The Child Who Grew Up in Silence

Teflius did not know what dreams, aspirations, and hopes were. He lived in silence. He had no favorites. This boy grew up without the love of his parents because both of them died while searching for wood in the forest. Even as simple as mentioning his age, Teflius did not know.

He lives in a village 3-4 hours by boat from the center of Asmat Regency. Currently, Teflius is cared for by his uncle and aunt. It is not normal for a child as quiet as Teflius. Perhaps he feels scared and lonely. He feels that there are many things in this world that he does not understand and cannot express.

His life was centered in only two places, home and school. However, the school in his village was far from decent. Although no one knew how old Teflius was, he was enrolled as a 2nd grade student. Because there are very few teachers willing to serve in the village, Teflius' class is combined with grade 1 students. The students also only have two choices of subjects, namely, math and Indonesian.

When asked to read, Teflius needed the teacher's help to read just one word. After two or three minutes, Teflius could read one word. Teflius never understood that words could be strung together into meaningful sentences. Teachers were confused about how to educate the children in the village. Most of the teachers at Teflius' school did not have the skills to teach although there are only two subjects.

Teflius needed to be introduced to his own world, the world of children. He needs to believe that every child in this world has the right to dream. He needed to know that "dreams" are real.

Because dreams are available to every child, including Teflius. But he needs a chance to fulfill them. Will we be the #HOPEbearer for Teflius? Your meaningful role can be shared through wahanavisi.org/childhope.

Writer: Mariana Kurniawati (Communication Executive)