Hopping Center – Remaja Masa Depan

September 14th 2009 was a very special day for PHMF and Yayasan Remaja Masa Depan. The evening of that day in the middle of the holy month of Ramadhan, Yayasan Remaja Masa Depan finally officially opened its drop-in center. A shelter for street children nearby to stop-by, rest and doing some activities during the day.

Mr. Firdaus, the person in charge in Yayasan Remaja Masa Depan dreamed of providing a place where street children can drop-by for a some water. He even dreamed of not only giving water to quench the thirst but also endless flow of motivation for them to go back to school. Perhaps even to have and build their own dream.

Priscilla Hall Memorial Foundation was approached to be part of fulfilling Mr. Firdaus’ dream, which was agreed without hesitation. The foundation then contributed some funds to help with the building process.  Apart from having a visionary man as a leader, Yayasan Remaja Masa Depan is a very well managed organization. It was truly a great opportunity for the foundation to be part of this project.

Finishing stage of the facility. (click picture to see gallery)
Finishing stage of the facility. (click picture to view gallery)

On a land owned by the yayasan, a three stories facility was built with quite a careful planning, located in Jl. Tebet Dalam 4 (Gg Keamanan 1) RT.14/RW.01 Tebet Barat – Jakarta Selatan.  The first level would be the common area with book shelves and some activities equipment such as ping-pong table. The second level has few bunk-beds which were assigned for male teenagers from the orphanage, also managed by Yayasan Remaja Masa Depan. A chaperon who would also act as a counselor for the dropping-by kids will occupy the third level.

The ceremony was begin with some glorious traditional dances and songs performed by the boys and girls from the orphanage of Yayasan Remaja Masa Depan. It was a tremendous experience to see the children performance especially when we know they had put so much effort into it.

RMD's Hopping Center ceremony: kids' performance, guests & the 'Hopping Center' signage
RMD’s Hopping Center ceremony; kids’ performance & guests  –  (click picture to view gallery)

That evening then closed with a short speech to officially open the facility, which we named Hopping Center, to give the concept, dropping center, a taste of fun. According to Mr. Firdaus, the street children who had been using the facility were having fun there. They kept coming back after their work on the street. Some even dropped by before work to grab some bites of the breakfast provided at the Center.

Yayasan Remaja Masa Depan has developed plans for the Hopping Center to be a holistic counseling point where regular programs are held, all of which contribute to the big design of helping the kids gain the all-too-important access to adequate education, – which in the end will enable them to stay off the streets.