Building Career from Community Works
by Yuniarti Wahyuningtyas
Nerve wrecking and barely could close my eyes...i will take a written test tomorrow that will determine my next future career...an old memory flashed in front of my eyes. January 1988, big flood in Jakarta. I remember my mom held my hand tightly as we passed the ladder to the higher floor of somebody house (or building)...it was dark, humid, and full with people who looked anxious and tried to calm themselves and people near them. I heard a loud sound of fan, a sound of helicopter whirring approached the floor where we were. I searched for my dad, my mom said we were going to meet him soon, a man guided us and flew we go to the air.
That is the real story and reason why i decided to work in Humanitarian Sector, despite the fact that most of our families did not support it and commented most of the time "how can you earn the living by doing a good Samaritan work?", even "Is it a job?". Well, i proved that they were wrong after all. 15 years of building career in various NGOs, INGOs, and UN Agencies have teaches me a good lesson about kindness, caring, and trying to restrain ego and selfishness. I realize the importance thing in this life in order to make it balance is about sharing the goods, fortune, and giving opportunity to others.
At a very young age, i was elected to become a Youth Leader in my community and managed nearly more than 60 youths in the neighborhood. As the youngest leader ever been elected (i was 17 years old and was still in my Senior High), i was forced to see the reality of life. Instead of enjoying my youth and having the greatest time of my life (so they say), i had to be a role model for the others. Be the smartest, fastest, highest, and learnt to be a perfectionist (which is impossible, yet somehow learn to become excellence). Drug abuse, unwanted pregnancy, domestic violence, unemployment, and poverty had become my daily consummated problems that i have to solve and manage. My house opened for 24 hours for any neighbors or youths that wanted to consult or seek any advise on these, and at that time i was just a nerdy 17 years old girl that was given the mandate to take the leadership in the community.
I realize than that a real actions were needed to cover the issues. So briefly, these were the "programs" that we (as a team with a bunch of other youths, of course) implemented in our community:
1. Sport (Basketball, cross country)
2. Gathering (collective fund, picnic, BBQ Party)
3. Seasonal events (independence day, women day, new year eve)
Pactically, these activities above were to ensure that the youth are respected, given opportunity to explore their interests, developing strong bond between the groups, and keep them busy to reduce the negative impacts from outside influences.
It is not always easy to have the programs done, for instance: establishing a basketball court and team in the neighborhood. Looking through my personal experience in my own neighborhood, where we only have few empty space to construct basketball field in the complex (Note that the only available space is a sharing field in size 15m x 25m that is also used for Volley and Badminton), the youth has to figure out how to implement their program. Through an intense discussion and meetings with the youth group and local leaders, the other option was to build our own field in the bottom of the creek and near the river. In order to do that, along with the other youth, we have to do some extra works and sacrifice our time and money, includes: willingness to donate my own basketball ring , re-use an abandon phone cable pole for the foundation, working as our own labor for constructing the field, and encourage the youth to do community works (selling cookies door to door, collecting fund from the community, and helping the neighborhood accountant; who does all the financial works of community expenses-for a small fee rewards)...and after 3 months intensively done all of the works above, we finally had our own basketball field, which now turn into a community swimming pool (still with the help of the youth too).
Taking the lesson from the Youth in the neighborhood, i learnt that the valuable resource that we can rely to improve their capacity is on their team work. So in 2008, with few of friends who were joined force in the student regiment, we established a program named Emergency Response Training Course. This course provides opportunity for the university students or youth to learn about disaster response and on how they can contribute to response in disaster situation. Until now, 2018, there already 5 courses have been done so far, with approximately 150 youth were trained. The course curriculum can be seen in the picture below:
When i was given the chance to handle a project on education in emergencies, a colleague approached me and asked for a solution to resolve conflict between school youth and on how to rebuild their unity. This was happened in 2013, when we decided to bring the training for the senior high schools and vocational high schools students to a traditional community where they had to live and mingle with the communities, as well developed their bonding and capacity. This was a so called peace building program for them.
I will say that i am proud of the youth that i have assisted, especially for those who share same interest and passion in humanitarian work. I wish that there will be more young people who can take the lead in this sector that work based on their heart and mind, not triggered by how much money that they can get.
