Astrid
2024, Germany
Ibu Astrid! An energetic, healthy, talkative, friendly woman who was born in 1958, and comes from Germany. About six years ago, in her 60th birthday party, instead of receiving gifts, she collected some money from friends who came to the party into a “piggy bank”. She wished she can use the money in her pension time to go to a warm country where she does not need to wear thick jacket, earmuffs, and a shawl, to a country like in Africa and experiencing new things. Approaching her pension time, she still did not make any decision where to go as the organizations in Africa she knows, declined her, and said they that did not need her at that time. One day, her old friend called her, and Astrid told her about the dream she wants to realize. Her friend who is a neighbour of Gesine Nitzschke the founder of YCM, told Astrid about YCM in Bogor, Indonesia, a vast warm country with many ethnicities and cultures. Astrid was so curious about YCM, she read the website and contacted Gesine. When she read the website, she was a bit hesitate about herself, she thought “will she be fit in a place where the activities predominantly involving young people?”. Thus, she made her decision to give it a try. She contacted the people at YCM in Bogor and arranged everything to be able to come to Bogor, Indonesia. She arrived in Indonesia June 11th, 2024, picked up by YCM’s team and she was impressed by the hospitality of the team. They just met but had so much fun the whole way from the airport in Jakarta to Bogor like the know each other for a long time already. Already for more than 2 months she stays in Bogor, doing so much fun while exploring herself at YCM. She explores and learns so much while she also shares her knowledge. Get to know new people, cultures, experiencing new country, its intrigues and many more. She loves them, she loves everything she experiences. She loves the fun activities, the vibes, and great energy at YCM. Ibu Astrid an over 66 years old woman, she decided to take her pension time and realizing her dream. Although she is not young anymore, she encourages others to work hard, dream big and never give up. For more than 2 months already she joins YCM. She would love to come again next year if she is healthy or even every year to visit us. For her as YCM is also her family now. Overall, she is happy to join YCM and stay in Bogor. It is the best decision she ever made in her life!
Taylor Bonin,
2023, Australia
My experience at YCM was truly wonderful, thanks to the amazing students, staff, and families who make up the YCM community. I joined as an Australian Volunteer remotely from Australia, with two visits to Bogor to meet everyone face-to-face. Coming from a background working with young people in Australia, I was immediately drawn to YCM because of its focus on supporting children and young people with diverse life experiences. What stood out to me was how eager the students were to learn and how much they loved sharing their own stories and ideas. The warm, family-like atmosphere at YCM was a huge drawcard for me. The staff team was incredibly accommodating and open to new ideas, and they showed patience and curiosity in navigating the challenges that come with having a remote volunteer. No matter the distance, we always found ways to deliver engaging lessons and activities for the students. It was clear that the staff prioritise the health and wellbeing of everyone at YCM. Their passion goes beyond just a job – it is a way of life. Reflecting on my time there, it’s hard to pick just one favourite moment. Whether it was delivering lessons, answering questions in front of the school, or playing in futsal championships, every moment felt special. But one memory that stands out was during one of my visits when some students went fishing to catch fresh fish for dinner. We all cooked together, and I was put in charge of making the sambal. We then sat down and shared the meal lesehan style. That moment really captured the warmth, care, and affection that everyone has for each other at YCM. It showed me that YCM is more than just a school – it’s a big family. They welcomed me wholeheartedly and treated me as one of their own, and I will always be grateful for that experience.
Piet
2018-2019
Indonesia… Before leaving Germany in order to visit Bali on vacation in October I had only heard of the warm, friendly and open-minded people, the most pristine culture and undeterred lifestyle of my parents’ narratives of 25 years or so ago. Oh, and not to mention the incredibly efficient traffic provisions (not ;). So staying there for a month was my first delicate touch with the country consisting of – depending on whom you ask – mind-blowing 13k, 15k, or even 17k islands.
Continuing my travel through Asia for two more weeks, the impact my time in Bali had left was distinctive. Though Singapore and Bangkok were undoubtedly two worthwhile experiences, I couldn’t wait to get back to Indonesia.
What should I say, faster than I could eat another portion of mango with sticky rice in the Sukhumvit Road I found myself chatting with three YCM students in the car on the way from Jakarta’s airport to Bogor. And faster than being able to realise that the incredibly kind family I’ve just met will host me for the next 6 months I was already on the stage in the Hoolies, singing a Maroon 5 song I’d barely ever heard before between a bunch of smiling and laughing faces that were going to be the first portion of wonderful people I was just about to getting to know.
And what appeared to my tired eyes as an overenthusiastic and exceptional welcoming on that first Friday night, turns out to be more like a… well, like a way of living for the students at YCM, and many other locals I was delighted to meet so far. Though of course my German appearance stands out in many places and doesn’t remain unobserved, no matter with whom you join in the afternoon or on the weekend, it didn’t feel like ‘joining’ – I felt that I belonged, from the first time shaking hands and showing my incredibly professional karaoke skills in the Hoolies. And this is the wonderful thing about YCM: Everybody belongs. It is one caring, selfless, grounded community.
The House of Dreams gives all of us the space and freedom to escape our own boundaries, to ultimately realise there are no limits or rules for the person we crave to become and what impact any of us can have during our lifetime on this earth. It sets the foundation for a mindset that provides the strength for enjoying every day no matter what life throws at you, and gives meaning to every hour. Together we’re learning about a more sustainable way of living, sharing our knowledge about all different kinds of interesting fields, showing massive support for each other while on the way to improving our English skills and, above all, having a whole lot of fun!
Together we’re trying to get better, trying to grow individually within the community in order to eventually shed light on any new place or person with that overall positivity that emerges from sharing experiences, skills, and taking care of each other. And every obstacle or issue that arises along the way – May it be of personal origin, about communication difficulties or missing creativity figuring out the challenges for this afternoon’s class – contributes to the end goal of making us stronger as well, as long as we just keep going, keep learning, keep sharing, and keep finding new ways of making the best of our precious time on this planet.
I hope I might get to distribute my own little pieces of positivity during the course of the next half year in Bogor, and bring along to Hamburg a whole bunch of Indonesian ones. So far I have no doubt about the latter.
Lena Ebers
2018-2019
My name is Lena and I’m volunteering at YCM for half a year, starting from September.
On my first day here I was asked about how I felt before I left. “Nervous, but excited” I said. Nervous about if people would be welcoming, about how well I would fit into this place. It turned out that my worries were uncalled for, as I was welcomed with open arms. From the very first second people here tried to make me feel comfortable and included me into this wonderful community that radiates acceptance and familiarity.
I was especially nervous about how well my shy personality would fit into this place, since I imagined a good volunteer to be outgoing and talkative. However, tutors and students alike were more respectful and understanding than I expected, giving me the time I needed to accustomise.
Even after some time, teaching is still challenging. I believe that’s also partly due to the lack of a curriculum. This, while challenging, is an aspect I highly value about the foundation since it allows the tutors to adapt the classes to the interests and needs of each class. It’s a chance to introduce knowledge that’s not typically taught in school, but is beneficial for widening horizons and the development of strong characters.
I’m beyond grateful that I have the chance to experience life in Indonesia as a part of this community and hope that I’ll be able to leave a positive impact behind.
Sophie Simon
2016
My name is Sophie and I am one of the former YCM volunteers. My adventure started in October last year and became definitely one of the best I ever had. I stayed six month at YCM and never regret the decision to come to Indonesia. Of course in the beginning it was not always easy to stay miles away from your family and friends, to get used to new conditions and to settle down in a kind of new world but YCM helped me from beginning on to feel comfortable and to become part of that wonderful family!
From Monday to Friday I was teaching the different internship programs or the YCM- starter (children between 9 and 15) two sessions a day. Because of the non existing curricula I had the chance to feel completely free in what I was doing. Of course I tried to focus on the English language but little games, role plays, songs, outside activities or research tasks made it much easier to entertain the students while learning.
Every day at 5 pm the lessons are done and than it’s time to play volleyball, to sing and play music in the lovely garden house or just to relax with the students. Often I stayed at YCM until late in the night because I enjoyed the calm and friendly atmosphere there. On the weekend is time for waterfall trips, partying, sports, gathering or spending time with your host family. During six month I never felt homesick because at YCM is always something to do or amazing people to be surrounded by.
The students are really grateful and full of spirit to learn something new. After a couple of weeks students became very good friends and I can’t imagine to live without them anymore. Even though I just left YCM to weeks ago I miss them every day. (in my mind I am already planning my next trip to Bogor in summer next year. Hope my parents are fine with it) I could go on writing and writing for hours about all the things I learned at YCM, wonderful experiences I did and new friends I got. But what I can say for sure is that I had the best time of my life there! Thank you YCM for everything! I am so proud to became part of your family.
Daniel Orthey
2016
“My time at YCM, I came to YCM in August 2016 for six months to participate in this social program as a volunteer. From the very beginning, I felt overwhelmed by the people’s hospitality and openness. That is the reason why I had hardly any problems by getting used to the new culture. At YCM, I shared my knowledge about different matters of life. We talked about current worldwide issues, learned about important values such as “Respect”, “Tolerance” and “Empathy”, and played games and music. I also had German class every Friday, especially for Bogor Tours’ students in order to give them the possibility to speak German with their German customers and to learn more about the German culture. On the other side, the students taught me how to sew, to cook Indonesian food and to speak their language. They always were very enthusiastic about showing me new aspects of their lifes. During the breaks and after classes, we played volleyball or sat together and sang. We spend a lot of time together. On the weekends, we made trips to hidden places such as waterfalls or went out to ‘Hoolies’ (a bar in Bogor). For me, it was a wonderful time. YCM is a great project because it supports underprivileged children in a very special way and gives them the possibility to get new skills to achieve their dreams. It also encourages me to keep on with further social projects in my life.”
Ilka Schreier
2018-2019
My name is Ilka and I am volunteering in YCM for 6 months. In my first two months I became a part of this community, I don´t want to miss anymore. On my first day, I was asked about my dream-my goal in life. Back in that moment I couldn’t be more surprised, because most of my friends and I don’t have ´the´ fixed goal in life, not even calling it something as romantic as a dream. But with every day passing by I understood: when you are neither given many opportunities nor have much to dream of in your surroundings, coming to YCM, the house of dreams, is a life changer. First you start dreaming and eventually if you work hard it can become reality, as everyone can see due to really successful alumni. During my stay I am going to share about English and German, my mother tongue, besides my experiences and values, I have gained of those. In my opinion this is what makes YCM such a special place, that beyond regular lessons, you can use your personal knowledge to encourage more tolerance, wider horizons and sustainable living. Instead of fixed structures and curricula which the students need to adjust to, we as tutors are responsible to adjust to the students to create a healthy study atmosphere, in which each and everyone can develop intellectually, personally and even physically due to the sports programs in the evening. As far as I can tell, the tutors and volunteers before me did a great job, because I was treated very nicely and was welcomed with open arms. I can just hope to leave the same impact on my friends at YCM.
Moritz May
2019
Moritz is our German volunteer who has been in our foundation for 5 months. In terms of material lessons, he has been providing grammar classes to our basic and pre-intermediate students. What’s more, he provides a German class twice a week. “In German class, I have to share a lot of information about German culture,” he said.
“I love the people in Indonesia. They’re open-minded. What I like about YCM is that it offers nice programs that are suitable for the students. In addition, I really like the atmosphere at YCM, because it is filled with live music during break time,” Moritz added.
“Teaching at YCM has been really challenging, because I have to be creative, creating something from scratch. The good thing is that I can be free to provide interesting topics for the students. Additionally, YCM doesn’t have a fixed curriculum, so I can be expressive when it comes to preparing for materials,” he said.
Hanja
2019
My name is Hanja and I’m volunteering in Yayasan Cipta Mandiri during the month of August.
‘What were your expectations before you came to YCM?’ I was asked by a student and that made me hesitate for a moment. I guess I was expecting something similar to a school where children come together to acquire some knowledge. But YCM is so much more than that. It is a place where friends meet, creativity runs free, prospects are shown, opinions are shared and dreams might come true.
Right from the start I noticed that there was something special about this place. This warm and familiar atmosphere surrounding YCM and that welcomed me from day one, made me instantly feel in good hands.
I was overwhelmed by the positive attitude of the students, showing so much interest, willing to progress but never forgetting to have fun and to enjoy what they are doing. Not having seen so many smiling faces elsewhere and motivated people in one place. An experience I don’t want to miss, since I now much more appreciate things and opportunities I took for granted.
Although I am going to stay at Yayasan Cipta Mandiri for one month only I am quite sure, that I will return home with lots of unforgettable memories of an intense time among new friends. I am so glad that I got the chance to meet so many wonderful people, who introduced me to their culture and lifes, which otherwise never would have happened. Eventually I hope that I can contribute some experiences and support to the YCM family in return – terima kasih banyak!
Hannah Findlay
2017
Hannah is our Scottish volunteer who has been providing English classes for our pre-intermediate class for six months. Coming to YCM twice a week, Hannah is very interested in imparting the English knowledge.
“I found out about YCM online. I knew I wanted to do some volunteering, and YCM seemed like a really great place!” said Hannah. “One of the challenges teaching at YCM is that there is no curriculum, so you have to be very creative with lessons and make a lot of the materials from scratch.”
“I really like it because the students love to learn and are very enthusiastic and fun, also we aren’t stuck to a curriculum, so we can adapt the lesson to what the students want to learn and it’s a lot more spontaneous,” said Hannah.
Nadine Schartz
(2011-2012), Germany
“YCM – Changes our Lives!”
Dieses Motto hört man in der Yayasan Cipta Mandiri (YCM) sehr oft und es stimmt vollkommen.
Noch vor einem Jahr nahm ich an sämtlichen Vorbereitungen meiner Oranisation in Deutschland teil und wir Freiwillige, die in die ganze Welt verstreut wurden, sind darauf vorbereitet worden, dass in unserem Projekt die Kinder geschlagen werden könnten und unsere Ideen und Vorschläge nicht einmal angehört werden.
Das ist in YCM absolut nicht der Fall! Ich kann mit ziemlicher Sicherheit sagen, dass YCM das beste Projekt ist, in das eine Freiwillige wie ich kommen könnte.
Die Kinder im Alter von 9 bis 24 Jahren kommen freiwillig und sehr gerne dort hin, um Englisch oder Nähen zu ueben, über Computerprogramme zu lernen, sich mit anderen auszutauschen und um Spass zu haben. Alle von ihnen kommen aus unterpriviligierten Familien mit bis zu 12 Geschwistern und würden ohne YCM ihre Freizeit unter schlechtem Einfluss auf der Strasse verbringen oder ihrem Wissen nicht gerechten Arbeiten nachgehen. Ausserdem besuchen einige der Schueler überhaupt nicht mehr die Schule, oft, weil, ihre Eltern nicht das Geld haben, um die Bücher oder Semesterbeiträge zu bezahlen. In dem sauberen, geregelten und westlichen Umfeld von YCM bekommen sie dann eben nicht nur die fehlende schulische Bildung und Aufmerksamkeit, sondern werden über den normalen Lehrplan hinaus unterrichtet. Hier werden auch Werte wie Selbstständigkeit, Selbstbewusstsein und Kritikfähigkeit vermittelt, die in einer indonesischen Schule vollkommen fehlen, denn dort gibt es im Unterricht keine Diskussionen und mündliche Mitarbeit. Neue Schüler haben anfangs natürlich Schwierigkeiten, sich dieser Art von Unterricht anzupassen, jedoch ist es erfreulich zu sehen, wie gut sie sich entwickeln und aufblühen.
Sie alle haben Talente für die es schade wäre, sie nicht zu nutzen: Musiktalente, Sprachtalente, Mathetalente, Kunsttalente, Sporttalente… YCM bietet ihnen die Möglichkeit, erst einmal dieses Talent ausfindig zu machen und dann zu fördern. Viele von ihnen gehen heute zur Universität oder haben einen guten Job, was sie ohne YCM nie erreicht hätten. Wir bekommen sehr viele positive Rückmeldungen von Unternehmen, die unsere Schüler gerne einstellen, da diese weitaus erwachsener, weltoffener und selbstständiger sind als andere Indonesier in ihrem Alter und zudem sehr gutes Englisch sprechen.
Mir persönlich macht es sehr viel Spass, in diesem Projekt zu unterrichten und den lernbegeisterten, fröhlichen Kindern mein Wissen weiter zu geben. Es herrscht eine entspannte und freundschaftliche Atmosphäre, in der sich jeder willkommen und wohl fühlt. Es ist wie eine große herzliche und lebensfreudige Familie, die auch mich sehr geprägt hat. Beim Gedanke an meine Abreise in nur noch zwei Monaten wird mir schon ganz mulmig.
Nico Vih Peltier
2018, Denmark
In 2018 I arrived in Bogor, a city I had never been to, in a country that I had never visited. I was really excited, but also quite scared at the same time. The idea of going to a whole different country with a different language and a very different culture from my hometown (Copenhagen) was a bit much to take in. When I had my first day at Yayasan Cipta Mandiri (YCM) I had only met a few of the people working there, so everything was quite new. I had been looking forward to meeting everyone, and meeting everyone I did. On that first day, I was pretty much the center of attention, which was weird as I normally don’t really like being it, however this time it meant that the students were able to ask me questions, talk about themselves, which was very nice and kinda reassuring the way that they all welcomed me to YCM. My classes started, and I was able to see how the different teachers/volunteers were sharing their knowledge with the students. They all had different ways to conduct a class, while always keeping it interesting, and kinda fun for the students. They encourage the students to be creative, think outside of the box, and express their own opinions and ideas, which is something I find important. For the older students, YCM has 4 programs (Bogor Tours, RobinHerbs, SOLA, and Kancing) where their products/services can be sold which I find very beneficial for the students as it shows them that their work pays off. While I’ve been here I’ve had the chance to experience many different things; such as delicious (however spicy) foods, motorbike rides, Tours, Indonesian weddings, a different and very interesting culture, camping, and more. However, the best thing is the people, as they have all been so great at taking care of me, and involving me in all of these different things. I am very much looking forward to my next couple of months that I get to spend here with them.
Mathilde Hartvig Munk
My name is Mathilde and I’ve spent the last two months volunteering here at YCM. My stay has definitely been a very exciting, inspiring and educational experience! I am impressed by how much life, spirit and energy you find here. Everybody is so enthusiastic and committed to learn and share and become better human beings, which affects me in the most positive way.
I primarily have English classes which I really enjoy. The atmosphere is always relaxed and we laugh a lot. The fact that YCM doesn’t have any curriculum has both been challenging but also liberating as I have been able to share the things I find interesting. I have for instance had a theme about intercultural understanding and one about Danish culture with the pre-intermediate students.
Because the culture here is so different from my home country (Denmark) it definitely took some time for me to adjust. In the beginning everything was quite overwhelming. The food was more spicy than I am used to, the traffic more chaotic, there were so many new faces and the conception of time was a lot more loose which sometimes lead to frustrations. But everybody
has been so welcoming and sweet to help so I pretty quickly felt at home.
One of the things that has made the biggest impact on me so far is to hear the students and tutors share their stories of how YCM has given them a new opportunity in life – a new future. It has definitely put a new perspective on my own life as well.
Sadly now I only have a couple of weeks left here which is way too short. I am looking forward to going on a trip to the Baduy-tribe with Bogor Tours and on a camping trip with the YCM-family and otherwise I’m just trying to enjoy the rest of my time here as much as I can at this lovely place.
