The Indonesian Community Centre (ICC) was launched in April this year. Located in Klang’s Jalan Pasar area, it serves as a space for the Indonesian migrant community to unite and support each other. Within a few months, the ICC has become a gathering place for more than 100 Indonesians from at least nine ethnic groups. Programmes we ran at ICC this year include Hari Raya celebrations, Indonesia Independence Day, a cooking competition, and a craft workshop for mothers. We also organise a children’s gathering every Saturday and a men’s gathering every two weeks.
Through the ICC, ElShaddai Centre works closely with the Indonesian Embassy to encourage the community to obtain legal documentation. The ICC
also facilitates the Sanggar Bimbangan programme for the embassy, which we started for our Indonesian students in March this year. Under this programme,
the students study Bahasa Indonesia and Civics, to obtain a certificate from the embassy, which will grant them a smooth transfer into the Indonesian education
system when they return in future. Currently, there are two groups of students in Sanggar Bimbangan, 25 students from Years 1-3 and 26 students from Year 6. Two teachers from Indonesia and our Indonesian community worker conduct classes, using ICC and
an ElShaddai Centre’s learning centre.
– Contributed by Yakup Pratopo & Shanisse Goh
