Helping youths realise their dreams in Indonesia

There’s nothing special about seeing many of them master techniques on how best to express themselves, either in formal or informal discussions.

However, it is quite the opposite when youths exhibiting similar skills are found in remote areas, far from the hustle and bustle of big cities. The youth, mostly from secondary and senior high-school levels, don’t just speak well, they also express their ideas convincingly.

These youths are members of the Nias Children Forum (Forani), an organisation designed to promote children’s rights in Nias – Indonesia’s westernmost island.

At a time when many young people, not to mention adults, in big cities shy away from speaking in public, Forani’s youth are able to explain their organisation’s activities clearly and coherently.

“One of Forani’s main programmes is to help disseminate the importance of education among families and community,” Forani chairperson Juveltin Telaumbanua said at a recent media visit in Gunungsitoli, the biggest and oldest town in Nias.

Explaining the achievements of Forani, which was set up on May 27, 2012 with some 85 members, Juveltin disclosed a great deal about the organisation’s history, objectives and challenges.

Other programmes included the nurturing of creativity and talent among youths through various activities, ranging from training on leadership to courses on reproductive health, said Juveltin, a second grader in a local vocational school whose steady voice seemed to go beyond her petite body posture.

“The ultimate aim of such activities is to help stimulate children’s love of local culture,” she said, adding that other activities included, cooking, tailoring, gardening and filmmaking. One of the short films produced by the Forani youths was entitled “Kemiskinan tidak Menghalangi Mimpiku” (“Poverty doesn’t Hinder my Dream”).

Juveltin’s introduction was followed by the screening of the film, depicting a student from a poor family who received cash from his classmates as he could not afford to pay his tuition fees. The assistance meant a lot to the student, who later continued his studies to realise his dream – something many children have in an area that lags behind other regions in the country in terms of development.

Leusirulita Hulu, a Forani member from Dahana village in North Nias regency, said she and 10 of her friends were trying to earn something on the side by cooking under the guidance of NGO Wahana Visi Indonesia. Youths from the village whose parents worked mostly as rubber farmers can now make cakes and other snacks.

“We sell our products at nearby food stalls,” said Leusirulita, also the chairperson of the local Forani chapter.

Funds to buy ingredients was taken from collections per month, she said, adding that some of the recipes had been downloaded from the Internet. 

As a student of the Open University majoring in Indonesian, Leusirulita said she hoped to expand her small-scale business. Her target is to cooperate with local government-funded village business units to expand the marketing of the products.

In Loloana’a village in the same area, some Forani members have studied beauty treatment. Some teenage girls were seen putting makeup on their friends, with one of them, Asnita Dawolo, claiming that he could make money from her skills by making up her own mum and some neighbours during special events. “The money is not much, but it gives me satisfaction,” she said.

In Ombolata Sisarahili village, Forani members joined a gardening group where they were trained on growing organic vegetables in three locations. Mestariat Waruwu, chairperson of the group, said the members were taught techniques on planting seedlings, using fertiliser and tending to the plants.

The main objective of the gardening activity was to provide knowledge on how to make use of empty spaces in their yards, she said. The result was very positive as could be seen from the fact that nearly 78 families in the village had now developed their own vegetable gardens, by planting chilli, eggplants and beans. 

“The training in the group is usually carried out after school so as not to affect the students’ teaching and learning process,” Mestariat said.

“We just managed to harvest chili amounting to five kilogrammes per week. We sold it at 20,000 rupiah per kilogramme, slightly lower than the market price,” Mestariat said, explaining their parents fully supported the gardening activity.

The parents also take part in the project, which has attracted up to 70 students. 

Those in the adjacent Sinarikhi village chose to specialise in tailoring. Through intensive training under the guidance of two teachers, a group of 10 young girls are now able to make their own clothes. 

Group leader Marselina Mendrofa said that aside from making their clothes, the group members had started to get orders to tailor school uniforms from nearby kindergartens and schools. 

“Our training courses are held from 3pm to 5pm on certain days,” Marselina said.

All in all, young people joining the organisation’s activities look like they will be able to progress as long as they are given a chance. 

“The Nias youth have taken all the opportunities available to them,” Meirudin Lase, child-sponsorship management project coordinator at Wahana Visi Indonesia’s Nias office, said.

Forani has become a kind of means for them to articulate what they want, Meirudin said, adding that the situation on the island was completely different earlier, when their activities were accommodated only through scouting.

The youths’ enthusiasm has attracted attention from local administration officials, who have pledged to make the organisation one of its strategic partners.

More than that, young people in Nias have become some of the most active in the regions served by Wahana Visi, which specialises in promoting and improving child rights across Indonesia.

This is not a baseless claim, as Forani’s deputy chairperson, Restanti Waruwu, was chosen to represent Indonesia to attend the three-day European Development Days forum in Belgium in October last year.

In her capacity as an Indonesian youth envoy, Restanti, from Ononamolo I village in Nias, spoke confidently and aired contributions. This should be done not only by youths from Nias but also from across Indonesia, for global development planning at the international level.