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IDU Reflective Essay

IDU 10
Ms Peggy
4 March 2016
IDU Reflective Essay
During our trip to Yogyakarta, we visited several Non-Governmental Organizations
(NGO) and learned many things (through hearing and visuals). Before that, my homeroom went
to a homestay and experienced a new lifestyle for a day. All these new experiences lead us to
understand the issues that happen locally and globally. These issues relate to the three subjects of
Individual Societies, Biblical Studies, and English. From our prior knowledge to those three
subjects, we are able to analyze about the human rights, fairness, and development of the places
we visited in Yogyakarta.
Visiting the NGOs specifically during the Yogya trip broadened our knowledge on the
circumstances of the needy people. They have their own issues, not only dealing with suffering
of disease itself, but also from the limitations the society has put up against them. For example,
the child of a father who suffers from HIV/AIDS is not allowed to apply to school just because
his father is a HIV carrier. Although there are certain reasons for this act, it is still unjust for the
child who does not have HIV coursing through him/her to not be able to enter school. Another
case would be a child suffering from cerebral palsy. Although the disease is related to the brain, it
does not decrease the intelligence of a child. A child suffering from cerebral palsy may not apply
to a school because the teachers have to take special care for them and there are no facilities that
will help them access the schools features. From the UDHR, article no. 26 states that everyone
has the right to education (at least in the elementary and basic stages). There should be at least
support for the child throughout his/her education. The squeamish society fears too much of a
deadly disease that is not easily transmitted to others or not wanting to provide support for a
special needs child.

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During the Yogya trip, after empathizing with the special needs people, I specifically
thought of the fairness of the world. The idea of being fair is very vast, and it is hard to identify
what is fair. As mentioned before, with the case study examples of a child who cannot enter
school, it feels unfair to the rest of the children in this world. One of the ladies in the Bethesda
Hospital mentioned that it is harder for the poor to receive education and treatment. The wealthy
can have it easy because they have the resources to fulfill their needs and only focus on their
treatment. For the poor, they have to deal with two things simultaneously, their suffering of
poverty and the disease. Chronical diseases are symptomatic to poverty. Since the poor people
are usually malnourished, lacks access to clean water, and low level of education, they are prone
to those diseases. We should follow what the Bible says about fairness. Proverbs 31:9 says
Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. From this Bible verse I can
say that we should help at least one or few of those impoverished around us to the best of our
ability to get at least access to those basic rights. Especially to the schools that are not accepting
students because of diseases/disabilities. This Bible verse tells them to have a fair point of view
and not judge upon bias, based on part of the verse which is Speak up and judge fairly.
Fairness can develop in society if we follow the verse.
Prior to the NGO visits, we went to a homestay to learn about waste management and
how their village works. The village (called Sukunan) astonished me with their waste
management because surprisingly their way of handling waste is much more advanced (yet
traditional) or equal to the modern world. Some of the examples would be separating waste.
Most of the places in the world today do provide trash cans that separate waste but the people
that throw the trash randomly throws it in the wrong can. The attitude of the people in the
Sukunan village is much more sophisticated than the people of todays world. This development
shows that even the not wealthier side of the world can have good management skills than those

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who are wealthy. Another interesting example would be their invention, the Styrofoam brick. The
people of the village are not only handling waste well, but also saving the Earths resources by
reusing what is on their hand. This Styrofoam brick by the Sukunan people is a mixture of
leftover Styrofoam, sand, cement, and water to create this brick. One of the villagers showed us a
house which is built using this Styrofoam brick, and it is also said to have the same sustainability
as a normal red brick. Yet, another innovation has improved the conditions and adaptation of
these villagers. They are creative enough to be able to invent a frugal invention that helps the
villagers save resources. Just from this simple village, we are able to see how advanced their
development is regarding to human conditions.
This Yogya trip about visiting places was different from any other field trip. Different
from before, it taught me not about the businesses or exploitation of resources, but instead about
able to empathize with the people who suffer from diseases and living with limitations and
circumstances they have been through. With this trip to the NGOs, I am able to analyze the
human rights, fairness, and development of the people of Yogya.