Since 2016, students of Global Jaya school have dedicated their time and effort during Week Without Walls to help communities in need as part of their annual school activities. This year, Week Without Walls was held from September 16 – 20, 2019, during which students of Year 7 to Year 11 initiated or joined different service oriented activities in Belitung, Lampung, Bandung, Bogor, Jepara, Yogyakarta, Malang, Bali and other locations. Helping different community groups, they focused on different local and global issues, such as environment, literacy, health, and digital security. Around 300 students joined school organized events, with another 53 choosing to initiate their own community projects.

Inspired by their lessons at school, students of Global Jaya exercise their organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills to contribute to extended communities. Service as Action for Year 7 through 10 and Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) for Year 11 and 12 are mechanisms for students to experience their roles as agents of change. They learn the values of bonding, sharing and giving, participating in problem solving and understanding different cultures.

This year, Global Jaya School overarching community theme was Less Plastic Trash. It encouraged students and school stakeholders to limit their use of plastic, and many school organized events revolved around this issue. Year 8 and 9 students focused on beach cleaning, sorting plastic trash and trying to engage with green companies to help targeted local communities recycle their plastic trash. They didn’t only provide direct help, they also did a social media campaign to invite more people to care about their own communities.

Not limited to environmental issues, Global Jaya School also encouraged students to focus on literacy. Year 7 students learned the importance of reading through their roles as reading buddies for two public schools in Umbulharjo, Yogyakarta; Year 10 students learned the importance of literacy and knowledge to improve the economy of local communities in Malang through a comparative study in Selamat Pagi Indonesia High School.

Inspired by “Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world,” Year 11 students with their CAS programs and 53 other students from Years 7 to 10 initiated their own hands-on Service Projects. Renovating public facilities in a remote village in Lampung, coaching orphans in soccer, book donation for literacy in Builaran, Lombok, teaching children about healthy internet use are only a few examples of their service actions.

We look forward to more action on your next Week Without Walls, agents of change!