It started from a simple yet uneasy idea: to motivate kids who leave in Indonesia remote area that they have hope. That they have dreams worth fighting for. As a teacher, I probably tells my student to study hard almost everyday. We met in the classroom from Monday to Saturday plus those extra study time outside the school. And let me tell you, that those time I spent with them is simply just to wake them up and planted this message: “Go reach your dream”.

Spreading message as such might be so simple for kids in the city, since those kids might have difficulties to pick one from their thoulsand dreams. But when you talking about the kids in Kampung Urat, West Papua, it is a different case. Kids here don’t have any dreams. Isn’t it scary when you thought about seven years old girl with a chubby cheek and big eyes, is actually a dreamless and potentially lifeless creature?

My student, Azafah (8 years old)—sweet little girl who has curly long hair with an excotic skin color, ask me what is “Cita-Cita?” right after I asked her question: “Azafah., apakah cita-cita kamu?”. Then I tell her that Cita-Cita is what you are want to be when you grown up. Azafah remain silence and just shaking her head, telling me that she doesn’t know.

Similar answer also spoken by my other students. ALL of my students. Oh, I forget to tell you that I currently have 21 kids in total. And so I took a chance to sort of brainwash them by telling then that they do have a choice. That they COULD have a dream as long as they want to.

Meanwhile, I have a distinct passion in Post Card. I tend to send post card to my family or loved one everytime I went outside the country. I think postcard is just more real than a SMS, email, or chat box. I just love to write simple thing in it and I LOVE the simplicity of postcard. And so I told my friends in Svarabhumi Airport, Bangkok, when we went there for 15 hours transit. My lectures were there too and was moved by the idea of giving this postcard with motivating sentences in it.

She offers me her help by providing the postcard from a Duty Free store nearby. And so I say “Thanks, Mam” and started the mission. Each of my friends will write to one student of mine. I will tell them briefly about my students, show my friends the picture of them, so that they know my student a bit better. I took the picture of them with their postcard, and when I arrived back to Papua, I will show my students the picture of my friends.

First day back to school, I was becoming kinda Santa Clause who brings gift for a good kids. I had to read each of the postcard, since my students are unable to read yet. Some of them are able, but not that much. And it was a very fun things to do. And so many of my students asked me to read it more than twice. They really love the postcard, as they are not too often receive presents from adult. They are really happy and some are even has a teary eyes when I read the messages.

They passionately said that they would like to be a teacher, or soldier, or even a researcher as you guys do. Oh well, I still doubt that they already know what is researcher do, but who cares any way: the most important thing is that they have a dream now.

And oh, Azafah told me this on the way to home: “Miss, I want to go college in China one day”. So I would like to thank you all guys for your generous help. The messages that you write on the postcard will never ever be forgoten by the kids who leave miles away from you. Your messages to them will remain enlighting, even in the darkest village with no electricity.