A Night at The Orphanage

It was friday evening when i came to one of orphanage in South Jakarta. It's not my first time came there, but i usually i come at Saturday morning to give additional lesson for the teens. At that day, i specially came just to follow their activity after school.

Evening activity
We did maghrib prayer together in mosque. After had some dhikr, i followed them to read Al-Mulk as their habit every friday.  The teens read it so well and fast. It took only few minutes to finish 30 verses. If i do it my self, it probably need some longer time.

After finished reading Quran, we had a supper while listened to the Ustadz's advices. When we did eating, Linda, one of the teens, asked me for the additional lesson for the following morning. "Iya, besok aku kesini lagi kaya biasa," i said.

"Kenapa nggak nginap disini aja, Kak? Tidur bareng-bareng sama kita!" Linda begged me to stay. Wow, it never cross in my head, but it sounds fun. Since i didn't have anything else to do, i nod to her. "But asked to your Ustadz first if i am allowed," i said. She then ran asked her Ustadz and he said yes.

I then continued following their next activity after Isya to watch movie. We watched Final Destination until 10 pm. After that, we moved to the girls dorm to have a sleep.

At the Girls Dorm
I have ever seen girl's dorm before. There's only two rooms for the girls in the 2nd floor. Each room consist of about ten persons or more. Each room provided by two bathrooms in the corner and some small cupboards around the wall. Eight beds lined on the floor for sleep. "Disini, Kak. Kakak tidur sama aku," Linda show me one bed facing the fan. Unlike another naked bed, my bed already covered by a sheath and pillow. What a kind girl.

It's already 11 pm and the girls still had a chat. They talked with Sunda's language so i don't understand what they talked about. I just listened to them. I was sleepy.

"Panas ya Kak?" Another girl asked me. She looked worry if i wasn't comfort. "Nggak kok, sama aja kaya di kosanku," i said little bit lying. It was very hot, indeed. I just couldn't imagine how can i sleep with this heat. I started sweating.

Can't sleep
Almost 12 pm and they're still awake. "Kalian jam segini belum tidur, biasanya tidur jam berapa?" I asked.
"Kita mah malem tidurnya, ngobrol dulu. Nanti jam 3 udah bangun lagi, tahajud," Linda answered. Wow, how can they make it? I talked to my head.

When we still had a chat, there's a rat passed in front of us. "Oiya Kak, disini banyak tikus. Tikusnya besar-besar," Icha informed me. They then talked about the rat living in their rooms. "Kadang suka gigitin kaki aku kalau tidur," Linda said and laugh.

They laugh instead of complain. They even didn't feel annoyed with their condition. They enjoy the rooms, they enjoy the heat, they enjoy their life. What a great soul.

12 pm i started to sleep while the girls still keep talking. I laid my body and closed my eyes, pretended to sleep. 1 am, I still couldn't sleep and still heard them keep talking. I just moved my body from right to left. When i moved to my left side, there's a cat right beside me. Whoaa, so i sleep with the cat and rat around me? Well, these girls have it every night.

I didn't know when i finally slept. At 4.30 am, Linda woke me up for Subuh prayer. I woke up and went to the mosque. After Subuh, we did dhikr and read Al-Waqiah. After that, we back to rooms and continued sleeping.

6.30 am i woke up by my self and found that there was only my bed in the floor. Other beds were already piled up in the corner. The girls already woke up. I saw Nova brought a broom on her hand. I then put my bed to the corner right away so that she can sweep the whole floor.

I really want to take a shower, but didn't bring my towel. I feel really uncomfort with my hair and my clothes. I really want to back home, but i still have to give them additional 'class' as i promised on previous day.

I waited the girls to finish their own activity. Some had a shower, ironing the clothes, swab the floor, etc. At 9 am, as they already finished, I open my notebook and started the 'class'. We did listening session until 10 am.

What a great experience spend a night at the orphanage. I found many things to learn from that unforgetable night. A good praying schedule, a sisterhood, and a friendliness. And finally, i learnt to be more grateful of what i got and enjoy the life.

@dwilestarin