Bintaro Lama

On Thursday November 5, 2009 we went on a field trip to Bintaro Lama. There we got to meet the kampung kids, learn about water and have a fun time all at once. We learned how the kampung people clean their water and we also learned how they went to the toilet and how people got sick because they didn't wash their hands after they did things. We also learned about the WatSan team and their effort to help the kampung people learn to wash their hands and be environmentally friendly. They didn't demand the kampung people or kids to learn suddenly they taught them how to do all those things by things like the Hand washing jingle they call "Ayo cuci tangan." It was a very fun experience to do all these things.

One of the stations we went to were called: PHP for Kids: Hand Washing With Soap. There we learned ways kids could get sick because of not washing their hands. It could be from pooing to touching food, touching water, touching babies and more. The WatSan team are trying to prevent that by making the kids wash their hands after they touch things that are dirty.

Another station we did was called: Ceramic Filter & PuR. At that station we learned about putting a powder imported from Pakistan that purifies the water. The water has to go through a cycle of putting the powder in mixing it in one direction and waiting for five minutes. The next step is putting the water in a cup with a cotton handkerchief over it so that only the water seeps through and the dirt stays out. After that step the water is ready to drink and they put it in a ceramic filter. It takes a while for the water to go through the filter so if they want to drink water in the morning they have to fill up the tank at night. This procedure can give a family 10 liters of clean water.

The last station we went to was called: Air RahMat & Aquatabs. At that station we learned another way of purifying the water. It's like the other station but it is the chlorination of the water. For the Aquatabs you need 20 liters of water to put the Aquatab in and wait for 30 minutes. In emergency situations you can get 10 liters and wait for 30 minutes as well. After you wait the 30 minutes the water is ok to drink. For the Air RahMat they have measuring cups that they use to fill with Air RahMat so they can put it into a 10 or 5 liter water container. After you pour the Air RahMat into the water container you have to shake it for 30 seconds. After you shake it for 30 seconds you have to wait for 30 minutes. Then the water is drinkable.

We had a great time learning about all these things at these three different stations and we also had a good time meeting people and getting to know how lucky we are to have water. We were fascinated by the way they clean water. The way they clean water is a way we never knew and because of this field trip we now know ways to clean water and we also know that we should be glad that we have the water we have now and glad that we were able to help these people. One person can make a big difference. I believe JIS can help a whole lot by doing even small things like this. In a way we can help our world and the people who live in it be happy. That's what I learned from this field trip and from my classes.