This week saw IHF Aceh undergo some garden renovation. The rate at which vegetation grows in these tropical climes is alarming, and over just a few months our yard was beginning to look more ‘Sumatran jungle’ than ‘school compound’. A friend of Dhean’s, the local artist who painted the animals on our perimeter wall, came to strip away the undergrowth. This is in preparation for another round of outdoor decorating – our side wall, now bare to the world after having the plants pulled from it, needs a lashing of paint. Dhean says he will return for an ‘outdoor art class’ in which some of the kids can help him make designs.

On the subject of art class, another friend of the centre and local university teacher, Karl, held his final class of the school year. A part-time designer and drawing enthusiast himself, Karl has been generous enough to give two hours a week for the past six months to help spark some creativity amongst both children and volunteers. Originally from the US, he has another year left in Banda Aceh. Long may his artistic philanthropy continue.