Emma, Caroline, Indonesia Intern and Nadhif Family, July 2025. Caroline Photo’s
Gatherings and visiting are the way Peace Place Pati builds friendships. Interns from Haverford College joined in the visiting as part of a collaborative program between The Center for Peace and Global Citizenship – CPGC Fellowship, Haverford College, and Friends Peace Teams Asia West Pacific at Peace Place Pati, Central Java, Indonesia, from June 12, 2025, to August 10, 2025. Through these gatherings, interns learned about Javanese rural culture and communities, as well as local cuisine, language, and local wisdom.
Emma and Caroline, interns from Haverford College, mentored children and shared Power of Goodness stories, and visited families to share stories and get to know each other.
Grandma Karwati, aged around 76, expressed pride in meeting people from different backgrounds and speaking different languages. She was pleasantly surprised when Emma visited her home, which is located in the same area as her granddaughter, Mellia, who is currently working as a childcare provider at the Joglo Early Childhood Education Center (PAUD) at Peace Place Pati. This was her first experience meeting someone whose language she didn’t know. People in rural Java don’t typically speak Indonesian, so Mellia and Bayu had to translate between Indonesian, Javanese, and English. When Murni, Mellia’s mother, asked for a photo together, Grandma Karwati quickly put on her hijab. The group photo was a fun experience because the family would have memories of meeting people from foreign countries.
Mariana, the grandmother of Alegra, a student in Joglo Preschool, was also happy to be able to speak directly with Emma, who had come from America. Emma introduced her and told her stories in Indonesian. Mariana was happy because she could clearly follow the story, even though she sometimes had to wait for Emma to look up the translation on her smartphone.
Emma and Mellia family, July 2025. Petrus Photo’s
Muslih, from Wonosekar Village, about 10 km from Joglo, is the father of Nadif, a Haverford program intern and a teacher at Joglo. Muslih is proud of his daughter, Nadif; she is cheerful and confident in introducing her new friends to the family. For him, the presence of a stranger, or anyone, in his home is a blessing. He said, “I am grateful for the visits. I was delighted to have Caroline, Emma from Haverford College, and Shasa from the Philippines visit me. Although I don’t understand English, I was able to communicate through their smiles, cheerful faces, and friendliness. During the visit, Nadhif and several of her friends helped translate. I am especially grateful to PAUD Joglo – Peace Place Pati, for through Joglo, Nadif has seen many changes in her. Nadif has more friends, is more patient, more disciplined with time, friendlier, and more diligent, and this has created a more comfortable family atmosphere.”
Shaking hands, getting to know each other, sharing stories interspersed with laughter because of the humor in languages that are sometimes incomprehensible, fosters a sense of camaraderie, reduces shyness and fear of speaking, fosters self-confidence, and builds awareness of diversity, which can erode barriers of prejudice and suspicion. This camaraderie fosters new insights, new experiences, and supports the process of personal change toward openness and a mutual understanding of diversity.
Thank you, Emma and Caroline, for your visit.
Alegra and Family. Alegra is a Joglo student. July 27, 2025. Photo’s : Petrus