By: Natalia Trita Agnika

"Try to close your eyes, then take a deep breath, feel, and exhale," asked Kak Iyan, a storyteller from WWF-Indonesia's Panda Mobile to children from Tarbiyatul Yatama Social Orphanage, Ciampea, Bogor. "How does it feel? Delicious, right? Well, that's a very big gift that we receive every day from Allah. Therefore we must be grateful for it," continued Kak Iyan opening the storytelling session at the "Iftar with Panda Mobile" event held at Tarbiyatul Yatama Children's Home on Tuesday (05/06) yesterday.

Kak Iyan also told a story about a child who littered in the forest. The child thinks that littering in the forest will have no effect on life where he lives in the city. However, the presence of giant ants finally made him realize that he must help protect the forest environment. Kak Iyan's story opened the children's eyes that God did not only create humans, but also animals and plants. Humans have an obligation to protect and preserve them.

The "Buka Puasa Bersama Panda Mobile" event which was attended by around 48 children was also filled with various activities about the environment delivered by Panda Mobile volunteers accompanied by several WWF-Indonesia staff. Coinciding with the commemoration of World Environment Day 2018, the Panda Mobile team invited the children to watch a movie about rivers titled "Rivers for All". The movie showed the Subayang River in Rimbang Baling, Riau. The people there work together to preserve the river because it has many benefits for humans and other living things. After watching the movie, Indri, a grade 2 junior high school student explained the benefits of rivers to her friends, "(Rivers are) the source of human life, for drinking, washing, bathing. It can also be used for power generation."

The age of the children at Tarbiyatul Yatama Orphanage is very diverse, ranging from kindergarten age to vocational school age. The Panda Mobile team then divided them according to age and invited them to do some activities. Kindergarten to 3rd grade elementary school children were invited to color various pictures of endangered animals. Children in grades 4-6 were invited to play orangutan-themed cricket. Meanwhile, junior high school and vocational school children were invited to make water observations using Panda Mobile's water laboratory facilities, such as litmus paper and microscopes.

When the time to break the fast arrived, all the children enjoyed the iftar dishes that had been provided. The event, which took place with great warmth, provided new insights into the environment. Mohammad Sholeh, chairman of the foundation, expressed his gratitude for the presence of WWF-Indonesia's Panda Mobile team who provided new knowledge about the environment to the children in Tarbiyatul Yatama Children's Home. At the end of the event, the Panda Mobile team handed over basic food assistance to the foundation management.