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ThE IB CAs “sOLIDARITy sChOOL” sEkOLAh BIsA! –
mAkINg ‘CAN’T, CAN!’ fOR
INDONEsIAN ChILDREN
What began as a
radical idea in
the minds of
IB students at
The British International
School, hailing from
9 countries (England,
Indonesia, New Zealand,
Holland, Australia, The
Cameroon, Poland, The
Philippines and Malaysia),
and extended to include
students from 5 IB
schools, in Jakarta, and
then evolved through
a complex designbuild
process, April 25
assumed a final form: a
unique, ‘wall-less’ school
for Indonesian children
whom, if it were not for
Sekolah Bisa! would be
without an education.
The children enrolled
at the school live in the
Bulakan shanty, close
to Pondok Ranji station,
abutting the toll road to
Pondok Indah. The site
was already a focus of
a project run by ‘Duke
of Edinburgh Award’
students at BIS, who
formed the Bulakan
United team in this
season’s Jakarta School’s
Football League. Sekolah Bisa!
emerged from the soccer
initiative once students
were aware that many in the
Bulakan team had never been
to school. So, what began
with soccer, ended with a
school.
The project demonstrates
extraordinary fortitude in
young people, who proved
undaunted in the face of a
challenging and risky task:
that of affirming the dignity of
children who live in a shadowland
of indigence and exclusion.
It also reveals a capacity in
young people to respond to
fissures in society by proposing
an equality of provision for
all children, rather than few.
Originating in the ‘Creativity,
Action, Service’ (CAS) of the
IB Diploma, Sekolah Bisa! is
aligned to UNICEF and UN
“Education For All” objectives
as well as linked to Pendekar
Anak’s “Champions of Children”
mission. In other words, what
the students proposed in
Sekolah Bisa! dovetails with
how social justice institutions
articulate how the lives of
Indonesia’s children may be
made better.
A group of students could
not have made a more gamechanging
proposition to the
society in which they live than
to propose a school. That they
found practical means to effect
their idea testifies to how CAS
fosters a ‘daring-do’ mentality
in those who are often accused
of living solipsistically wired to
ipods. In the case of Sekolah
Bisa! students from 5 ‘solidarity
schools’ – BIS, Bandung
International School; BINUS;
Sinar Mas and Global Jaya -
wrung out of CAS its fullest
potential for social change and
so asserted a remarkable tenet:
If I go to school, so should
others!
The earthquake-proof
facility is ingeniously designed
from steel and bamboo,
with a winged roof, vividly
referencing Javanese
culture. It’s humanely
conceptualized
and intensely green:
indeed, some of the
‘walls’ are plants. It
also heralds that if a
will is there, all may
assert a society more
just, harmonious and
inclusive.
The students did not act
alone: in fact the success of
the project depends on the
generosity of The Body Shop,
which partners the students.
Without The Body Shop’s
provision of a beautiful piece
of land and a commitment to
pay the stipend of the teachercoordinator,
the school would
have remained an idea. Thanks
in particular are due to Suzy
Hutomo, CEO of The Body
Shop, and her staff. Other
partners also played integral
roles in ensuring the school’s
sustainability: Yayasan Rachel
House, founded by Lynna
Chandra, offered the teaching
support of education expert
Prof. Dedy Pradipto. Bapak
Fendra, Principal of Amalina
School, also supports the
teaching. Parents and teachers
at BIS sponsor each of the 26
children as well as contributing
to extra-curricula programs
in art, music and swimming
and funding the milk, fruit and
lunches. And doctors in the
community will run once-a
month health checks. Sekolah
Bisa! also supports the children
in obtaining birth certificates
and thereby affirms a child’s
right to documentation
attesting to his or her
citizenship.
The project can
claim to be the first
institution of its kind in
the world: conceptualized
in solidarity with the IB
program and anchored
to a community partner,
The Body Shop. It’s
also run according to
the principles of the IB
Learner Profile, the CRS
of The Body Shop. The IB
Mission Statement describes
an intent to develop inquiring,
knowledgeable, caring young
people who create better, more
peaceful communities through
inter-cultural understanding
and respect. Sekolah Bisa!
exemplifies such an ethos in
a practical, local, meaningful
and sustainable manner.
The school is open, and you
are encouraged to contact
the project coordinator, BIS
student Gina Graham (gina.
graham94@gmail.com) to learn
more! Eventually, all children
everywhere will go to school.
Sekolah Bisa! proves that to
be so.
BY: ADRIAN THIRKELL - KINDRA COOPER. PHOTOS: IB STUDENTS
86 | MAY 2011 www.nowjakarta.co.id www.nowjakarta.co.id MAY 2011 | 87