December 27, 2016 edition

Erzsa Maharanny Sula remembers vividly how happy she was when she met the Ibnu Tadji family in Jakarta three years ago. Erzsa had just arrived from her birthplace, Rote Ndao, East Nusa Tenggara. The 16-year-old would live with the Tadjis for three weeks, during the fasting month of Ramadhan.
"At first it was confusing. It was the fasting month and my first time living with people of a different religion and ethnicity," said Erzsa. "But everything went so well and my host family were very nice. Bung (honorific for men) Iben and Bunda (mother) Pratiwi treated me like their own daughter."

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More Outreach articles in other editions

December 20, 2016 edition

Indonesia is the worlds fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gases, most of it caused by forest degradation. But it is determined to address the problem by ratifying the Paris agreement to mitigate carbon emissions and commit itself to Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), among other initiatives. Last November, Tempo English visited West Sumatra to report on projects aimed at reducing this environmental scourge. In Sungai Buluh village at Padang Pariaman, residents created a new eco-tourism attraction: a tree house at the peak of a rocky hill. Additionally, their mushroom farms provide them with an alternative source of income.

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December 13, 2016 edition

There are 28 million Indonesians still living in poverty, according to the National Statistics Agency, with the poverty rate as of March this year standing at 14.11 percent. This has prompted some youth social movements to extend a helping hand. In Aceh, a young civil servant used the social media to start a fund-raising campaign to build homes for the poor in several regencies. Meanwhile, in East Nusa Tenggara, social activist Valentino Louis set up Shoes for Flores, a movement to donate shoes for children in the islands poor areas to motivate them to go to school. A Tempo English report in the spirit of Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development on December 5.

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November 29, 2016 edition

Off the Menus, Into the ocean
Paul Friese established the Bali Sharks Rescue Center in Denpasar after witnessing sharks being butchered at the local market. With the help of local fishermen, he has saved more than 150 sharks
I Wayan Jalan casually put his hand inside a small cage with sharks inside. The 12-square meter cage was divided into three compartments and contained seven whitetip sharks (Carcharhinus longimanus) from two different species and 14 blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus).

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November 22, 2016 edition

The traditional tabat water system has turned thousands of hectares of peatland at Kahayan Hilir in Central Kalimantan, green again. This traditional method of managing peat areas also prevents forest fires.

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November 15, 2016 edition

Empowering Shrimp Farmers
Erna Leka is a shrimp farmer in Bumi Dipasena village, Lampung. She fights to get a fisherman's card, which would entitle her and fellow fisherwomen to healthcare and government assistance programs.
Juleha wakes up very early in the morning to perform household chores before inspecting the two 200-square-meter shrimp ponds in front of her house in the village of Bumi Dipasena, Tulang Bawang Regency, Lampung. After switching off the ponds' aerator devices, the 42-year-old feeds the shrimp.

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November 8, 2016 edition

Indonesia is one of the most technologically savvy countries in the world. According to the Information and Telecommunication Ministry, there are 281 million mobile phone users in 2014, more than the actual number of people in the country. How can this asset be used to address the problem of mother and child high mortality rates? The Knowledge Exchange for East Indonesia Foundation (Yayasan Bursa Pengetahuan Kawasan Indonesia Timur) is working with the Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Gynecology to set up SMSBunda, a popular messaging program in South Sulawesi to disseminate information for expectant mothers to minimize pregnancy risks. Meanwhile, a group of youths based in Jakarta created a crowdfunding websiteWecare.idto fund healthcare services for people in rural areas who cannot afford it. Tempo English reports from South Sulawesi and South Sumatra.

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