By: Natalia Trita Agnika

"Are you ready, Tigers?" exclaimed a teacher at Raffles Christian School Pondok Indah, South Jakarta. With great enthusiasm, the students in line immediately answered with a chant, "T.I.G.E.R.S! Who are we? We are Sumatran Tigers. We are here to home. We are here to roar!"

The line of Raffles Christian School students paraded around the school complex in a series of "Paws the Hunt, Charity Carnival" activities held last Saturday (08/04) at Raffles Christian School Pondok Indah, South Jakarta. This annual charity event, which is in its 9th year, is special because it aims to contribute to the preservation of Sumatran tigers by making donations through WWF-Indonesia.

In her speech at the opening ceremony, Principal of Raffles Christian School Pondok Indah, Maureen C. Montero said, "We collaborate with WWF-Indonesia because we believe in WWF-Indonesia's mission to stop environmental degradation through their various conservation programs. This is not the first time Raffles Christian School has collaborated with WWF-Indonesia. In 2012, we held a similar activity for Javan rhino conservation." Maureen also explained that in this Charity Carnival the participants will raise funds through various activities which will later be donated to WWF-Indonesia for conservation programs, especially Sumatran tiger conservation.

WWF-Indonesia, represented by Arnold Sitompul, Director of Conservation, highly appreciates what Raffles Christian School has done. "We are very happy and confident that your support contributes significantly to the recovery of wildlife populations," he said in response to the collaboration that was previously carried out by Raffles Christian School for Javan rhino conservation. Arnold further explained about the various Sumatran tiger conservation efforts that have been carried out by WWF-Indonesia. He also talked about the Rimbang Baling Wildlife Sanctuary which is the original habitat of Sumatran tigers in Indonesia. "Thank you very much to Raffles Christian School for supporting WWF-Indonesia's conservation program. It's time for us to save the charismatic animals that are the pride of this nation. We have already lost the Javanese tiger and the Bali tiger. We must not lose the Sumatran tiger," he concluded.

"Paws the Hunt, Charity Carnival" was filled with various activities involving students. After the opening, the participants did zumba exercise together and then paraded with various attributes depicting tigers. Elementary school students wore clothes with tiger stripes. Kindergarten students brought various tiger paintings of their work. Invited guests from the Tanjung Barat Orphanage also participated in the parade wearing tiger headbands and painting faces like tiger faces.

In the art show that took place in the sports hall, the WWF-Indonesia team also exhibited Tiger Papier Mache, a Sumatran tiger statue made from waste paper by Bali Artgasm. Some visitors enthusiastically asked about the conservation message carried through the making of the Tiger Papier Mache. One visitor even adopted the Tiger Papier Mache as his contribution to Sumatran tiger conservation and his support for the #DoubleTigers Campaign.

Panda Mobile, WWF-Indonesia's education truck also took part in "Paws the Hunt, Charity Carnival". Through the story of the Sumatran tiger presented by Kak Rian and Kak Biyong, visitors learned about this charismatic animal. The students were also very interested in the water laboratory facility. They were invited to test the water quality using litmus paper, pH meter, and see the microbial content using a microscope. Near the Panda Mobile truck, there was a face painting booth opened by WWF-Indonesia.

The excitement in the spirit of Sumatran tiger conservation was further enhanced by various games made by students with Sumatran tiger nuances. For each game at each post, visitors must buy an entrance ticket. The proceeds from the ticket sales will be combined with the auction of paintings by students and will be donated to WWF-Indonesia.