Rumah Singgah

2 days ago, i visited a children’s cancer foundation in yogyakarta.

At first, it was just for my scholarship social project. Honestly, i never expected this project to take me this far.

The project focuses on something that is often forgotten "how children with cancer can still get their right to education". They are still between zero and eighteen years old, an age when kids should be learning, playing, making friends, and experiencing school like others.

My team comes from different places. Some are from Surabaya, Aceh, and Banten, and i’m based in Yogyakarta. Because of that, i decided to find a children’s cancer foundation here by myself.

In the beginning, everything felt unclear. I imagined the project would be full of action, meeting the kids, teaching them, spending time together. But my mentor said something that really hit me "action alone is not enough". We need a prototype. Something real. Something useful. That’s how i ended up visiting a children’s cancer foundation in Yogyakarta.

I came alone that day. I had an appointment with one of the staff members, but he wasn’t there yet. It was already late afternoon, and the foundation was about to close. I almost left, but one of the staff said i could wait.

So i stayed.

And that small decision gave me so many lessons. Before coming, i prepared some questions because i didn’t want to build this project based on assumptions. For this project, a learning module makes the most sense as a prototype but before creating anything, I needed to understand the real situation.

We talked for a long time. She told me that the medicines the children take often affect their emotions. some children become easily upset or emotional. That’s when i realized teaching here is not just about lessons. It’s about patience and empathy.

She showed me the learning space. There were so many books. The foundation works in a hybrid way, some children stay there, others only come to study. She told me the kids love creative activities, crafts, simple projects, drawing. Their creativity is high, but formal learning materials are often not friendly enough for their condition.

i stopped for a moment.

i felt grateful. 

We often forget that being able to eat well, focus on studying, control our emotions, even feel tired from activities those are privileges.

What impressed me the most is that these children still go to formal school. Their lessons follow their school curriculum. Education is not something they give up. It’s something they hold on to.

I went home that day feeling emotional, grateful, and a little ashamed. We complain so easily, while some children have to choose between resting or studying. I plan to come back in February, to teach for one day. To build this project prototype directly. It will be challenging, but that’s exactly why i want to do it.

That day, at a children’s cancer foundation, i learned one simple thing
a life that looks ordinary is actually very precious.