In the nearly one hundred years since six sisters from the Netherlands landed in Jakarta, Indonesia, our Good Shepherd mission in the country has grown into one that reaches across the archipelago—from Jakarta and Bogor to Yogyakarta, Ruteng, Marau, and Batam—accompanying girls, women, and children who are most at risk of violence, exploitation, and exclusion.
In June of this year, Michael Walker, Congregational Director of Safeguarding, had the privilege of visiting one of our Good Shepherd ministries in the country: the Baranangsiang Vocational School in Bogor, near Jakarta. What he encountered there offered him a firsthand view of what safeguarding looks like when it moves beyond policy and into the lives of real girls facing real danger.
Baranangsiang is a Catholic vocational school that has operated since January 1971 under the Fatima Foundation, an entity of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd in Indonesia. Its motto, drawn from the words of St. John Eudes and St. Mary Euphrasia, sets the tone for everything that happens within its walls: “One person is more precious than the whole world.” That conviction is not merely written on a wall. At Baranangsiang, Michael saw it lived out.
At the school, he learned of a partnership that is turning the tide for girls at risk of becoming child brides—a reality that remains common in parts of Indonesia, where girls are sometimes kept from school and married off early, often without legal registration and without any say in their own futures. Good Shepherd sisters, working hand in hand with local social care services, open doors to lasting independence for these girls through an education in hospitality.
When a girl faces the threat of early marriage, the response is swift. Social care services reach her, listen to her hopes, and together with the Good Shepherd sisters, provide a safe, learning, and caring environment. But for the sisters, rescue is only the beginning. They hold firmly to the belief that every girl deserves skills, confidence, and the future she has chosen for herself.
That conviction is what shapes the training program Michael observed. The girls learn all aspects of hospitality—food preparation, housekeeping, front office services, reception, guest relations, and responsible service standards. Lessons weave together hands-on practice with classroom theory, leading to nationally recognized qualifications. Alongside partners-in-mission, the sisters bring warmth, patience, moral guidance, and employment connections with local hospitality organizations.
The results speak for themselves. These young women earn respected qualifications, build strong work habits, and go on to secure steady employment in hotels, restaurants, and catering services. What once felt like a closed future becomes a path of choice and dignity. They become a witness to others that education and opportunity can change the course of a life.
Moved by what he had seen and heard, Michael reflected: “Not only is the work of the sisters essential—it is truly humbling to learn of what they do in difficult circumstances. This is truly safeguarding in action.”
The work at Baranangsiang is one expression of our Good Shepherd mission that, across Indonesia, runs shelters for survivors of domestic violence and trafficking, provides legal assistance to women taking abuse cases to court, supports early childhood education in informal settlements, and works with isolated communities on remote islands to secure the civil registration documents that make access to education and healthcare possible.
The partnership at Baranangsiang demonstrates what becomes possible when that charism meets practical action: fewer child brides, more skilled young women, and communities strengthened from within. It is a model rooted in nearly a century of Good Shepherd presence in Indonesia—one that does not stop at protection but presses forward toward transformation.
Discover more about the Good Shepherd mission in Indonesia here: https://gembalabaik.org
