Producing Large-Format, Vinyl Game Boards for Outdoor Use: JA Prestasi Indonesia

Working together with the HSBC Country Champion and her team, JA Prestasi Indonesia (PJI) produced the Community and Business Game Boards for the JA More Than Money in a large format in in hard-wearing vinyl for outdoor use. The games were created for  volunteers in an area surrounding the city of Padang in Sumatra, which was hit  by a devastating earthquake a little over a year ago.   

HSBC has been active in building an elementary school in an area which suffered the worst of the damage from the quake.  Much of the reconstruction of the educational facilities has not yet been completed so lessons have been conducted outside the classroom. Volunteers from HSBC have used the JA More Than Money program to instruct students from the school and asked PJI to produce a large version of the games. This allows them to become involved in the activity outside, without relying on the availability of a formal classroom. The adaptation lends a new meaning to the idea of “applied learning” as students, themselves, will become the game pieces.

While PJI was implementing the JA More Than Money program in Jakarta middle schools, it became clear that it was relevant for all students. A program ”start-up” in an area that has recently suffered a devastating earthquake reinforces the idea of a new beginning—one which provides a sustainable future for the young people. Most students who participated in this project were from families who had lost family members, friends, their homes and their livelihoods (or a combination of two or more of these). Many of  the affected are now required to begin businesses, education and, ultimately, their lives, again. It is planned that the JA More than Money program and, in particular, the adaptation of the game board, will be able to support young people (and their families) in this endeavor. By providing children in this area with the fundamentals associated with spending and saving, the concepts of consumerism, and the reality of structured employment, they are becoming better prepared to face the challenges of this new beginning forced upon them by nature.

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