“I am proud as a Papuan child, his heart loves the most. We were reprimanded first, we consider him as a brother, uncle, aunt, “said Michael Jakarimilena in the MaCe Papua discussion this morning, Wednesday 27 February 2019 in Central Jakarta.
“Papuan children are transparent, they don’t hide anything. Papuan children also want to accept people as they are. One content of Papua, he can love. “Michael told me that in the past what used to be the ideals of Papuan children was to become a civil servant or soccer player. “In the past, my dream was to become a Roma player. That is the dream of every boy in Papua. “
“Thank God I can be one that inspires friends. I feel responsible, why am I an entertainer so I can inspire, “continued Michael.
While the other speaker at the Papua Mace event, Raden Lukman, said, “I have only one dream. I want to go to school in a big city. We are very happy with playing marbles, playing on the beach. Then seeing a game like in Timezone, I say to my Papa Mama, I want to go to the mall every day, “said Raden, who finally went to college in Yogyakarta, far from Sorong, his hometown.
Graduating from UGM majoring in Geodetic Engineering, Raden completed his book “I introduce my Papuan” along with his thesis, in 2018. Raden sees that education in Papua has not had the same opportunity, “If we talk academically, not because we are retarded, but we are just lacking at the start. “He continued,” Education in Papua is in principle not different from other regions. Maybe because of access. “
While Lisa Duwiry who is also a speaker at Mace Papua said, “The most urgent thing, based on my experience, is education.” Lisa saw, “The lessons are the same, but why are they left behind. The highest illiteracy rate in Papua. And for example Papuan children go to Semarang, the lessons are the same, but new students from Papua must take an adaptation class. “
The three speakers who were guests at the Papua Mace event were young Papuans who talked about their experiences and hopes for Papua.
Michael Jakarimilena is an Indonesian Idol 2004 alumni musician, Michael entered the top 5 of Indonesia Idol Season 1. Raden Lukman, 21 years old, born and raised in Sorong. His parents are from Banten and Jakarta, but have lived in Sorong for decades. Meanwhile Lisa Duwiry is a young activist who uses social media to mobilize the public for her humanitarian campaign in Korowai.
Lisa reminded that, “In Papua, 34-40% of children are still illiterate. This is the highest in Indonesia. There is no teacher. Finally, we independently funded one teacher to want to teach in the interior. ”Lisa encouraged public support through the Twitter hashtag #ForKorowai and also #KalepinKorowai which was triggered by the experience of a child named Kalepin who was expelled from her community. Inspired by this child, Lisa helps children from Korowai who have the same fate. “We will make a dormitory building and a school.”
Michael added, “There is still a great need for teachers in Papua.” Michael and his wife created a homeschooling program (IG @eduforpapua) which was run after school hours. The instructors included Cenderawasih University students.
Raden also agreed that, “We lack teachers in Papua. The children during school hours, they run in their homes. My community service program is in Kais, inland South Sorong Regency. The education staff is the least. “
Not a few young Papuans who have the opportunity to migrate to Java to pursue education and career. Many of them are achievers and want to develop the Land of Papua through their own talents.
Now Raden and his friend are developing an application called Jorong Sorong. This application makes it easy for Sorong visitors to adjust their travel options to their budget, based on the local community base. Raden also said that he wanted to return to Sorong, “I want to be a geospatial-based urban planning designer.”
Lisa added that there are simple things that can be done to build society, “With only internet quota capital, we can exploit the unlimited potential of social media. Make good cause. So it’s not for fun. By echoing the hashtag we can get people to. When people are interested in what we invite, actions will emerge. Like the movement for Korowai, I start from just one tweet. “
“Papua is not only built by material, builds Papua with a heart,” Raden assured listeners of the Mace Papua discussion.
When asked about his hopes for Papua by Raditya Harda who guided the Papua Mace program, Michael stated: “Papua is prosperous. Man. Super creative Papuan children are not playing. “Enthusiastically, Michael added,” The revival of hip hop music will come from Papua. “
“We were born in Papua for a reason. We have a great responsibility to protect. Papua is a miniature of Indonesia, because it has an open heart for everyone, “said Michael.
