Inilah cabaran bagi anak-anak pedalaman dalam mencari ilmu. Ada diantara mereka terpaksa berkorban untuk berjauhan dari ibubapa demi satu tujuan. Tujuan itu adalah belajar. Belajar untuk keluar sebagai insan berilmu dan menggunakan ilmu untuk menjadi seorang insan yang mampu membawa perubahan kepada keluarga.
Senario berjauhan dari ibubapa seperti yang dilalui oleh adik Aray dari kaum penan ini turut dirasai oleh kanak-kanak sebayanya di kalangan masyarakat Iban, Melayu, Bidayuh, Melanau malah Cina dan kaum-kaum lain yang tinggal di pedalaman Sarawak.
Namun inilah kehebatan acuan anak-anak ini. Mereka didedahkan dengan sifat berdikari, berani dan tabah. Anak Sarawak ternyata mampu pergi ke mana-mana sahaja di dunia kerana mereka diuji jiwa kentalnya.
Kepada adik Aray, airmata mu bukan sahaja menceritakan tentang kerinduan pada ibu dan ayah. Tapi airmata mu adalah pembakar semangat untuk terus mengubah nasib keluarga. Kepada cikgu Azmira Amran, ucapan terima kasih tak terhingga kerana sudi menceritakan tentang kekuatan jiwa anak-anak pedalaman di Sarawak.
Berikut adalah coretan beliau dalam FB yang cukup menyentuh jiwa
When I arrived at this school, I saw this boy right away (because of the hair). His back was facing the school and he was staring at the village below the hill.
When I got closer, he was in tears. I didn’t know why he cried, could it be because his friends were teasing him? Could it be because he forgot to bring a pencil to class? I tried to cheer him, befriend him, show him how to take a selfie, but he continued crying.
He was wearing a dusty uniform, with tahi lalat scattered on his clothes. It says Aray on his name tag but I found out later that his name is Reno. He’s a Year 2 pupil (8 years old) and he mostly did not attend school last year. This year he has to stay in the hostel because his village is far away from the school.
Yesterday was a carnival day, so parents came all the way from their faraway villages to attend. If I’m not mistaken, his parents couldn’t make it. Some villages are really far away, it could take days on foot to reach the school.
He was homesick. He was crying because he missed his family. My heart broke when I found out about this.
I went about my work and later I bumped into him again, still crying. He was sitting by his classroom door. I tried to cheer him again by giving him lollies. He took it but he was still crying. Later in the afternoon, I saw he went into his dorm and continued to cry there.
Sumber: Cikgu Azmira Amran
