Naomi Selan, Compassion for Street Children

KOMPAS/FABIO MARIA LOPES COSTA

Naomi Selan

Naomi Selan, affectionately known as Mama Naomi, has a special place in the hearts of hundreds of street children and vendors’ children in Jayapura, She has been their protector and educator in the past 15 years.

On Saturday (8/8/2020) at around 1 p.m. Eastern Indonesian Time, Naomi and her daughter Kezia arrived on a motorbike at a site of what was previously the Ampera Market in Jayapura, Papua. The neglected market still had some buildings and a futsal field. It was also the house of 40 street children.

The former market is where members of the Jayapura Downtown Children Community, which Naomi manages, gather. The community has around 200 members nowadays. Before, the children lived near Jayapura’s old terminal. After it was demolished, the children moved to the former Ampera Market. Currently, they have no plan of moving again.

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Seven youths and a middle-aged woman greeted Naomi joyfully. They called her Mama. That day, Naomi brought them sago starch, water spinach and fish. Together with the youths, Naomi cooked the sago and made fish soup. They all then ate the meal gratefully.

“By seeing me cook, the children can feel at home and the presence of a mother. Many of them ran away from home due to bad relationships with their parents or lack of attention from them,” she said.

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KOMPAS/FABIO MARIA LOPES COSTA

Naomi Selan and a number of her assisted children are cooking at a temporary location for street children in Jayapura City, Saturday (8/8/2020).

In the past 15 years, Naomi has become a mother for hundreds of street children. She provided them food, taught them how to be independent and encouraged them to pray more. She funded the activities partially from her own pocket and also from donors who care for the future of these street children.

Naomi’s care and compassion has led to the street children living better lives. Before, some of them had turned to crimes, such as stealing or robbing. Now, such incidents are no more. None of them even want to beg on the streets. Instead, these days, they work and earn money. Many of them have found work as parking attendants, construction workers and waste collectors.

Naomi, a priest at the International Full Gospel Fellowship Church with 50 families of congregants, also has other activities. Other than helping street children, she also gives math and English lessons for street children and over 250 vendors’ children at Jayapura’s Mama Papua market. The activity, which she founded with the late Robert Jitmau, has been going on for five years, serving children between three and 17 years old.

Baton

For Naomi, her public service activities are like receiving a baton from her father Frans Selan, who began the activities in 1970. Frans was a pastor at the Indonesian Evangelical Gospel Tabernacle Church (GKII). Frans, a native of South Central Timor regency in East Nusa Tenggara, carried out his spiritual duties in Wamena, Jayapura and Sarmi for three decades.

The book motivated me to return to Papua and serve the people here.

Frans’ spirit of serving and traversing Papua’s remote regions inspired Naomi over her decision on what to do with her life. She has been active in church services since she was 18 years old, namely as a coordinator for the youth leadership training center at the Gospel Tabernacle Church. At the organization, Naomi and other youths hold organizational training for youths as well as bible and singing classes.

Upon graduating from the Cenderawasih University faculty of law in Jayapura, she enrolled in philosophy at the Jaffray College of Theology in Jakarta in order to become a minister. After staying in Jakarta for six years, Naomi’s heart longed for home and she finally returned to Papua and began her public service in 1994. She made the decision after reading the book Gembalakanlah Umatku (Shepherd My People) by Papua Gospel Tabernacle Church synod head Benny Giay.

“The book motivated me to return to Papua and serve the people here,” she said.

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KOMPAS/FABIO MARIA LOPES COSTA

A hut built by Naomi Selan as a place for her assisted children to live in.

In 2005, she began her service in Jayapura – under a bridge that was home to 27 street children. They had been in poor health at the time, with some of them addicted to drugs. Naomi provided spiritual classes for them and prepared a halfway house and meals for them. The activity continued until Naomi reached hundreds of street children.

Naomi said that she hoped she could build a halfway house for all street children in Jayapura. This way, they will no longer need to sleep on sidewalks or soccer fields. Currently, Jayapura still has no halfway houses for street children.

Despite facing hardships, she has begun establishing a halfway house. However, right now she has only been able to build a small hut with one room. The hut is located around 10 meters from where the children sleep in the buildings around the former Ampera Market.

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“Many are ready to help me build a halfway house, but they ask me to find the land,” said Naomi, adding that she finds it difficult to find land for the halfway house as the price of land in Jayapura is high.

Amid the various limitations, Naomi has continued to move ahead. Last month, she opened a coffee shop in a shopping center in Jayapura. The shop, which sells Arabica coffee from Pegunungan Bintang regency, is managed by Naomi’s employees and a street children.

“I dream of having dozens of coffee shops managed by the children. They can be independent by having their own businesses,” said Naomi.

Naomi Selan

Born: Soe, South Central Timor, East Nusa Tenggara, 25 April 1968

Husband: Dominggus Sogalrey

Children: Hizkia Sogalrey and Kezia Sogalrey

Education:

- Bachelor of Law, Cenderawasih University, Jayapura

- Magister of Philosophy, Jaffray College of Theology, Jakarta.