Williamsburg Dojo’s Chris Robinson is on a mission to help the children of Indonesia.
The dojo’s chief instructor visited the country in September to deliver more than 125 pounds of books to orphaned school children. It’s been a cause close to his heart since he first visited Indonesia in 2017, later learning of schools that desperately needed English books and making a promise that he would return.
Robinson, who teaches the Indonesian martial art pencak silat, now brings books every year to help Indonesian children learn English. This year, he brought children’s books to six schools in the cities of Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya. All the books were donated by the Williamsburg-James City County school division, thanks to Kelly Butler, a third grade teacher at J. Blaine Blayton Elementary School.
Butler got involved after meeting Robinson when her children took classes at his dojo. She arranged to get old books that elementary schools across the WJCC school division no longer needed after getting newer books.
“We were going through tons and tons of books,” Butler said. “I thought, ‘Let me see if he wants these, too, to take along.’”
Indonesian schools operate on the equivalent of about $150 per month, according to Robinson. This includes providing 15 to 25 children with food, clothing and medicine as well as covering teacher pay. In his years of visiting the county, Robinson said he learned that children suffering from extreme poverty would have an advantage if they learned to speak English.
Still, while the disparity between the middle class and the poor is vast across the country, Robinson noticed how the citizens shone through it.
“The people’s demeanor, no matter where I go throughout Indonesia, they’re just a pleasant, caring, warm, welcoming people,” Robinson said.
Chris Robinson gives books to orphan school children in Indonesia. The Williamsburg Dojo instructor has delivered books to the country since 2018. Courtesy/Chris Robinson
A Williamsburg resident for about 25 years, Robinson opened Williamsburg Dojo in 2011. Originally teaching students at his home and local parks, he created the dojo after gaining up to 20 students.
His attachment to Indonesia came after years of training in Japanese arts, but not really feeling like a part of it. When training in the art of pencak silat, however, he found the gurus of the art to be humble and inviting, leading him to eventually start visiting Indonesia — the art’s country.
Robinson said his journeys to Indonesia have always been embraced, driving him to return and to promote their culture.
This year’s visit came during political unrest over Indonesian lawmakers receiving a monthly housing allowance of 50 million rupiah — more than $3,000 in the United States — on top of their salaries. The allowance was nearly 10 times the Jakarta minimum wage. Some citizens’ average income is only $500 per month, Robinson pointed out.
Protests further erupted after a 21-year-old motorcycle taxi driver was run over by an armored police vehicle while completing a delivery in the midst of the chaos. Robinson said he saw some protests as they were dying down. Calm began to return after Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto retracted the lawmakers’ bonuses.
During that September visit, Robinson brought books along with about $2,000 he and his wife, Williamsburg Dojo guru Carol Marley, raised with the help of another student. He donated the money to the schools he visited.
Any extra money helps keep the schools in operation, which in turn helps prevent the children from being sold into trafficking, he said. Robinson said when the schools can’t operate, parents are sometimes “forced” to sell their children into slavery. When he asked teachers how to prevent this, they shared that the schools provide accountability for the children.
While visiting one school in the northern part of Jakarta, the head instructor had “an emotional breakdown” after being given an extra $100, he said. The teachers there make about $25 to $26 per month.
Despite the poverty and unrest, Robinson said the children from the schools he visited were positive, “ecstatic” and grateful to have attention and support from Americans. He hopes to continue to encourage others to support them, as well.
Williamsburg Dojo’s chief instructor, Chris Robinson, visited Indonesia to deliver books to orphaned school children. Robinson says the schools operate on the equivalent of only $150 a month with funds going towards food, clothing, medicine and teacher pay. Courtesy/Chris Robinson
And after originally starting with a focus on bringing English literacy to Indonesian children, Robinson now wants to help combat trafficking.
“In Williamsburg, it’s hard to think about slavery,” he said, “but I find that my money over there and my efforts can literally keep kids from being sold into slavery for the rest of their lives.”
To see more of Robinson’s trip to Indonesia, visit instagram.com/williamsburg_dojo.
James W. Robinson, 757-799-0621, james.robinson@virginiamedia.com
