A service learning trip to Pulau Sumba, Indonesia

CAPTSumba served as a springboard to restart the Service Learning Group (SLG) CAPTClouds which was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19. A team of eight CAPTains made the trip to Pulau Sumba, an island in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia between 10 and 22 May 2023.

We lived in Rumah Anak Indonesia (RAI) Sumba, together with 43 children and ten staff in the village for 12 days. Living on the ground with the locals for two weeks enabled us to learn and understand their way of life. Our routines slowly became in tandem with theirs. We lived in bunk beds under corrugated steel roof sheets, woke up at 7am, went to bed at 10pm, showered from buckets, took walks with the kids, and also farmed vegetables and tend to livestock with them.

The circumstances made for very meaningful and deep-rooted personal interactions. While we did spend the majority of our time in RAI Sumba, we also had time with the local community in Waingapu. Our programmes revolved around organising activities with Senior High School (SMA N 1 Kambera), Sumba University (Unkriswina) and the local village.

Snippets from the team’s reflections:

1. Living at RAI

“For 12 days, we lived with the locals, ate local food, visited local markets and landmarks. Every morning, we were greeted by a cacophony of sounds, ranging from dogs barking to children singing. Mealtimes were unique experiences, accompanied by flies, dogs, cats awaiting our leftovers, and not forgetting our staple sambal sauce. Each meal was heartily prepared by the RAI staff and we were introduced to different dishes of Sumbanese cuisine. I always looked forward to going back to RAI after a long day of exploring Sumba to be welcomed by the many animals, as well as the children who would always be asking us to join them in a game of snap or catch. Walking the goats on the hills, playing frisbee in the evenings and preparing meals with the children gave us snippets of their daily lives and routines. With my limited Bahasa Indonesia and the help of Google translate, I was able to make meaningful conversations with the children and learn more about them. We also organised programmes like SG Day, Occupation Day and Village Day, each giving them a sneak peek into our lives in Singapore. During SG Day, we introduced local childhood games such as snap, country erasers and twister that eventually became big hits among the children.”  – Ginette

2. Exchange with Unkriswina Sumba (Sumba University)

“During our visit, I realized that, despite also being Indonesian, there are some differences between the values I was taught growing up and the values and experiences of the children and people in Sumba. The culture was always a big part of our identity as Indonesians, and I believe the cultural differences between my hometown and Sumba played a big part in why the values I saw in the Sumbanese were different from those of the people in my hometown.      

The dialogue at the university helped me understand that the Sumbanese value their heritage and tradition a lot more than the people in my hometown, Surabaya. Although I admire their deep respect for tradition, both us CAPTains and Unkriswina students agree that the culture would cause issues that may propagate poverty. I understood that the intention for keeping such complicated traditional practices was to uphold the dignity of the family as well as to ensure peace and harmony between families in Sumba. However, in the present, upholding the traditions may instead perpetuate poverty due to the large cost of ceremonies such as weddings and funerals.   

The conversation was stimulating and engaging, and given that I am currently straddling two different cultures, it helped me understand how important it is to not forget about my Indonesian Chinese tradition and heritage as I build my career and start my own family in the future.“ – Jason

3. Thoughts on CE

“Participating in CAPT Sumba has truly shifted my perspective on community involvement. I realized that the roles of giving and receiving aren’t fixed. On several occasions during the journey, I found myself in the receiving role – learning how to cultivate mushrooms, experiencing the incredibly warm hospitality of the people in RAI. They taught me how to love and share that love – through small gestures like wanting to play with the kids, showing genuine interest in their lives, and pushing myself out of my comfort zone to engage more with the adults.

The importance of living with a community really resonates with the things I’ve learnt as an Anthropology major – which I feel taught me more about the definition of community engagement and how I desire to place myself in that community.

Living and collaborating within their community required flexibility and adaptability, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I had to embrace diverse living conditions, social norms, and cultural practices, which ultimately helped me establish a connection and gain the trust of the people in RAI. As a result, I witnessed them opening up to me, and in turn, I felt more comfortable expressing my true self. While not without its challenges, living alongside them enabled me to immerse myself in their routine and become a welcomed member of their household. I actively participated in their daily tasks like cleaning rice, herding goats, and looking after the children (although it often felt like they were taking care of me more than I was taking care of them, haha).” – Amber

Project Director: Naomi Chan

Vice-Project Director: Ginette Lim

Members: Chiam Daoyong, David Goh, Chaiwattana Teo, Cyndi Tjoi, Renaissance Amber, Jason Jonathan Tejaputra