Yan Karowa Iniyandit District Chief
"We must grow creatively"

Oegenetan villagers may owe its well-being to the initiative of the Iniyandit District Chief, Yan Karowa. The 46-year-old man grew up in Serui and earned his teacher's degree at Cendrawasih University in Jayapura. He served as a teacher before moving to Iniyandit in 1996 and was appointed as the district's secretary.

As a civil servant, Yan had to travel to villages to collect data. He said that he had to go through muddy dirt roads to get to most of the villages in Papua. Once there, he would visit families in their homes. "That's when the people would tell me about their problems," he said. He then tried to ease the poverty in Oenegetan village, one of the poorest in his area, by establishing the Nonggup Cooperative. Last month Tempo English reporter Amanda Siddharta interviewed Yan in Tanah Merah, capital of Boven Digoel regency, two hours away from Iniyandit. Excerpts:

January 13, 2015