Category Archives: Charities

Charities, Human rights, Photography, Published articles

Hope from the Darkness

1 Comment
A Hazara fleeing persecution has dedicated her life in Indonesia to helping her fellow refugees in Bogor.

‘Here we are in transit. We can’t go back to our home country, we can’t go forward, we are totally stuck and we don’t know for how long. We are in limbo.’

These are the words of Kalsoom Jaffari, a Hazara from Pakistan, currently living as a refugee in West Java’s rainy city of Bogor. She landed on Indonesian soil in August 2013 and has been waiting to be resettled in a third country ever since.

‘I’m originally from Behsood, where there are a lot of problems with the Taliban,’ Kalsoom tells me when I visit her in her very simple rented apartment in Bogor where she lives with her brother, Sikander. ‘In Afghanistan we are severely persecuted.’

Before her estranged life in Indonesia, Kalsoom was working for the UNHCR in Pakistan as a Health and Education Coordinator and with Mercy Corps Pakistan’s Integrated Health Program as a Community Health Educator. Being a Hazara woman working for an NGO, and also a Shia Muslim, she found herself on an extremist target list, which meant her life was in grave danger.

Kalsoom opens up to me as we sip on tea in her living room. ‘In March 2013, while working in the field providing an education at schools in refugee camps, a group of terrorists tried to kidnap me with my driver. We escaped but we received a phone call saying that this time we got lucky. I was supervising 16 of these camps at the time. I never thought that one day I would become a refugee.’

She continues, ‘The terrorists have no mercy for the young, the old, for women, for nobody. They will stop a bus and open fire on the Hazara because of this face.’ She points to her fair skin, which is what differentiates her from others in her home country.

Kalsoom’s father passed away when she was very young, and her mother and three younger sisters are still in Pakistan. Both of her sisters have stopped their studies because of threatening letters from terrorist groups. Kalsoom and her brother were forced to flee and seek asylum in another country.

Before arriving in Indonesia, Kalsoom and Sikander paid US$7,000 each to an agent who organized their safe passage to Indonesia as asylum seekers. They travelled from Pakistan to Malaysia, continuing by boat with 13 other asylum seekers, eventually landing in Medan.

‘When we arrived on the shores of Sumatra, we had to walk through the jungle at night. It was so dark and the guide had to cut trees to make a path,’ Kalsoom remembers. ‘The next day we were in a car driving around Medan for the entire day to avoid the immigration police. The air-conditioning was on and we were shivering because our clothes were soaking wet.’

Before alighting at Medan Kualanamu International airport, the driver told them to stay in the car as he went to get their tickets. Three men came and knocked on the car window. They claimed to be from immigration and said they were going to arrest everyone unless they paid US$1000 each.

‘We were so scared. They showed us their IDs but since we didn’t know anything about Indonesia, we didn’t know if they were real or not. In the end they took US$500 per head.’

US$500 is exactly the amount Kalsoom’s agent told them each to carry on the journey.

‘We are separated from our family,’ she shares with concern in her voice. Her youngest brother is currently in Melbourne, Australia on a bridging visa. He is also not allowed to work but he does what he can to help Kalsoom and her brother. ‘Hopefully one day we will be resettled in a third country, but we don’t know whether that would be Australia, Canada, New Zealand or America. If Australia, then at least we would be reunited with our brother.’

Kalsoom received her refugee status from the UNHCR in March 2014 but has heard no news since. She sends the UNHCR emails, letters, and has visited many times, but to no avail. ‘To visit, I have to leave at 4am and sit in front of the UNHCR gate in the morning until they open at 7am. Most of the time we don’t get an appointment. When I call them, the lines are always busy and I end up spending all my phone credit.’

According to Kalsoom, the UNHCR has just 49 staff for the entire asylum seeker and refugee population in Indonesia, of which there are over 14,000. Kalsoom says 6,000 live around Jakarta and Bogor, with the remainder in refugee centres around the country that she refers to as ‘prisons’. The UNHCR prioritizes resettling families. As Kalsoom and her brother are both single, they have been waiting four years. ‘I’m even thinking to get married here!’ Kalsoom manages to joke.

According to Kalsoom, all of the refugees are struggling to survive. As they are not permitted to work during their stay in Indonesia, they rely on money sent from their families back home. Most of the asylum seekers and refugees eat once or twice a day to save money. They have developed unusual sleeping patterns in an attempt to conserve energy and funds, going to bed very late at night (around 2-3am), and waking up at around noon. When they awake, they eat breakfast, which will usually consist of a cup of tea and some bread.

‘Our rent here is expensive,’ Kalsoom shares. ‘We can’t boil the tap water to drink because it’s totally brown. This leads to a lot of health problems when the water is used for showering and even drinking, including stomach problems, scabies and also vaginitis.’ Kalsoom helps by conducting health workshops for refugees, providing them with a kit that includes basic health items and toiletries.

Kalsoom herself has recently been diagnosed with the autoimmune disease Lupus, due to environmental and lifestyle factors, namely stress and a poor diet. She suffers from painful and swelling joints and has not been able to start a course of medication due to lack of funding.

Although she is unwell, Kalsoom has been extremely proactive and has used her time in Indonesia to help other refugees and asylum seekers better their lives.

When she first arrived in Bogor, she noticed some children playing outside. When asking the parents why they didn’t send their children to the only refugee school open at the time, they replied that they couldn’t afford the transportation costs.

This inspired Kalsoom to do something. ‘I went to a stationary shop and bought some notebooks and pencils.. I felt that if I didn’t do this, nobody would support them. It cost Rp.110,000, which is a lot of money for me, but the peace I felt inside me was unique. I can’t explain it.’

Children learning English at the volunteer-led Cipayung Refugee Educational Center, founded by Kalsoom

With the books in hand, Kalsoom informed the parents in her neighbourhood that she would be teaching the children in the evenings. Starting by teaching English to three students in her home, the size of the class continued to grow to 40 students today, with classes taking place at a small rental-home-turned-school called the Cipayung Refugee Educational Center. Classes were even extended to the children’s mums, who today come twice a week to learn sewing and crocheting in Kalsoom’s living room.

The women, who now go by the name Refugee Women Support Group, are equipped with the skills to make pouches, pants, purses, and even dresses. Handicrafts made are sold in different bazaars in Jakarta and via non-profit online organization Beyond the Fabric, run by a group of friends.

‘We do this to empower the women. In our culture back home, these women are not allowed to go outside alone or make an income; men have authority.’ The women, who are from Iraq, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran, love coming to class and would never miss a session.

Most of the women who take Kalsoom’s classes had never touched a sewing machine prior to joining, and are now able to make beautiful creations. They are able to express themselves keeping busy at the same time, while earning a little bit of pocket money.

Kalsoom has empowered women refugees by teaching them how to sew at the Refugee Women Support Group

Through personal donations from expat friends she’s made in Jakarta, Kalsoom has somehow managed to keep her school alive, as well as continued to pay rent and electricity in her humble home where the women meet.

Together with her friend Mohammad Baqir Bayani, Kalsoom has started the Health, Education and Learning Program (HELP) for Refugees project, with ambitious plans to open a refugee school in South Jakarta. The school plans to provide an education for children, teach computer literacy to young adults, as well as provide health workshops to adults. Activities like sewing and handicraft classes will also be offered to mothers to advocate for the creation of further income-generating activities.

Kalsoom’s refugee friends who teach at the Cipayung Refugee Educational Centre in Bogor

Kalsoom has become a very respected figure in her community in Bogor. Although she comes across as extremely strong, it is clear her past and present hardships and future uncertainties are taking a toll on her. ‘I miss my home and my family, but I am not safe there. Here I’m safe but my loved ones are not with me,’ she tells me with sadness in her eyes. When asked what her fears are, she answers, ‘Even if I’m tired I cannot sleep. I fear too much about what’s going to happen and I worry about the safety of my family back home.’

First published in Inside Indonesia. 

 

 

Charities, Human rights, Photography

HELP to Open a School for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Jakarta!

Leave a comment

Health, Education and Learning Program (HELP) for Refugees needs your help to raise funds to pay for rent and electricity for a new refugee school in Jakarta.

Indonesia is currently home to over 14,000 refugees and asylum seekers waiting to be resettled in a third country. Under Indonesian law, asylum seekers and refugees are not allowed to work; they do not have access to social support from the Indonesian Government and most schools and universities will not accept them.Many refugees are deprived of a sense of purpose and dignity, which can be provided by work and study. They continually face the feelings of being trapped, unable to return to their country, whilst having no prospect of settling lawfully in Indonesia, which for many may have been the country of choice after building a life here. Lack of education in refugee communities and detention centres is one of the biggest problems individuals and families face.

The Health, Education and Learning Program (HELP) for Refugees in Jakarta, run by the community, for the community, is a collective of passionate refugees, working to better the lives of fellow refugees and asylum seekers living in limbo.

The program will help by providing education for children, teaching computer literacy courses to young adults, while presenting a range of Information and technology skills alongside health workshops, focusing on common health issues and family planning education. In conjunction with these classes and activities, HELP will provide an extra curricular component to the program in the form of sewing, embroidery, knitting and handicraft workshops, which will be offered whilst advocating for the creation of further income-generating activities.

Providing refugees and asylum seekers with a space to use their time productively and positively will help prevent asylum seekers and refugee children, adults and families from being trapped in their homes, left to deal with traumas of the past, reflections of the present and fears of the future. With a focus on empowering individuals, HELP will work to provide individuals with the skills, positive energy and support that they need to engage with the knowledge, tools and focus they can access within themselves, creating the confidence and momentum to move forward into their unknown futures.

63831714fa2d4c2611c4588d4f71a5c7d2b62e20

Objectives

1. Providing classes for the children to ensure they continue to be engaged with reading and learning.

2. Providing adults with english lessons to encourage preparedness for resettlement, and the encouragement of intergenerational learning of English.

3. Providing opportunities for learning new practical skills or practicing their old skills, with a strong focus on these skills leading to potential income generating activities in the future. Women will be given the top priority.

4. Conducting health workshops most common health that are particular to the area of residents, including family planning workshops.

5. Encouraging and teaching computer literacy as a way to get individuals involved with career development activities.

818eefe85e90eda1858d4ad90257e4ea6d357cf3

Budget

For conducting our voluntary activities, HELP For Refugees will need to rent a space. As asylum seekers and refugees are dispersed throughout Jakarta, with the majority of them residing in Tebet, it has been decided that this will be where the program will be based.

0512a0731b69ab6d68a1281baf5c0a17cd6b21ba

The proposed budget is an estimated minimum cost of what will be required to establish and run the school and program for up to a year. We need your support to raise the funds to make this education centre a reality!

Program evaluation

Assessment tests will be conducted every three months to determine the progress in children’s studies. Interviews, questionnaire, case study, surveys or focus group discussion will be used to evaluate our outcomes in health and learning areas.

Who is behind The HELP For Refugees?

Mohammad Baqir Bayani and Kalsoom Jaffari are Co-founders of HELP For Refugees, both refugees who have been living in Indonesia for the last few years and have devoted their time to helping fellow asylum seekers and refugees. Baqir is co-founder of The Refugee Reflect Circle (RRC), a group of photographers who use their experience and skills of visual storytelling to tell the stories of asylum seekers and refugees, he is a creative writer, and the co-founder and co-director of Refugees Of Indonesia project.

Kalsoom Jaffari works tirelessly to ensure that refugees and asylum seekers in Cisarua have access to education, essential health information and any translation services. Her previous work experience includes working on health programs with UNHCR in Pakistan and as a Community Health Education (CHE) with Mercy Corps Pakistan’s Integrated Health Program. She conducts monthly health workshops ensuring that women have knowledge on Gender Based Violence, providing them with health and education packs.

Kalsoom is also the founder of the Refugee Women’s Support Group, giving women access to sewing and handicraft activities to encourage the initiation of income-generating activities, supported by Beyond the Fabric. She is also the founder of the Cipayung Education Centre, a small school providing education to refugee children in Cipayung, Bogor.

DONATE NOW! 🙂

Charities, Interviews, Published articles, The Environment

The Gibbon Whisperer: Meet Chanee Kalaweit

Leave a comment

Chanee Kalaweit is a former French national, who in 2012 gained his Indonesian citizenship. Since the tender age of 12, Chanee has dedicated his life to the gibbon, apes living in Asia’s tropical and subtropical rainforests, including in Sumatra, Borneo and Java. Chanee rose to fame when he created a video that went viral, addressing the president of the haze crisis of Sumatra and Kalimantan. We caught up with him in Palangkaraya to find out the full story of his NGO Kalaweit; the biggest gibbon protection programme in the world.

When did you first come to Indonesia?

I left for Indonesia at the age of 18 in May 1998. The first thing I did was go to Borneo for three months to survey and see how bad the deforestation situation was. After three months I realized that a project like mine was needed and the first gibbon programme was born in September 1999.

Why gibbons?

As a kid in France I always loved primates, and the first time I met a gibbon in a zoo, it looked into my eyes so sadly. It was alone and I wanted to help and understand what was wrong. I learned that gibbons are monogamists, which makes it difficult for zoos to carry out successful mating programmes.

I asked the director of the zoo if I could come for free every Wednesday when I wasn’t at school. I did this for five years, from the age of 12. Eventually I started helping other zoos in France with their gibbon programmes.

How did you raise funds to come and set up your charity Kalaweit in Indonesia?

When I was 16 I published a book on gibbon behaviours. Journalists were interested because I was a 16-year-old who wasn’t outside playing soccer with friends. Actress Muriel Robin called me and said, “You want to go to Asia to help gibbons, I want to help you.” She funded me, and to this day she still watches the development of the organization and we are good friends.

Channee with a rescued slow lorisTell us about the work your charity does in protecting the gibbon and other animals in threat.

Kalaweit covers all of Sumatra, Borneo and Mentawai. We have two sanctuaries and a reserve.

We help by:

1) Giving a second chance to animals detained as pets or who are victims of deforestation by rehabilitating and returning them to the wild. 285 gibbons are under our care right now. 2) Securing forestland for conservation – I buy land where biodiversity is very high to make micro-reserves. In Sumatra we have 281 hectares, and in Borneo we have 20 hectares, which we hope will reach 100 hectares by the end of the year. 3) Involving locals in our fight through our radio station and TV programmes.

We also aid the government in protecting reserves. I am a paramotor pilot and I fly over every location once a month – I also do this to illustrate deforestation.

How much does the forestland you buy for conservation purposes cost?

In Sumatra it costs around Rp.15 million per hectare and in Borneo around Rp.25 million per hectare.

Do any palm oil concession owners get involved with conservation?

You see big companies who own thousands of hectares of forestland trying to do good to protect their image. Some companies will actually keep 10 percent of their concession as a sanctuary for animals.

In Sumatra I released siamang gibbons into a 2,000-hectare reserve owned by a private guy in a palm oil concession. It will be very difficult for him to change his mind now, as I’ve released animals into his forest which we accompanied with a big publicity campaign.

Chanee made a video addressed to the president of Indonesia about the haze crisis of 2015
Chanee made a video addressed to the president of Indonesia about the haze crisis of 2015

The video you shot during the haze crisis went viral and really helped to raise awareness about this serious issue. Can you tell us what inspired you to make this video?

When you fight this industry you have to protect yourself by making yourself well-known. I was very upset as a father to see my kids very sick and people dying because of smoke and palm oil.

I never imagined the video would go viral. When I uploaded it, the next morning there were 35,000 views. The Minister of Forestry asked me to come to Jakarta, but it just felt like they didn’t want me to cause any more ‘problems’. I really feel like nothing will change. This year, if we have a dry season, the same thing will happen.

What is the biggest challenge you face?

The lack of law enforcement in Indonesia. There are also still many high profile people in Indonesia who work for the government yet still keep protected animals in their homes – because they can and they don’t care. When law enforcement doesn’t work, you can’t expect much.

You state that the forests of Indonesia will disappear by 2030. Do you see any progression from the government towards stopping this?

It’s the biggest frustration because you feel just like a witness. After logging takes place, forests still remain, although in bad shape. My goal was to secure forestland after logging to protect the animals left behind, but since 2000 every single piece of land is being converted to palm oil plantations.

The government thinks that companies who own concessions for palm oil don’t operate outside of their boundaries, but in fact there is a lot of land being used for palm oil plantations outside of these concessions, which are under private ownership, and are destroying forest, even on peat land. There is a moratorium, but this only applies to companies and not individuals.

Chanee with a proboscis monkeyWith all the frustrations and difficulties you face, are you still optimistic that you can make a difference?

Every hectare of land and every animal saved is a victory.

I learned that the goal is less important than the process. If I know that the end of the world will be next week, I will still save gibbons because it’s what I do. I don’t want to be pessimistic because I will lose the energy to keep fighting. We just have to act.

Are you seeing a positive response from the listeners of your radio station Kalaweit Radio in Palangkaraya?

Our station started in 2003 and targets young people by airing good music and funny shows. Every hour we air messages about gibbons and the forest. 70 percent of the rescued animals we see are actually from our listeners. At schools, kids will tell their friends off for owning pet gibbons and in the end they hand them over to us for rehabilitation.

Tell us about your TV show Kalaweit Wildlife Rescue.

The second season on Metro TV starts in March. The cameras follow my team saving animals all over Sumatra, Borneo and Mentawai. It’s the first TV show on conservation shot in Indonesia. Having millions of people watching is the best way to help. On primetime French television I’m also in the middle of shooting a documentary series where we travel the world trying to save different endangered animals.

How can readers help?

The first thing is to say no to palm oil.

We have a lot of forest to save, but we need the money to buy the land. We require €550,000 a year to survive, which does not include money to buy forestland. We are 100 percent funded by donations.

Thank you, Chanee. Visit www.kalaweit.org for more information on how you can help this noble cause.

Photos courtesy of Kalaweit Foundation.

Charities, Interviews, The Environment

Then Trash Became Ffrash: Meet Karin van Horssen and Renate Suurd-Joossink

Leave a comment

Ffrash produces high-quality, sustainable design furniture and home interior products from trash, giving former street children a chance at a better life. Their values? 100 percent trash, 100 percent sustainable, 100 percent design and 100 percent not-for-profit. We meet the two ladies in charge to find out more.

Karin_8080
Karin
Renate_8045
Renate

What are your professional backgrounds and what brought you to designing interior products out of trash in Bekasi?

 

 

 

 

 

Renate: I came to Jakarta in 2013, having worked for more than 15 years for Wegter Consumenten BV in the Netherlands, where I developed concepts for kitchen and tableware in many different styles.

Accompanying my husband to Indonesia, Ffrash was the logical step to share my professional experience and contribute to this great opportunity. Jakarta, with its more than sufficient amount of trash and high number of street youths, needs awareness and support. Giving former street youth a second chance by providing them shelter, training, work experience in combination with sustainable design products from trash, is the perfect way for me to support the Indonesian society.

Karin: After having different marketing jobs in the Netherlands, I decided to start my own business in 2008. By creating clothes for women and girls, I combined creativity and entrepreneurship. My husband’s work brought me and my family to Indonesia in 2013. When I first saw the design products of Ffrash and heard the story behind the project, I was really impressed. So, when I had the opportunity to join this beautiful project, I didn’t hesitate. With Ffrash, again, I can combine creativity and entrepreneurship, but more important: give the former street children of Jakarta a second chance.

Where do you source your recyclable items from?

The wine bottles are generally given to us by friends and we work with some restaurants to acquire their used wine bottles, too. We are always in need of wine and glass water bottles. The table vases are made from fishing boat bulbs, which were once thrown overboard when broken. We buy the majority of our other materials directly from the trash pickers.

Photo Bulb VaseI actually own one of your vases made out of a fishing boat’s light bulb. Where did you get your inspiration for this unique design?

The vase was designed by the Dutch designers Guido Ooms and Karin van Lieshout. They travelled to Indonesia several times to visit trash dumps in search of the right materials. After having designed the Ffrah collection, they trained the team on how to handle the tools and machines and the various aspects of product design.

What creative designs are you working on now?

At the moment we are working with Indonesian designers, Karsa, and we are looking for new designers who can develop and add a new Ffrash collection.

Tell us about the children that you work with and train as artisans. These children used to live on the streets before becoming a part of Yayasan Kampus Diakonia Modern (KDM) and entering into your programme. What positive developments have you noticed in their characters from being a part of Ffrash?

Ffrash works closely with KDM, a local foundation that offers shelter to former street children. Ffrash believes that every child deserves the right to a sustainable future in a clean environment. With this vision, we created an opportunity for the street children to become skilled workers who can turn trash in beautiful design products. Ffrash provides the former street children aged 16 to 19 years, 18 months’ training, but also endows these youth with knowledge and skills to start their own companies.

At Ffrash, they learn how to use and develop their skills in different ways. They work in the Ffrash workshop from Monday till Friday. Further, we offer them schooling – English courses and safety training. We notice that some children are becoming more responsible and more self-confident.

Do your artisans get paid for their work? How do you ensure your work with the children is sustainable?

The artisans receive pocket money for their work. There are three key factors – economic growth, environmental issues, and poverty – that must be addressed in order for sustainable development to take place. Poverty in particular often prevents sustainable use of natural resources, and so it must be handled intelligently to reverse the trend. By integrating environmental conservation on one hand, and economic development on the other, sustainable development can be achieved. In other words, sustainability requires a balance between ecological, economic, and social considerations.

CS_FfrashWorkshop-003Ffrash went in search of new applications for reusing trash to provide more benefits to the less fortunate youths around Jakarta, while also reducing the energy required for recycling. In this way, Ffrash contributes to sustainable development by creating a better balance between consumption and conservation. It is a fact that the processing of wood, whether for the purpose of furniture-making or wood crafting, is part of the Indonesian culture and tradition. Ffrash does not chop down more trees to make its furniture and interior design products. Instead, Ffrash makes furniture and other products by re-using trash, thus showing people that you can create new products without using wood as a raw material.

Additionally, ‘upcycling’ offers a solution to the problems around waste processing in Indonesia. And lastly, by training youths in furniture-making, Ffrash empowers them to succeed in society. Vocational training and professional coaching support the street children to break out of the vicious cycle of poverty. The children learn to create a better future for themselves in an environmentally sustainable manner, while learning a trade and entrepreneurial skills.

What is the most moving experience you’ve had while working at Ffrash?

The whole experience has been moving. There are success stories, but sometimes also some sad stories. It has its ups and downs. That’s how it goes in real life…

Are there any challenges that you face working with ex-street children?

It’s obvious that their background is totally different from ours. Sometimes it is difficult to empathise. For us it’s important to keep in mind that their backgrounds are different and to react the right way.

From your work in this industry, how have you found the Indonesian mentality towards rubbish?

There is a still a lot of work to do in Indonesia. It’s going slowly, step by step. This will take years after years to change. We have just started to notice the presence of more public rubbish bins around Jakarta, encouraging people to separate and dispose of their rubbish more thoughtfully.

What can we expect to see from Ffrash in the near future?

We want to make a beautiful high design interior collection which is much more expanded. We also want to generate more selling points. On the other hand, we will try to help the former street youth as much as we can, giving them a second chance and a better future. All profits are divided between the children and the running of the workshop. We invest in their further development and training to give them a second chance.

Thank you! To get in touch, please email: renate.joossink@gmail.com 

Charities, Published articles

Becak Terus: Rickshawing from Aceh to Jakarta for a Good Cause

Leave a comment

Back in 2013, I interviewed a man brave – and some might even say crazy – enough to run from Bali to Jakarta on a mission to raise money and awareness for children’s cancer charity, Mary’s Cancer Kiddies. This year, Thompson plans to ride, and sometimes pull, a becak from Banda Aceh in north-west Sumatra all the way to Indonesia’s capital city of Jakarta.

If you haven’t met Scott Thompson, I can only describe him as a humble and altruistic Scottsman with a fire inside him to help others. I met to discuss his upcoming physical and mental challenge, which plans to commence at the end of the month: a rickshaw ride that will take him from Banda Aceh to North Sumatra, through Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, Lampung, and finally across the Sunda Straits to Java and into Jakarta via Banten.

Scott Thompson's rickshaw ride will take him from Banda Aceh all the way to Jakarta.
Scott Thompson’s rickshaw ride will take him from Banda Aceh all the way to Jakarta.

The journey is estimated to take approximately 18 days and hopes to be in the Guinness Book of World Records with the longest rickshaw ride ever taken. The previous record was set by fellow UK citizen, Tim Moss, who completed a 1,000-mile (1,609.34km) ride across the length and breadth of Great Britain.

Thompson’s Banda Aceh- to Jakarta-ride of 2,600km – which is the distance from London to Rome – will not be a smooth one, by any stretch of the imagination. Between the Riau border and Palembang is what Thompson calls “the valley of a thousand hills”, which speaks for itself, really. To conquer the many large hills he’s soon to face, Thompson has built a special harness, which he will use to pull his 80kg becak. According to his calculations, the elevation climb will be equivalent to starting at sea level, climbing to the top of Mount Everest, returning back to the sun-lounger on the beach, and then repeating the summit climb three more times.

Thompson’s becak is certainly out of the ordinary – it’s been souped-up to ensure stability and longevity. With a Sram groupset and a specially-designed frame in place, including disc brakes set in parallel and a Volkswagen steering damper, this becak has been carefully prepared for the long journey it’s about to take. Other additions include water holder, music station, GPS, sandwich box, and, representing Indonesia, the vehicle has been painted red and white and flies the nation’s flag.

After Thompson’s triumphant run from Bali to Jakarta in 2012, rumours circulated about a shift in his internal organs. “It’s not true,” Thompson says, reassuring that he’s in tip-top shape. “In order to make it in time on this trip, I’ll probably be riding 12 hours a day,” he explains. “The most dangerous thing to avoid is dehydration.”

Thompson will be followed the whole stretch of the way by a support car, which may double-up as a bed if there are no losmen in certain areas where he will stop for rest. This will also help to deter any trouble-makers in the area from getting in the way, which has been a concern in this area.

The recent forest fires and haze enveloping Sumatra is also a worry for Thompson and his team, not to mention his loving wife, Laura. Thompson’s mentality is to just tackle it day by day and see what happens. “If the mind is strong, the body will follow,” he says, determined to ride until the end.

IMG_0575So, what drives a man to take on such physically exerting and dangerous challenges? In Thompson’s case, it’s helping others, as well as inspiring athletes to come up with ways of raising money for worthy causes. “Hopefully I can inspire younger athletes to do whatever they can to help build a bridge and reach out,” he says.

With a multitude of sponsors behind him, Thompson has already raised Rp.3 billion which will go to children’s charities Yayasan Cinta Anak Bangsa (YCAB), Mary’s Cancer Kiddies (MCK) and Puspita Foundation, and residential, vocational training programme for adult men and women with mobility disabilities, Wisma Cheshire.

There is probably no man better prepared to take on the job. With his rigorous training schedule, planning and determination, it looks as though Thompson will be riding his rickshaw into BSD City three weeks after he embarks from Aceh, and he will have helped many Indonesian people in need at the same time. Becak terus!

Fans can keep up-to-date with Thompson’s journey at www.becakterus.com , where his GPS will track his exact whereabouts on the map. If you would like to help him raise more money than his previous run from Bali to Jakarta for charities, please visit: kitabisa.com/becakterus

Charities, Published articles

Weaving a Social Enterprise in Flores

Leave a comment

Du’Anyam is a social enterprise focusing on bettering the lives of mothers and families in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, through the art of weaving. The seven young founders have a myriad of educational backgrounds ranging from Harvard Business School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Wharton University of Pennsylvania.

With high inflation (15%), unemployment (30%) and interest rates (22-24%), Nusa Tenggara Timur is one of the poorest provinces in Indonesia, with approximately 65 percent living below the poverty line. One of its main hardships is the population’s dependency on local agriculture in a challenging and arid environment. Due to low household incomes and purchasing power, food insecurity is high and education levels are low. Most people have insufficient access to basic health care.

Child malnutrition rates in five of this region’s districts are above 40 percent and maternal mortality is also on the rise. Chronic lack of energy and anaemia among mothers is reported at 64 percent and early marriage and pregnancies are common. Gender discrimination is entrenched in some local traditions, excluding women and girls from participation in development planning and decision-making. The practice of paying families for young brides still persists, leading to domestic violence.

For these reasons and more, the group of school friends behind Du’Anyam decided to choose NTT as the area to start their social enterprise, believing that the Government focuses enough of its efforts on western Indonesia. COO of the group, Yohanna Keraf, is also a native of the region.

Before setting up Du’Anyam, the team did a site survey in 2013, visiting villages in Flores to find out how specifically they could help. Locals in the region still have a lot of children, with little or no future planning. During their visit, when listening to stories from the mothers and women gathered together, one particular story shook the group of founders to their core.

In Flores, mothers and even expectant mothers work in the fields to harvest crops
In Flores, mothers and even expectant mothers up to eight months pregnant work in the fields to harvest crops

A mother told of her story during her third pregnancy, now in her fourth, where she relied on the local witch doctor, dukun to help her; a customary occurrence here. When this did not work, midwives came to her home to take her to the hospital, but it was too late and the mother ended up giving birth on the side of the road to a stillborn baby. Since hearing this story, Du’Anyam have worked hard to realise their dream of helping the mothers and women in this region.

Today, Du’Anyam works with 40 women from three villages in East Flores Regency. Traditionally, and quite shocking to most, women are the ones who plough the fields, harvesting the crops, and do so even when seven to eight months pregnant. Men often stay at home or work at sea.

“We are not here to replace their main activities; we just give them opportunities for alternative employment,” says Melia Winata, CMO and marketing manager. “We discovered from our survey that there was an existing weaving technique in the community using palmera (lontar) leaves, with the older generations still remembering how to weave baskets, which they use for ceremonies and rituals. We decided to focus on this weaving as a way of helping these women.”

Du’Anyam teaches the women to create more functional products through weaving – as pretty as baskets are, not everybody needs them in their modern lives – and came up with the idea of sandals, primarily indoor, for private villas and hotels in Bali. The women are taught what colours and styles to weave, and the women are paid per finished product they produce.IMG_0472 copy

What Du’Anyam soon discovered is a sharing system between the mothers in the region. If one woman is unable to work in her field, she will pay her friend to cover for her in a rotating fashion. Since Du’Anyam have infiltrated the area, if there are no pregnant women in the village, the women will farm in the mornings and weave in the afternoons. If there is a pregnant woman in the group, her friends will work the field while the pregnant woman will weave for herself and her friends at home, thus reducing the hardship and risk of complication for the pregnant women.

“We act as a mediator; we give them the design of what the market wants and then we distribute the products to the market on behalf of these women,” Meli explains.

Future plans include the development of a nutrition programme in collaboration with other NGOs in the area. Du’Anyam would also like to create more modern products, for instance laptop cases and phone covers and hopes to enter the retail market in Jakarta.

Sustainability is extremely important to this gang of young entrepreneurs, having learned a lot from social competitions they’ve participated and won in, including the Harvard Social Business Competition, the MIT Global Idea Challenge, which they won in 2013, and in the top 23 of the British Council Community Enterprise Competition, which helped to expand their network. Du’Anyam’s most recent competition win was the Global Social Venture Competition.

624 copySupported by business incubator, UnLtd Indonesia, Executive Director, Romy Chahyadi, approached the group to support them with grants and become a mentor. It’s clear he saw vision and a determined group of young people in Du’Anyam.

Currently Du’Anyam has one field facilitator from the village in Flores, who looks after admin and keeps in touch with the team in Jakarta via a mobile phone. There is also a project officer based in Flores who is in charge of quality control and approaches new women to join the women’s weaving group.

By 2016, Du’Anyam plans to have 150 weaving women in their social enterprise, helping more mothers and newborns through wicker weaving. Products come with a thank you card and a postcard, reassuring the customer that their money has gone towards doing a great thing and helping the hardest hit in one of the poorest regions of Indonesia.

Visit www.duanyam.com for more information and to see the product range. Items can be made to order.

 

Charities, Published articles, The Environment

Caught for a Song: Rehabilitating Captured Wildlife with Animal Sanctuary Trust Indonesia

Leave a comment

Indonesia is blessed to be one of the most naturally biodiverse countries in the world; however this blessing comes with a curse: it is also one of the most densely populated, leading to tremendous impacts on wildlife habitat destruction and illegal wildlife trade. The animal trade in Indonesia is largely uncontrolled, due to weak enforcement, and has led to the highest number of threatened mammals and birds in the world.

According to statistics by wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC, 1.5 million wild birds are caught and sold at pasar burung (bird markets) on the island of Java alone every year. Indonesia is considered one of the world’s top traders of non-timber forest products – a key supplier to external markets. Driving this trade is the end consumer, for instance tiger parts fuel a lucrative export trade to China, where their skins and bones are sold as souvenirs, talismans and ingredients for traditional medicines. People also purchase live animals as pets, drawn in by their attractiveness as infants, however once the animal reaches adulthood – especially with tigers – the owner is no longer able to look after the animal and looks to sanctuaries to take them off their hands.

The Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry works in collaboration with animal rescue NGOs to apprehend poachers and intercept trafficking rings, confiscating illegally-held animals. Inadequate resources and staff, however, often hamper control of poaching from protected areas, and the small number of rescue centres complicates the rescue of illegally-held animals across the country.

Javan gibbon gelagah being relocated from ASTI to Javan gibbon centre
Javan gibbon gelagah being relocated from ASTI to Javan gibbon centre

Annette Pipe is Co-Founder of Animal Sanctuary Trust Indonesia (ASTI) and entered into a life of rescuing and rehabilitating wildlife in 2008, along with Co-Founder Andy Kindangen. “We felt we needed to take some action to assist with the conservation of Indonesia’s animal biodiversity, and could no longer stand by and watch species disappearing without trying to do something about it,” Annette says.

ASTI rehabilitates displaced endangered species and assists in their conservation by eventually releasing them back to their natural habitats. Acting as a transit centre, ASTI is able to rescue and look after around 70 animals at any given time. On average, the sanctuary takes in 30-40 animals per year, and attempts to release or relocate the same number to make way for more animals in need. Rehabilitation rate and success depends on the species in question and on the condition of the animal on arrival at ASTI.

Since beginning operations, the centre has had many incredible cases of rescue, recovery and release. One in particular is that of a Javan leopard rescued six years ago from a deer snare in Banten province. “The leopard, named Aceng, was rescued in collaboration with the government and other NGOs,” Annette says. “Aceng quickly recovered from his wounds, and after ten months he left ASTI for release back to his forest in Pandeglang, Banten. ASTI still receives updates from the local people in Pandeglang that Aceng is alive and well – they recognise him from the scar around his abdomen.”

Agile gibbon Melly having a bath after her handover to ASTI
Agile gibbon Melly having a bath after her handover to ASTI

Sadly not all animals can be rehabilitated – some are too badly injured by poachers and would not survive life in the wild. In these circumstances, ASTI provides long-term care so that these animals can live healthy and happy lives in captivity. Currently the sanctuary has a few non-releasable animals, including an owl and an eagle – both with wing bones cut by the poachers – a cockatoo with no feathers, and a gibbon with liver problems.

Although extremely rewarding, working in wildlife rehabilitation is not without its challenges. A recurring issue is that rescued animals have been eating food meant for humans, like fried rice or noodles, and must learn to eat their natural diet upon arriving at ASTI. Animals often pick up viruses or bacteria at animal markets, some of which can be serious and difficult to treat. Oftentimes poachers and traders have mutilated the animals, for instance wing bones of eagles and owls are clipped, or teeth of slow lorises are cut or removed. Animals can also be traumatised from being held for years in small, dirty cages; in this case ASTI pays attention to their mental as well physical conditions. ASTI also faces the difficulty of finding suitable centres in other parts of Indonesia to accept their animals when they are ready for final rehabilitation and release.

Recently ASTI completed the rehabilitation of a leopard cat named Margo. Wild cats live in forested areas of Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan and unfortunately many people like to keep them as pets. Margo was handed over in January from a private home and luckily was healthy – her blood tests revealed that she was free from viruses often plaguing leopard cats who have been crammed together in animal markets – and was still quite wild, enabling her to respond well to the rehabilitation program. Margo is now ready to be released into a conservation area not far from ASTI.

Leopard cat Margo ready to be released
Leopard cat Margo ready to be released

The amazing work ASTI do is funded through kind donations. Donors can even sponsor a particular animal for a period of time, helping to cover the cost of food, shelter and medical expenses. Besides donating or sponsoring animals, Annette encourages people to make a difference by not buying protected animals from animal markets, and not visiting such markets at all, as animals in these markets are taken directly from the wild.

“While it is tempting to buy, for example, a baby monkey from a market in an effort to save that one individual, and to keep him as a pet, it is important to remember that for the traders to get the baby they almost certainly had to kill the mother,” Annette explains. “If you buy that baby, the poachers will replace him with another one, and another mother will be killed. The baby will most likely die anyway, from trauma at losing his mother and because survival rate without the mother is extremely low.”

Sometimes well-intentioned people buy these babies and other animals and bring them directly to ASTI, which Annette and Andy ask people do not do either, as the poachers will still go out and catch more from the wild. The cycle can only be broken by the consumer, Annette says. “We need to break the cycle; if nobody buys the animals, the poaching will stop.”

To find out how you can help ASTI please visit www.animalsanctuarytrustindonesia.org

 

Charities, Published articles

Let the Sun Light Up the Night: Azzura Solar’s Bright Future Programme

Leave a comment

You would think that Indonesia would be the perfect place for solar energy to thrive, considering its year-round sunshine. However, due to financial, technical and economical constraints, it doesn’t look like solar power will become one for the masses anytime soon. This hasn’t stopped one man from trying to harness the power of the to better the lives of poor villagers in rural areas of Jakarta.

Hemant Chanrai with his solar panel- to-drinking-bottle light
Hemant Chanrai with his solar panel- to-drinking-bottle light

Hemant Chanrai co-founded Azzura Solar in 2012, a company that mainly installs solar technology to properties in Bali. Last year, the Bright Future Program (BFP) was born as Azzura Solar’s CSR division, committed to empowering communities in need, improving local standards of living and creating a sustainable environment for Indonesia. A Jakarta Intercultural School (JIS) graduate, Hemant originally studied Economics at University College London (UCL) before venturing into the world of solar energy back in Indonesia.

Why solar? Chanrai was intrigued by the power of the sun and questioned why it hadn’t been adopted in Indonesia. According to Chanrai, “PLN (Perusahaan Listrik Negara) isn’t reaching enough people – there are 250 million people in Indonesia and according to a study by the UN, one in four has limited access to electricity. PLN subsidies are getting higher and higher, reaching US$40 billion in 2014 because the grid system is just not reaching enough people.”

Chanrai is optimistic about solar power and believes it has a bright future. “Solar energy can be applied very quickly. As long as you have land or a rooftop, it can take a day to fit out an entire home. Considering the infrastructure in Indonesia, which can make reaching rural areas time-consuming, solar power is the perfect resource,” he explains.

One of the main reasons why solar energy hasn’t reached the masses in Indonesia is that it is very expensive to initially set up, costing around US$30,000 to fit out an entire home. It’s an investment, however the upfront cost is still something people can’t afford in a country where the GDP per capita is US$3,533 (International Monetary Fund, 2014). Electricity in Indonesia is still cheap – at 8 cents per kilowatt-hour – and when the cheaper option is there, that’s what people go for.

Germany is the world’s leader in the use of solar energy; a country with a GDP of US$47,589 (International Monetary Fund, 2014), over 13 times that of Indonesia’s, tying in with Europe’s plans of decarbonisation by 2050. China leads the way in the production of solar technology, so far unbeatable in terms of pricing.

Chanrai urges the public to consider adapting a little bit of solar into our daily lives. “Look at parts of your life to see where solar energy can be applied; it’s very scalable,” he urges. “Little actions where you apply solar power will help in the long run, even starting with charging your phone.”

Villagers enjoying light from solar lampsThe idea for BFP came about when Chanrai started selling solar power phone banks to the Indonesian public, receiving an order from someone in Sukabumi requiring the chargers to power the lights in his home because of regular blackouts in his area. This opened Chanrai’s eyes to poor people living further away from the grid, who were in need of an alternative way of powering lights.

BFP today focuses its work on the Marga Mulya area of North Jakarta, a poor area with many children and families with very limited access to electricity. Families were unproductive at night and children were unable to study or read once the sun set. BFP has changed family habits, including safety, and plans to branch out to many more areas in need in the future.

The programme has developed its own ingenious, low-cost system, whereby a small solar panel can be attached to a re-used water bottle filled with water (bleach can be added to increase light from refraction), which also promotes the re-use of drinking bottles. BFP collaborated with a 3D printing company to print a ‘bottle cap’ for each panel, used to attach the solar panel to the water bottle.

Villagers just hang the panels out in the day to capture energy from the sun, and when fully charged the battery can provide four to six hours of light in the evenings. The panels will produce electricity for about 25 years and BFP carries out regular maintenance for their projects to ensure sustainability.

Currently Chanrai is working together with Brandon Fernandes, a student at JIS, on a larger installation project in Marga Mulya for the community area;setting up solar-powered generators in four to five homes. Funds for this project were raised through crowdfunding and through fundraising done at JIS. Donors to BFP have generally been from the 25-35-year-old age group, as according to Chanrai, solar power is considered “fashionable”.

Receivers of the solar panels are asked to give a one-time fee of what they can afford, be it Rp.2,000 or Rp.5,000, which gives a sense of ownership and responsibility. “When we gave away for free, we found people wouldn’t take care of it and they would even sell it, whereas if they give something for it, their mentality changes,” says Chanrai. The remaining costs are covered 10% by Azzura, and the remaining from sponsors.

As Chanrai’s dreams are for every one of his campaigns to be larger

Villagers hanging their solar lamps out to charge their batteries
Villagers hanging their solar lamps out to charge their batteries

than the last, future plans are to provide solar energy to an entire village. Plans would be to provide solar-powered lighting for ten homes, including a solar-powered pump system and street lamps around the village. Chanrai visiting potential sites for his ‘Solar Village’ and there will be a crowd-funding campaign on kitabisa.com in the not-too-distant future, so keep your eyes peeled if you’d like to help shine a light to others in need!

For more information, please visit www.azzura-solar.com

Charities, Published articles

Helping the Kiddies in Need

Leave a comment

Mary’s Cancer Kiddies (MCK), a charity providing financial support for the treatment of children with cancer in Jakarta, was propelled into the spotlight when Scott Thompson, a Scottish expat working in Jakarta, ran from Bali to Jakarta to raise money in their name. Thompson successfully ran this great distance of 1,250km—with the children’s faces, no doubt, as his inspiration—making it clear that this charity was one worth going the distance for.

This noble cause was originally started in 2003 by Australian then-expat and journalist, Mary Binks. On a visit to Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM), Mary met cancer-suffering children in the non-infectious ward and was appalled that the families could not afford even the most basic diagnostic procedures. She promised then and there to pay for some of the tests required, eventually realizing that the issue was far bigger than just finding money for a few scans. “I would need to start raising serious money on a grand scale to help as many children and their families as possible. And so the idea of MCK was born,” Mary tells me. Mary’s philosophy is that “a life not lived helping others is a life not lived.”

Mary felt very strongly from the beginning that her organisation would not just be about money, but also about being there with the child until the very end: “It’s incredibly difficult to watch a seven-year-old die; a child who should be riding a bike or kicking a football not knowing what the inside of a hospital even looks like. It’s an experience that stays with you for the rest of your life…”

Julie van Laarhoven of MCK. Photo by Jim Kaunang
Julie van Laarhoven of MCK. Photo by Jim Kaunang

In 1999, now-MCK Chairwoman Julie van Laarhoven moved to Indonesia with her husband, meeting Mary at a playgroup in 2003, where she felt compelled to support Mary’s cause. “I was with the International English Service Church and our life group felt strongly that we wanted to do something to help and so we raised money to pay for chemotherapy for the children,” Julie explains. “When Mary started, she would meet the children and their families and would write these beautiful profiles, spending time to hear their hearts. This made it difficult for sponsors to say no to such a desperate situations to help the children get medical treatment.”

When Mary moved to Israel and then eventually home to Australia, Julie and a team of five passionate volunteers — including two Indonesian dentists — have continued to keep up the amazing work for the children. “It was heart-wrenching leaving MCK, the patients and their families,” Mary explains, “but Julie and a succession of extremely wonderful volunteers transformed MCK into an organisation more far-reaching than I could have imagined.”

Today, MCK works together with six doctors, sending them money every month to help cover the costs of cancer treatment, as well as other illnesses, for children and premature babies at RSCM and Rumah Sakit Kanker Dharmais (RSKD). “The doctors are our ears and our eyes and we’ve worked with the same team since the beginning,” Julie explains.

Meetings between MCK volunteers and doctors take place on a monthly basis, which has established very solid relationships, and doctors find it extremely helpful to know that there is money available, ready to be used for children’s treatment when needed. The doctors spend the money on low-income families only, and there is utmost trust between them and MCK volunteers. Monthly reports are produced by the doctors, including invoices and receipts, keeping everything transparent.

On top of providing financial support for treatment through MCK also provides prosthetic eyes for children who have retinoblastoma, a very aggressive type of cancer, which usually requires surgery and removal of the affected eye. Julie also personally emotional and spiritual support on her visits to the hospital. “Sometimes I bring other women from my prayer group and we ask parents if we can pray for their children in the hospitals, regardless of their religion. We are always received positively,” Julie explains.

In 2014, the Badan Penyelenggara Jaminan Sosial Kesehatan (BPJS) system came into effect, providing healthcare for Indonesian families. Through this system, however, not everything is always covered, especially when it comes to cancer, as MCK quickly learned. There is a list of all medicines covered by BPJS, but there is a cap on the amount that the government will cover per medication, per patient. Low-income families who aren’t able to cover the remaining costs will be supported by MCK. A downside Julie has seen in the new system is that it often takes time for families to apply for BPJS and get the correct paperwork together, which can contribute to the child’s situation worsening. Since its arrival, however, Julie has seen more and more private hospitals opening their doors to the system – a very encouraging development.

 

Photo by Jim Kaunang
Photo by Jim Kaunang

Working with sick children must be extremely hard, so what keeps the MCK team going? “There was a boy named Bayu. He had a tumour the size of a football on his eye socket. He came from a little village in Riau that doesn’t even have electricity and their family somehow managed to bring him over to Jakarta. I would go to Cipto and sit with his mum and dad while he underwent treatment and surgery. After Bayu was cancer-free, his mum would call me every couple of months to thank me for helping him. You can’t put that feeling into words and that’s what keeps me going,” Julie answers as her eyes tear up with emotion.

It is a shame that the government has never acknowledged this organisation’s hard work and efforts to support the children of Indonesia and Julie’s message to them would be to continue to improve the BPJS system because — although not perfect yet — it certainly does help.

Mary dreams that all Indonesian children have the same opportunities to live as children in developed countries have, hoping that Indonesian babies will no longer be abandoned at hospitals when a mother can’t afford the care. “My adopted son had to be abandoned at a Jakarta hospital 15 years ago because his birth parents couldn’t afford the emergency caesarean that saved both his and his birth mother’s lives,” says Mary.

The work of MCK is done solely through their generous sponsors. “We really appreciate our donors and it’s because of their generosity and commitment to raising funds for the cancer kiddies that we’ve been able to continue,” Julie says gratefully.

Last year, Mary’s Cancer Kiddies helped an amazing 807 children, including 163 babies.

When asked what inspires Julie to keep going, she replied, “When you visit the children in hospital, there’s just so much fear on the parent’s faces. They’re so afraid because they don’t understand much about cancer, and they are worried because of how much treatment will cost. As a mother you’d do anything to help your child. It doesn’t matter what it costs.”

If you’d like to help volunteer or donate to this worthy cause, please visit www.Maryscancerkiddies.org 

Charities, Published articles, The Environment

Voices for the Orangutan

Leave a comment

Seeing an orangutan in its natural habitat is a rare and magical experience that, for many, will only happen once in a lifetime. 96.4 percent of our genetic makeup is shared with these Great Apes found in the wild on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo only. Due to mankind’s continued encroachment of their natural habitat—particularly  for palm oil plantations, hunting and capture for the illegal wildlife trade—the Sumatran Orangutan population sits at critically endangered (6,500 left in the wild), and the Borneo Orangutan at endangered (54,000 remaining in the wild). Although they are protected by Indonesian, Malaysian and international laws, it is estimated that between four and 5,000 wild orangutans disappear every year.

Dr. Gary Shapiro was the first person to teach a symbolic communication system to an orangutan at Chaffee Zoological Park, California, and the first person to teach sign language to orangutans in their natural environment in Indonesian Borneo (Kalimantan). “When I spent two years in the forests of Indonesian Borneo teaching sign language to a group of formerly owned “pet” orangutans that were learning to return to the wild, I became much more interested in the species and their plight,” Dr. Shapiro tells me. One particular orangutan named Princess adopted Dr. Shapiro as her father. “We did many things together as she learned her signs and became a free-ranging juvenile orangutan. It was during that time I knew I would devote my life to helping the species survive.”

At the time, Dr. Shapiro felt that not enough money was being spent on education and community outreach to address the root cause of the orangutan’s dilemma. It was clear to him that more had to be done to educate people about the species and their plight, which is why the Orang Utan Republik Foundation (OURF) was founded.

OURF works towards saving orangutans from extinction in the wild by funding education and outreach programs in Sumatra and Kalimantan, through the Orangutan Republik Education Initiative (OUREI), an Indonesia-registered non-profit project active since 2004. These organizations were born of the belief that saving orangutans can only be ensured by the people of Indonesia and Malaysia.

One of the foundation’s unique programmes is university scholarship funding to Indonesian students of biology, forestry and veterinary science. Students receiving these scholarships are required to work with local organisations, becoming more knowledgeable about orangutans during their schooling. They graduate as advocates for orangutans.

Another OURF project is Orangutan Caring Clubs of Indonesia, where the message of conservation is brought to schools, government offices and the wider community. Outreach projects include visiting schools in Jakarta and Medan with film and education materials, engaging local and national government officials in conservation issues, and recently, partnering with other orangutan advocacy groups to fund an educational forum with environmental advisers to the Indonesian presidential candidates.

Ridhwan Effendi is Director of OUREII and ensures all aspects of their programme run according to plan. He feels that due to ignorance, there is no sense of urgency among Indonesians to protect the orangutan. “Orangutans are an endemic species to Indonesia, but many Indonesians are not even aware of them,” he explains. “They often see the orangutan as a problem that must be eliminated, causing damage to crops and plantations. Even at managerial levels of palm oil plantations in Central Kalimantan, they consider the orangutan an enemy.”

Although the government has passed laws to protect the species, Effendi believes the problem remains in law enforcement. In 1990, the government passed UU No. 5 1990, article 21, where it states that a sentence of up to five years and a fine of 100 million rupiah will be given to those who capture, harm, own, kill or sell a protected animal, including orangutans.

In 2011, instructions were passed down from the president (Intruksi Presiden No.10 tahun 2011) to stop any further destruction of rainforest and peat land, however there has been no follow through – in the first three years since its passing, 6.4 million hectares of protected forest were cleared. Effendi believes the new government is more focused on political issues rather than the environment. “It does not seem that the new government is doing anything yet to protect the remaining rainforests and natural habitat of the orangutan. According to national statistics, 48.8 million hectares of ancient rainforest remain on Kalimantan, however Greenpeace’s figures are much lower, at 25.5 million hectares,” he tells me.

Wild orangutans in Central Kalimantan
Wild orangutans in Central Kalimantan by Angela Richardson

Although it may feel like a lost cause, due to the hard work that non-governmental organisations such as OURF and OUREII do, there is still hope. “For every person who might have purchased an orangutan and decided not to because of our programs, six to eight orangutans may have been saved,” Dr. Shapiro explains. “Our field education program helps save individual orangutans that might be killed as pests when they wander into a farmer’s garden or orchard. Peoples’ attitudes have changed and many who would have poached or killed an orangutan are not doing so anymore.”

According to Dr. Shapiro, we can each help to make a difference by paying attention to the contents of our grocery shopping. “Stop buying products made of conflict palm oil, which is produced under conditions associated with the ongoing destruction of rainforests, expansion on carbon-rich peat lands, and human rights violations, including the failure to recognize and respect the customary land rights of forest-dependent communities and the use of forced labour and child labour,” he says. Choosing products that are orangutan-safe will require some investigation, but Dr. Shapiro assures us that there are guides and apps available to help us.

Partaking in ecotourism can also make a difference. Dr. Shapiro urges us to join small groups that visit orangutan viewing areas near and around national parks in Kalimantan and Sumatra, as this helps to support families and small businesses that have an economic interest in keeping forests and orangutans alive. He adds, “It also sends a message to local officials that forests are worth saving for their tour value.”

—

For those in Bali who would like to help support the orangutan, OURF will be holding a fundraiser, Voices for the Jungle, on March 6th in Seminyak. 

Contact balifundraiser@orangutanrepublik.org for more information. If you can’t attend, please make a donation online: http://orangutanrepublik.org/donate-now

Visit www.orangutanrepublik.org or www.orangutanodysseys.com for more information.