It was such an honour for me to visit Rafi’s former school and meet his old classmates at Santi Rama Cipete School for the Deaf last month, along with Rafi’s mother Shinta and his younger sister and brother, Rafa and Rafif.
Rafi is currently working on a new project and wants to involve some of his friends so we went along for a quick visit to the school which was a truly special experience. Apart from the fact that I cannot communicate with sign language or Bahasa Indonesia, the children were so welcoming and curious about the ‘bule’ visiting their school and it was lovely to meet them all. Rafi had a chance to show some of his current drawings and it’s wonderful that he can be such a huge inspiration to kids his own age.
As Indonesia’s youngest fashion designer, he has shown me that anything is possible if you truly follow your passion and work hard at what you love doing.
Shinta, Rafa and Rafif with students from the school
Always ready to pose for a photo! Cuteness….
So cantik!
Rafi sharing his drawing book with his former classmates
Karate class just finished so more chaos in the corridor!
More loveliness at the front gate..
Rafi’s best friend, Rafa and her mother, who is also deaf. What a lovely family
Your post reminds me to special school near my Parent inlaw in Bekasi area.
Once I have seen a scenery ,those student were gathered and throwing jokes(that what was coming to my mind) through sign languange and in a sudden they are laughing together.
I live abroad so some time I feel the loneliness and by the time a saw that event, it struck me. They live in a quite world but they’ve found crowds in their mind.
Keep writing about the town of my heart…always love to see Jakarta from another perspective.
That is such a lovely message Imam! Thank you so much for taking the time to read and respond to our blog. It is quite incredible to be surrounded by such children.. although I can’t sign and can only speak the very basics of Indonesian, we still managed to spend the morning laughing together. Every time I see Rafi I feel like a child again, laughing hysterically and just communicating through actions and it’s always a very happy time.
Where are you living abroad at the moment? I hope you don’t feel lonely wherever you are… it’s always difficult settling into a new place and within a new culture, but I hope you find magical moments wherever you go in the world.
Hati hati and thanks so much again 🙂