Reported by Ahmad Rosadi, grantee from Semarang State University (Semarang)
RR Semarang with ‘Rumah Pintar Bang Jo’ community was held a traditional competition for street children on Sunday afternoon (08/12). The event was held to welcome the 73rd Indonesian Independence Day and it took place in Pasar Johar Area, Semarang. The activities were attended by eighteen street children that live not far from the market area. The race is also guided by RR Semarang and ‘Rumah Pintar Bang Jo’ community who consists of nine people.
The race started at 3:00 p.m. and ends at 5 p.m. There are three competitions that being held such as Gobak Sodor, Sarong relay, and putting the ball into the basket. The first race was to put the ball into the basket, especially for children that are suited to PAUD (Early Childhood Education) and kindergarten (4- 6 years). A total of eight children took part in this competition and were very enthusiastic when guided by grantees and alumni from RR Semarang. The first competition is played by inserting the ball into a basket that is 3 meters away for as much as 5 minutes. Many of the balls thrown by the children missed far from the basket because they were less careful when throwing them. After the end time, three champions were found, including Reza (6 years), Bela (6 years), and Dhika (6 years).
The activity continued with the second race, that is Gobak Sodor. The eighteen children were divided into 3 groups so that each of them had six children. The way to play the game is the team that is on guard must keep the base from being overtaken by opponents. If the opponent manages to infiltrate the last base then the opponent win the game. However, if the opponent is touched automatically the opponent loses and both can exchange roles. None of the three competing groups were able to infiltrate the last base so the winner was determined through accumulated points by the arbiter. Finally, the first group became the winner; the third group took as the second place, and the second group in the third place.
The last race was the Sarong Relay. The distribution of match groups is still the same as the Gobak Sodor group. The way to play the game is the three teams’ line up horizontally with their hands held together, and one of the ends is slung in a sarong. Then, the sarong is channeled to the other child relay without breaking the trailer. The fastest group that moves the sarong to the other end of the group is considered to be the winner. The strong competition takes place between group 2 and group 3. Finally, group 2 won the competition followed by group 3 and group 1 subsequently.
After the series of competitions were completed, the event closed with a gift distribution and joint photo session. Street children who attended a series of events were very enthusiastic and excited. RR Semarang and ‘Rumah Pintar Bang Jo’ community hoped to carry out similar events regularly especially in commemoration of the big day like Indonesian Independence Day.
The winner of game “throw ball in basket”
RR Semarang with street child in Pasar Johar Area, Semarang
Ice Breaking held by Grantees RR Semarang