03 January 2023, Commemorating the Founding Day of the Teaching Organizing Association for Deaf/Mute Children
Dig into the story of the founding of the Association for Teaching Deaf-Mute Children, the Forerunner of the First SLB-B in Indonesia.
School is one of the facilities that provide teaching for children to understand many knowledge and aspects of life, generally children who go to school are children aged 3 years to 17 years old, but what about people with disabilities? During the Dutch East Indies colonial period, learning for people with disabilities was very limited, even for people with disabilities who were children of the elite. This applies to all persons with disabilities. The hearing disabilities are no exception, if physically they are like children in general, but actually their ability to communicate certainly experiences many obstacles.
The ability to communicate is an important aspect of human life. However, for children with hearing and speech impairments, it becomes a challenge for them to deal with ways of communicating that are different from other hearing partners. Limitations in understanding and speaking and listening make them feel isolated from social interactions and learning experiences that are limited to them.
This makes Mrs. CM Roelfsema Wesselink, wife of an ENT doctor in Indonesia named H.L Roelfsema. Her empathy for children with hearing and speech impairments made Mrs. CM Roelfsema establish an association for teaching violations to deaf and mute children on January 3, 1930, at her residence on Jln. Riau No. 20 Bandung. The first school and dormitory building for the Deaf and Dumb people, at that time the number of students was still 6 people.
This school experienced several changes of place, after Mrs. Sm Roelfsema, transferred to Oude Hosfitalweg No. 27 Bandung, not long after that two expert teachers from the Netherlands, Mr. DW, were brought in. Blomink and Miss E. Gudberg, later Mr DW. Blomink was appointed director, thanks to Mr KAR Bosscha's policy he handed over ƒ 50,000 to the municipality of Bandung at that time.
The school building was officially opened on December 18, 1933 in Cicendo Village, Bandung District, Bandung Regency. With a total of 26 students, 6 of them live outside the dormitory. During the Japanese colonial period, the association school was terminated, the school building was taken over by the Japanese army, after Japan was paralyzed the school building was returned to the association, so that the implementation of education could be carried out again, the ministry of education and teaching brought back an expert teacher from the Netherlands, namely Jivan Dooran and Followed by Mr. Van Derbek.
Schools and association dormitories underwent many name changes and institutional structure changes, starting from LPATB, turning into special training people's schools until finally in 1954 the education department established educational institutions for people with disabilities in Indonesia to be called special schools (SLB). With the changing times and several times this institution has changed its name, starting from SLB P3ATB (Association of Organizing Teaching of Deaf Children) changing to LPATB (Institute for Education of Deaf Children) then changing to P3ATR (Providing Education and Teaching of Deaf Children) and changing again became YP3ATR (Foundation for the Implementation of Education and Teaching of Deaf Children) and finally changed back to SLBN-B Cicendo until now. This school is the first and oldest special school in Indonesia for deaf and mute people.
The school and dormitory for the teaching association for Deaf and Deaf Children, which is currently the Cicendo SLBN-B, is a silent witness to the struggle of the founders of a school for persons with disabilities, especially those with hearing and speech impairments, the persistent efforts and commitment of the founders and the support of the government and society. enabling people with hearing and speech impairments to have equal access to education and opportunities to develop according to their potential. Congratulations on the founding of the 2022 teaching organization for deaf and mute children. Hopefully today will be a reminder for all of us to continue to uphold equality in education for disabilities in Indonesia.
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