Pak Orphanage Project Indonesia

Project Papua

Location
West Papua was formerly known as Irian Jaya. During the period that Indonesia was a colony of The Netherlands it was called Dutch New Guinea. It was the last island that Holland gave back to the Republic of Indonesia.
The capital city Jayapura (Hollandia) is located in the northeast of the island, near the border with Papua New Guinea. This island is located between Australia, the Mollusc, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Ocean. This island still has an unexplored nature and magnificent cultures.
The project is located about 15 minutes away from the capital Jayapura in Abepura. Jayapura is located between the mountains and the bay of the Pacific Ocean. The city has 200,000 registered inhabitants. Mostly citizens from other Indonesian islands live in this city and they have all the jobs. Therefore the “Orang Papua” have less of a chance in the job market. You can find everything you need here; shops, bars, internet cafes, banks, hospital, consulate of Papua New Guinea etc.

The Pak Pelangi I is located near the main road. It’s about a 20 minutes drive from the airport of Jayapura / Sentani (DJJ) to the project. The orphanage is built in a quiet street, though shops are within walking distance from the project.

Travelling around
For many places in Papua a travel permit is necessary. You can acquire this Surat Jalang at the local police station.
Papua is rich in culture and nature, the island has great valleys and jungles and is good for an expedition or for trekking. Near Jayapura you can visit Pantai Base G, the beach made famous by General MacArthur. One of the most famous valleys is the Baliem Valley, with the capital Wamena. The Indonesian government tried several times to eradicate the old traditional Papuan culture, but this was mostly a failure. The older men in the villages still wear a “Koteka” (penis sheath) and the women wear a skirt of rattan hoops. You can often see men with Koteka’s in Jayapura, but mostly around the Baliem Valley. You go back in time if you visit this area.
In the Deep South, with almost unexplored jungle, you will find the traditional Papuans who are still cannibals. The government forbids cannibalism but it’s hard to control this part of Papua, so that’s why this very old culture still exists.
If you want to explore Papua, then the Baliem Valley is a good option. You can take some day tours here or choose a longer trekking tour staying overnight at local huts with the local people. You can visit local tribes as: Dani, Yali and Lani. You can also visit beautiful areas like Biak (Bird's Head), Manokwari and Sorong. All these areas are great for snorkelling, diving or just relaxing on a tropical bounty beach. These attractions are great for a day tour in Baliem Valley or elsewhere in Papua. But you can also book a tour via Toraja Highland tours & travel, they also offer Papua tours. To find their contact information, click on their logo on the sponsor page of our website.

Detailed Project summary
The primary goal of the project is to get the children acquainted with people from other countries and cultures. We believe that this cross cultural experience will enrich their future prospects. We also use the project contribution to buy better food for the children, as well as new clothes (uniforms), school materials, furniture etc. Notably, the project contribution now enables us to occasionally take the children on a short fieldtrip, which they enjoy a lot. We do our best to make the volunteers, as well as the children, feel comfortable at the Pak Pelangi I. We will also help our volunteers experience the natural and fascinating local culture of Papua, as well as provide opportunities for social interaction and gain experience in social life abroad.

The team
There are a total of 6 employees at this orphanage: 1 manager, 4 supervisors and 2 cooks. The management is permanent at the orphanage; the manager speaks fluent English, Dutch and Indonesian. This orphanage offers a place for about 45 children, 31 of this children are living permanently at the orphanage. The other children only come to the orphanage to eat and for support. Some of them are (half) orphans, some come from broken families and some of the parents are too poor to take care of their children. The children are between 1 and 19 years old.

Project Life Papua
Volunteers work 5 days a week. They will help the children with their schoolwork, especially in learning English and will organize sport, games and other leisure time activities. They can also accompany the children to their schools and see how the Indonesian teachers teach the children, to see the differennce between your country and Indonesia. The children love to sing so, you can teach them English western style songs too.
The children wake up around 04.30 am and go to school at 07.00 am. They return from school around 01.30 pm and go to bed around 09.00 pm. Your day will start around 08.00am after you've enjoyed your breakfast. You will prepare the afternoon program for when the kids come back from school.
Please note that this project has just started and we don’t have a lot of school materials, such as pencils, chalks, erasers, crayons, notebooks, paint etc. If volunteers are able to, we recommend bringing some of these to use with the children during their stay, but you also can buy some cheaply at the local shops in Papua.

Health and Safety Procedures
The nearest hospital is about 15 km from Pak Papua. We have a good relationship with the medical service for the children’s medical needs, and we contact the hospital if necessary for emergencies. The supervisors at the orphanage know how to perform First Aid. The orphanage is secured 24/7 and so we offer our volunteers a safe place at our project.

Transportation
All the project volunteers stay at the orphanage whilst participating on the project. They can travel around by public transportation but they also make us of PT. Emerald Indonesia tours & travel. This eco tourism tour operator / travel agent offers ecotourism and tours throughout all parts of Indonesia. Our volunteers receive a discount for services from this travel agent. It may be possible that an employee of the orphanage can take you for a days excursion around Jayapura.

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