In addition to studying in class, students have an important role in building a better society. One way to do this is by volunteering like Sirhan Muhammad Dehya Alqolbi, a student of the Public Relations Study Program, Vocational Education Program, Universitas Indonesia (UI). Through Projek Indonesia #2, organized by the Global Youth Ambassador, Sirhan became one of the volunteers who served in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).
Sirhan wanted to have a direct impact on the community by participating in this activity. Through the medium as a volunteer, Sirhan made maximum use of it to learn and implement the knowledge he had gained in class and outside the classroom. Together with 31 of his colleagues who also participated in Projek Indonesia #2, Sirhan visited Ntaur Hamlet, Nuca Molas Village, Mules Island, East Nusa Tenggara.
In its implementation, the team was divided into four groups, namely education, health, environment, and tourism. Sirhan, who focuses on education, said that the condition of education there was quite concerning. On one small island, there was only one elementary school and two junior high schools. Therefore, people who want to continue their education to a higher level must cross over and live on the other side of the island.
“We try to invite elementary and junior high school students to learn various things, both exact sciences and hard skills and soft skills. We also coordinate with teachers, as well as representatives of tourism awareness groups (pokdarwis) there in organizing various activities,” said Sirhan.
He further explained that the journey to becoming a volunteer was also faced with various challenges. For example, communication obstacles that occur because the village has limited access to telephone and internet networks. In addition, inviting elementary school children to participate in activities is quite a challenge for them. However, these challenges are not an obstacle to continuing to do good and serve the community.
Apart from the aspect of education which is still limited in access, Sirhan also said that several children in Nuca Molas Village have teeth that are not clean and healthy. Sirhan and his colleagues also distributed some equipment and socialized Clean and Healthy Living Behavior (PHBS) to the surrounding community.
From an environmental perspective, there is a lot of garbage on the coast that is carried by the current from the other side of the island. Therefore, the team tried to clean up the garbage. Finally, Nuca Molas Village, which is located on a remote island, has very beautiful natural wealth and can be used as a tourism sector.
Sirhan added that his volunteer experience which took place on January 5-12, 2025, was also supported by his abilities and competencies which were developed through learning on campus. “Since the preparation, I have implemented the stakeholder relations course on the work program that will be carried out. In addition, the framework created based on the principles of SWOT, PESO, and SMART also helped me and the team in the field,” said Sirhan.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Yamin, one of the elementary school homeroom teachers in Nuca Molas Village, said that the presence of Sirhan and other delegates had many positive impacts on the surrounding environment. “We feel very satisfied and grateful for the activities that our friends do. In fact, the students also feel happy in every work program held by our friends,” said Yamin.
As the Head of the Education Division, Sirhan hopes that the teachers in Nuca Molas Village can continue to keep the children’s dreams coming true. “Hopefully, all the work programs that we have done there will be a big picture so that they can open up their knowledge about the world more widely, various things that should be able to be tasted at their age now, materials that they should have recognized, and dreams and hopes that can be increasingly achieved. Finally, I also hope that inclusivity towards other remote villages in Indonesia can be a concern for all parties, both the government, non-governmental organizations, educational institutions, and industry, and other parties,” said Sirhan.
