Dian Yang Tak Kunjung Padam*

Cendrawasih yang sayapnya patah. Itulah bagaimana Samuel menyebut dirinya.

Samuel dilahirkan 21 tahun yang lalu dari keluarga yang kondisinya pas-pasan. Untuk bertahan hidup, sejak umur 5 tahun ia telah menghabiskan sebagian besar waktunya di jalanan. Ia pun hanyabisa mencicipi bangku sekolah sampai dengan kelas 1 SMP.

Tahun 2005, pada usia 15 tahun, Samuel bergabung menjadi ABK (Anak Buah Kapal) di Kapal Gunung Dempo dan Kapal Sinabung. Hanya bertahan setahun, ia pulang ke Jayapura, dan  kembali ke jalanan.

Bulan Januari 2006, YPPM –salah satu LSM peduli HIV/AIDS di Jayapura- mengadakan kegiatan konseling dan informasi mengenai HIV/AIDS untuk anak jalanan. Samuel yang menyadari dirinya memiliki perilaku beresiko, memberanikan diri untuk tes HIV/AIDS.

Mulia part 3 (Photos)

Forget Nintendo DS and PSP, Pipo Is Way Cooler! (Photos)

Another I thing I notice when I was in Mulia, is how often I see kids (mostly boys) carrying water hose attached together into round shape and a stick.

I asked to my friend and he didn't know the name of it. I've asked several others and they didn't have the answer neither. But then I met one kid and he said it's called Pipo. I don't know whether it's the real name for the game, or he just said whatever that came into his mind.

Pipo is played by rolling the hose and then the stick is used to move it to whatever directions.
If I may say, it's probably, the most popular game for kids in Mulia 😃

Visiting The Neighbour (Video)

The neighbour's honai used to be located in our office's lawn. But several months ago, they decided to move out to a bigger yard next to the office.

During one weekend, I went to visit them and they invited me to come inside their house.

FYI, honai is a traditional house of Papua. Specifically, it’s the typical house of highland community.

It’s made of wood and the roof is covered by sago palm leaves. There’s no tile whatsoever, you can only find earth or dried grass covering the floor. A fireplace is built in the middle of honai for cooking and also to keep the occupants warm at night.

Each honai is usually inhabited by several people, probably around 6 – 12. Men and women live in separate honai, eventhough generally little boys sleep with their mom.

Bakar Batu (Photos)

Sea of people

Spotted Again! (Photos)

Now I'm getting convinced that this is definitely a must-have item for women in Puncak Jaya!

Pleated skirt pleated skirt pleated skirt!

Bakar Batu (Video)

I was so grateful being able to witness the ceremony of Bakar Batu (Stone Burnt Party) when I was in Mulia.

As I told you on the previous post, the week I visited Mulia was the week of Yamo District’s GIDI Klasis meeting. The 4 days meeting went thoroughly, and to express gratitude, a Bakar Batu ceremony was set on the closing day (Oct 21).

It was a big scale Bakar Batu, and was attended by thousands of people from different villages. 
People have come to Mulia the previous day bringing crops. They stay at their relative’s honai to participate in the Bakar Batu.

Bakiak Competition (Photos)

Happy little feet

 The excited spectators

Now let the competition began!

At The Klasis Meeting (Photos)