Jakarta (The Jakarta Post: 10/06/06) Some 40 elementary schoolchildren gathered in a tent outside their school in quake-hit Bantul regency, Yogyakarta.The children alternately clapped their hands, smiled and turned serious as they listened to songs and stories by storyteller Kak Wess. The singing and laughter was a welcome respite for the children following the massive earthquake that struck Yogyakarta and Central Java on May 27, killing at least 5,800 people.

"This is what we've been doing for the last two days, trying to help the children get over of their trauma following the earthquake," Erwiati, a teacher at state run SD Sampangan I elementary school in Wirokerto village, told The Jakarta Post on Friday. A similar program has been organized at SD Petir 2 elementary school in Srimartani village, Bantul, where storyteller Joko Maryono helped the students momentarily forget events of the past two weeks.

"We find it difficult to teach them using traditional methods. Many of the students are still mourning the deaths of relatives. Some of their parents are still being treated in the hospital," said principal Mardjono.
Petir elementary school has 100 students, including 40 sixth graders who just completed the national final examination Wednesday. The remaining students -- the first to fifth graders -- are scheduled to take the national exam June 12.

When the students returned to school Thursday, many were still too traumatized to take part in lessons.
Mardjono said about 90 percent of his students lost their homes in the quake. On Friday, only 40 of the school's students showed up for class.

"We have visited them and have tried to persuade them to come back to school. But they still didn't show up today (Friday). I don't have the heart to force them to come, after what they've experienced. Hopefully they will be ready to take part in the national examination Monday," Mardjono said. The singing, storytelling and game playing are designed to help the students overcome their fears and prepare them for next week's exam.

Kak Wess and Joko Maryono are only two of many volunteers trying to help the children deal with the tragedy. They are working in cooperation with the Yogyakarta branch of the Sampoerna Foundation Scholars Club (SFSC). According to the coordinator of SFSC Yogyakarta, Septima Nurlailia, the club has conducted similar activities in four other areas, two in Bantul and two in Klaten, Central Java.

At each location, the club operates a public kitchen and a temporary shelter for survivors, with all the supplies provided by Sampoerna Foundation. A tent is also set up at every elementary school at each location, where SFSC volunteers help the students deal with their feelings and emotions, and prepare for their return to school. "Duing the long holiday the elementary school students will have after the examination, we plan to set up 'children's corners' in several places to help the children deal with their feelings," said Hendri B. Satrio of Sampoerna Foundation