previously separated in the community now have something in common – taking care of the area they all live in.

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OM MTI works through local partners on the ground, like this school in Indonesia, providing community care and development for least reached and marginalised people groups, and building deep long-term relationships towards vibrant communities of Jesus followers.

Please pray:

• That the efforts of the teachers and the students will lead to lasting change in the way rubbish is treated in Indonesia
• For more opportunities for the different groups in the community to come together as one
• That the spiritual journeys that some in the community have started on will continue