Medan, Indonesia - The United Nations rightly declared through its theme for this year’s commemoration of the International Day of Families that “Families Matter in the Achievement of the Development Goals.” In line with this overall theme, UPF-Indonesia chose “The Family As a School of Love” as the topic for three celebrations of the International Day of Families May 13-16, 2014, in Medan, capital city of North Sumatra, Indonesia.
{besps}images/ftp_uploads/2014/indonesia/5814-idf{/besps}On May 13, 70 high school students from SMA Kartika 1, Medan listened to the UPF presentation given by Mr. David McLackland, education director of UPF-Indonesia, and enjoyed the martial arts demonstration given by Master Werlo Partosa, Tongil Moodo instructor from the Philippines. Tongil Moodo is a unified martial arts combining circular and linear movements and stressing the importance of character building to its practioners.
During the program at SMA Nasrani High School on May 14, some of the students were so impressed by Master Werlo’s demonstration that they decided to take up the sport.
The highlight of this year’s celebrations was the one-day seminar organized by the Faculty of Languages and Arts at the State University of Medan on May 16. The Dean of the Faculty, Dr. Isda Pramuniati, M. Hum., gave her full support and not only opened the program with her warm Welcome Remarks but also listened to all the presentations. UPF then presented her with an Ambassador for Peace certificate.
Over 100 students and faculty responded enthusiastically to Mrs. Ursula McLackland’s engaging presentation on the four types of love that people can learn in the family and the risks of premarital sex. To encourage the young people to keep their purity until marriage, Mrs. McLackland asked them to stand up and together recite the Pure Love Pledge in front of their dean and teachers.
During the question and answer session, students surprised their teachers by their clear and pointed questions. The Tongil Moodo demonstration generated great applause and was a good beginning for further cooperation between UPF and the university. The dean concluded the seminar with an invitation to UPF to return and teach the freshmen in August.