The wooden raft moved slowly upstream Sungai (River) Kandilo. Small hands rowed the raft with long bamboo poles vaulted on the shallow bottom of the river. The hands belonged to a boy with
fair coloured skin and hair falling apart on the shoulder. His body was not a large and well-built one, neither did he seem too powerful to steer the raft. The boy’s name was Pego. Like most
children living on the forest edge and river bank, the little Pego was familiar with the strong current of the stream and the thickness of jungle. River plays an important part in the life of
children living in the hinterlands. To them, river is a place to play, work, and learn simultaneously.