A Rock on an Island

Faces of Sumba: members of an indigenous tribe on the island. Most of their tribe members chew areca nut, an addictive seed also known as betel nut, which stains their mouths red.

Many sponsored children’s parents are illiterate. Experts in subsistence farming, the Sumbanese used to place most educational emphasis on how to grow crops. Although most Sumbanese kids now complete primary school, most don’t receive the quality of education they deserve. It is common for children to show up at public school in neatly pressed uniforms, eager to learn, only to wait for a teacher who doesn’t come.

Secondary school poses a bigger problem for parents who struggle to grow enough food to sell for income. Unlike primary school, which is free, secondary school requires a tuition payment of 1.8 million rupiah, about $137, each semester. Without secondary school, children lack the skills required for higher education or careers in agriculture and Indonesia’s tourism industry. Sponsorship through Compassion helps Sumbanese families afford these otherwise out-of-reach school fees. More important, however, the program provides additional education in a community with a substandard school system. Dedicated tutors meet with kids at Compassion centers up to four times a week after school to make sure they are progressing in their studies.

One Sumbanese child thriving with the help of sponsorship is 10-year-old Halena Asti Bora.

Halena holds a photo of her sponsor, Renee Sharp. Before Renee chose her, Halena was on Compassion’s list of children waiting longest for a sponsor. Halena was just 8 at the time and recalls how the wait felt. “When other friends who had sponsors wrote the letters to their sponsors, that made my heart sad.” For 18 months, she longed to receive and write letters.

PRAYER: Pray that church mentors will encourage children waiting for sponsors.

Halena keeps Renee’s photo in her bedroom in the house where she lives with her parents, five siblings, baby nephew and aunt. Halena’s homework desk, among the few pieces of furniture in the home, represents a new future for her family. Her mom finished only second grade, and her dad never went to school. Halena attends school and is excelling.

PRAYER: Thank God for moving sponsors to help meet children’s needs.

Halena’s father, Fransiskus Umbu Fege, and mother, Marta Para Bili, farm to provide food. The land around their home produces chayote (a gourd), cassava, sweet potatoes, bananas and other produce. After keeping enough for her family, Marta usually has some left to sell at a market in a nearby town. “Life is hard,” Marta says, “but we know that we have to work hard every day.” In a typical month, Halena’s parents earn a combined income of 590,000 rupiah — about $45.

PRAYER: Pray that harvests will be bountiful for farmers on Sumba.

Halena helps her mother cook sweet potatoes in the bamboo kitchen outside their home. Sweet potatoes are part of many meals. The family also boils, dries and mashes them into flour to make a thick stew. Marta and Fransiskus get up at 4:30 a.m. daily to make porridge for the kids and fetch rainwater from the concrete cistern outside their home. Sumbanese families usually reserve meat for special occasions such as weddings and funerals.

PRAYER: Ask God to work through Sumbanese churches to reach families with the greatest needs.

At Halena’s public school, she earns above-average grades in math, science and language. Marta and Fransiskus dream of their daughter graduating from high school and going to college. “Seeing my children able to write and read,” Marta says, “that has made our hearts feel joy.” But Compassion’s church partners on Sumba know that the public school system doesn’t meet all of a child’s needs.

PRAYER: Pray that Halena will continue to excel in school so she has career choices as an adult.

Halena expands her education at a Compassion child development center run by a local church. Here, caring mentors teach core subjects and vocational skills such as cooking and mechanics. Halena also attends the church on Sundays and has even joined a Bible study to learn more about Jesus. This education opens countless opportunities for Halena that her parents never had.

PRAYER: Thank God that the Church in Indonesia is enriching sponsored children’s schooling.