JAVA TALES AND VOICES

Welcome to the first edition of Java Tales and Voices, the creative writing magazine of TCK Learning Centre for Migrant Workers, or TCKLC! All the pieces in the magazine were written, in English, by Indonesian domestic workers living in Hong Kong and studying English at TCKLC on their day-off and are reproduced here with minimal copy-editing. Some items were written in previous years as homework from Intermediate or Advanced English classes while the summer of 2018 saw an outpouring of poems and stories during a short course on Creative Writing. 

We have selected a range of different materials, including touching personal life stories, atmospheric poems, thoughtful short essays and an inspiring drama entitled Reach for the Stars taken from the theme of this year’s Graduation Ceremony and Cultural Performance, also the occasion for the launch of the magazine. As tutors of these classes, it has been a real privilege and source of upliftment for us to witness within the migrant worker community a wonderful enthusiasm for learning and the development of hidden talents and then see their expression on these pages.

We hope you enjoy this first edition of Java Tales and Voices, which we dedicate to all our students in celebration of the seventh anniversary of the founding of TCKLC in December 2011.