Marvelous Mozaik

The sky is full of clouds and our world is full of people| so many different people | so many different kinds | so different yet so the same ~ No Doubt 1995

On the second Saturday of 2012, a big group of Jendelists went up to Shelter Gondang 1 to accompany the kids to be creative with tiny little pieces of paper: we made mozaik! One by one the children entered the perpustakaan until about 15 little artists were gathered. The volunteers distributed empty pieces of paper, so that the kids could draw a picture that they would like to bring to life with colourful paper flakes, the mozaik. For some children this was no problem at all – in no time there were drawings of animals, stars, and flowers all around. Other kids needed some more time to think. We gave them examples: maybe an insect from this poster on the wall? Or maybe you want to check the buku-buku to see if there is anything you like? Or otherwise you can just draw the letters of your name! Eventually everyone made a decision and those girls who could not decide so quickly were the ones who ended up with the most detailed drawings of houses with gardens and a shining sun.

During the process of sticking the pieces of paper onto the drawings, it was easy to see the different ways in which children work. The ones who directly knew what to draw on their empty paper were also more rushed in finishing the colouring – they would put glue on the paper and then just pour the colourful flakes onto it. The more thoughtful kids would take one piece of mozaik and glue it carefully on their drawing, the chosen colour exactly at the position where they had it in mind. Another group of girls decided they wanted to create their own personalised mozaik and started to cut new forms of paper to colour their drawings. You can already guess that the process was quickly finished in some cases and took a bit longer for others … Either way, the kids’ work led to interesting results which reflected their personalities. Even though some kids decided not to participate in the fabrication of mozaik drawings but were just playing around the library, no one was bored: young and old kids were having good times together (:

Already from the first moment I met the kids of Gondang 1, I realised how different they are in their ways. Some have very outgoing characters and don’t need a long explanation – even before we open the doors of the library they are already practically inside! But other kids are a little more shy and need to be actively taken into the group. However different they are, in the end I have the feeling that no one is ever left out, because in some miraculous way those kids always take care of one another. They have such different characters, but are so similar in other things. They are very inclusive towards each other and I have never heard them fight or cry without being able to find a solution tanpa bantuan. This is one of the reasons why volunteering in Gondang 1 is so much fun – these kids are not just easy-going and tolerant, they can also be a source of inspiration!

The rain did not leave us alone that Saturday. Because the sky was full of heavy clouds it took some time before we could head back to the town of Jogjakarta. But the library had been full of many different little people to lighten up the dark skies of the rainy season. When the sun can shine in its own way in the perpustakaan in Shelter Gondang 1 through the gathering of our anak-anak kecil , who cares about the rain? That is the power of the Shelter Gondang 1 kids: so different, yet so the same … It’s truly amazing!

~ Marieke Lisette van Andel ~