Santa Yohana Antida Thouret Student Residence in Sintang West Kalimantan Indonesia
Sintang is a city in West Kalimantan and a popular destination for young people from surrounding villages and towns who want to continue their studies, whether at secondary school, sixth form or university. It is not surprising, therefore, that many young women come from surrounding villages and towns to attend school in Sintang. Therefore they need accommodation during their studies. There are many colleges, boarding houses for boys and girls, and houses for rent for these students. In Sintang, our student residence is not the only one for girls. There are several others run by other congregations and lay people. However, ours attracts a growing number of students every year without the need for promotion among parents or girls in the Sintang area. Apparently, it is the girls who have lived and are living in our student residence, or their parents, who promote it by sharing the positive experiences they have had during their stay with us. Some of our girls often post photos of their daily activities, thus naturally attracting other girls and parents to stay here. We often hear complaints from some parents about the excessive freedom in the lifestyle of teenagers outside the student residence, such as promiscuity, alcohol and drug consumption, and other forms of juvenile delinquency, which cause them great concern and prevent them from sleeping peacefully in the village. We know that they try to find dormitories that guarantee the “safety” of their sons and daughters and carefully inquire about the various advantages that one student residence offers over others.
-
They make sure that their children do not sleep on the floor with dozens of others, as is sometimes is unfortunately the case, but have decent accommodation;
2. They look for dormitories where food is guaranteed and in the right quantity;
3. They look for places where young people can receive extra assistance: training sessions or additional tutoring sessions that help them in academic subjects, such as English, mathematics, physics, dance and music. Our current student residence is able to address some of the issues mentioned above, as well as other developmental activities that encourage the girls
to become accustomed to household chores: cooking, cleaning the house and garden, shopping, calculating the expenses of the student residence, praying together, participating in neighbourhood religious services and joining the church choir. It also promotes a certain spiritual and prayer life by encouraging young women to meditate on Bible verses. We are truly committed to everything we do, and the activities we currently organise in our student residence are a major attraction for girls and parents in Sintang and even further afield. This is demonstrated by the constant and sometimes increasing number of enrolment applications each year. For example, this year, before the end of the school year, there were already about 13 students enrolled, even though only eight would be graduating.