By Petrus (news sources: Selly Novi and Naomi)
Refreshing sharing experiences the frienship, Gua Pancur April 8, 2021, Yosi Photos
36 children aged 2 to 17 years, live in Holei Roo Orphanage, which means “Father in Heaven who cares”, which was founded in November 2014, by a female pastor who is also a teacher at a government school.
At first every day there would always be fights among the children but since the introduction of AVP by Selly Novi in mid-2020, according to Mrs. Naomi, the founder of the orphanage, these fights have become rare; now they almost, never happen. Mrs. Naomi felt very grateful to be able to meet Selly Novi, who with her husband Sint Aidit Tokoro came to the Orphanage and offered to volunteer to help accompany the children in the orphanage.
On September 3, 2021, Selly Novi and Sint Aidit Tokoro introduced the first Power of Goodness in Papua, by taking the story: “Mercy : Poet’s Memory” written by Yevgeny Yevtushenko. This story is a real story in Russia in 1944. In the midst of the repatriation of German prisoners of war from Russia, an old woman who was followed by other Russian women who were victims of war, showed her generosity by giving bread and other food parcels that they brought to the soldiers. German soldiers who had made them suffer, realized that they were no longer seen as enemies but as humans.
Guns, armed conflict, violence, and injustice never bring good but suffering. The children who live in the Holei Roo Orphanage who come from the Sentani Tribe, Korowai, Bintang Mountains, Membramo in Papua have real stories of experiencing that suffering. When they first arrived at the orphanage, they didn’t know each other, they didn’t even know themselves, they carried names that demeaned him. They have difficulty communicating because they have different languages. Through learning to write and read at the orphanage, they begin to be able to communicate among themselves. They are children born from that situation of injustice. They do not have access to education, health services, nutrition for their growth, let alone love and even a girl has to give herself up to marry underage without being able to refuse it.
Now, they have been able to communicate, even show their confidence, they have risen to recognize themselves and each other. Through the Power of Goodness activity on September 3, 2021, Junior Jujur (honest) said that he learned about the good that Old Grandmother did. She was kind and didn’t want to repay evil for evil. Matius Murah Hati (Generous) said that Grandma likes to help, while Serita Sabar, said that even though the men had hurt her family, the old grandmother still loved. They are no longer children and teenagers who do not know each other but they have been able to recognize themselves and even they have been able to create comfort with their friends.
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