The General Education Center of Ming Chi University of Technology (MCUT), through the funding of the University Social Responsibility (USR) Project granted by the Ministry of Education, Taiwan, has not only developed partnership with kindergartens, elementary schools, and secondary schools in Hsinchuang and Taishan, but also established several cooperative sites to offer care to new residents, their offspring as well as overseas migrant laborers in the greater Hsinchuang Area, including Hsinchuang, Taishan, Wugu, Bali and Linkou. The 2019 MCUT Indonesian Poetry-Composing Competition was held recently and the winner of the first prize was Ms. Dasmiri Bt Adima Reban, s currently working as a caretaker at Kinmen County. Her award-winning poem “Rindu” conveys a deep sense of homesickness generally from Indonesian migrant laborers.

“Ramadan,” the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is performed as a month of fasting, prayers and reflection to appreciate the strength brought by the religion of Islam. It plays a sacred and significant role to the Muslim community worldwide. In order to show respect to multi-culture and promote relevant information, MCUT firstly created a video clip introducing Ramadan and broadcast it online. Then activities such as “Appreciation Banquet” and “Indonesian Poetry-Composing Competition” were held in cooperation with the Indonesian stores/restaurants in Hsinchuang and Taishan Districts.

The period of the reception for poems lasted for one month. The call-for-works message was spread through the partner groups such as TransAsia Sisters Association, Taiwan (TASAT), Brilliant Time Bookstore, Indonesian Economic and Trade Office to Taipei. As a result, a great number of inquiry calls as well as poems for participating in the competition were received. After a serious selection process, 23 poems made to the final stage of evaluation. In order to have the works judged in a fair manner, two Indonesian teachers were invited as referees, Ms. Lu-Yin Shih, a translator for Department of Labor, Taipei City Government, and Ms. Pei-Shan Sun, a guest lecturer of Brilliant Time Bookstore. Finally, 3 works were selected for the first three prizes and another 3 poems were chosen to be given with the honorable mention awards. Among the winning poems, the one awarded with the first prize, “Rindu,” was acclaimed as an excellent piece of work.

The second prize went to Ms. Siti Solikhat with the poem titled as “Indul Fitri” and the third prize was granted to Ms. Susi Susanti who wrote “Indonesia-ku.” Both authors are working as migrant caretakers respectively in Taishan District and Peitou District. Through “Appreciation Banquet,” MCUT provided a rare opportunity to overseas migrant laborers for them to experience warmth of the Taiwanese society. Through holding the Indonesian Poetry-Composing Competition, MCUT offered a space for these foreign workers to express their homesickness. In the future, there is a further plan to have the awarded works translated into Chinese and then designed into cultural and creative products, so their voice can be heard by the general crowd.

MCUT The General Education Center: http://ge.mcut.edu.tw/?Lang=en

Resource

Winners of the 2019 MCUT Indonesian Poetry-Composing Competition Revealed