Project Jakarta: Arming a kampong with awareness<\/p>\n
Pritam Narula and Andrew Briggs, Grade 10,
\nJakarta International School (JIS)<\/p>\n
"Faster, farther, cheaper and deeper," wrote Thomas Freedman in
\nThe Lexus and the Olive Tree. Our world is one interrelated
\nsociety where borders are open for trade and where horizons seem
\never so broad.<\/p>\n
However, as the public open their eyes to the benefits of
\nurban life, little does our industrial society know that
\nsustainable development will soon be out of our reach, and that
\nour children will face the danger of environmental destruction
\ncaused by industrialization.<\/p>\n
About five weeks ago [around mid-March], my classmate Andrew
\nand I started a group to take action as [part of] a project at
\nJakarta International School, to try and make a difference here
\nin Jakarta, a city facing problems associated with rapid
\ndevelopment.<\/p>\n
Jakarta once held a reputation for being a sluggish township,
\nyet over the past 20 years, it has transformed into a booming
\nAsian metropolis. However, with a hastily growing population
\nexceeding nine million people, the city's pollution problems, due
\nto urbanization and other factors, are increasing. As more people
\nmigrate to the city in search of opportunity, the situation will
\nworsen.<\/p>\n
As Indonesia continues to develop in the areas of
\ntelecommunications, transportation and technology, more rural
\ndwellers will feel tempted to move to the big city, because only
\na small percentage of these new technologies are available in
\ntheir area.<\/p>\n
Yet, how does urbanization affect the overall pollution
\nproblems in Jakarta?<\/p>\n
As more people fill Jakarta, more waste will be produced by
\nthe city. More cars, trucks, buses, and production of goods (just
\nto name a few) will be seen; therefore, more emissions of carbon
\ndioxide and carbon monoxide will be produced, exacerbating the
\npollution in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
This rapid growth threatens to stretch the resources of
\nIndonesia to the limit. In order to prevent such a prediction
\nfrom becoming reality, people must take more responsibility for
\nthis city. Individuals, organizations and the government alike
\nmust take action before it is too late, and this is why Andrew
\nand I tried to do our part to help combat pollution created by
\nurbanization at a kampong in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Before taking action, we wanted to see the pollution situation
\nat the kampong, which is located near the Federal Express office.
\nThe kampong turned out just as we had expected: It was densely
\npopulated and plastic wrappers, soda cans and wooden popsicle
\nsticks were scattered across the ground. The kampong itself did
\nnot have anywhere to dispose [its] garbage, except for one or two
\nworn-down large containers. In addition, a lot of motorcycles
\ncrammed the small streets weaving through the kampong. Overall,
\nthe area was similar to what we expected, but the school system
\nfor its children was superb, compared to other local schools here
\nin Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Considering the severity of urbanization in the kampong, we
\nrealized that as only two people on a mission, we had to limit
\nour scope to a small area. Despite this, our group was determined
\nto contribute, to make even the slightest difference. In an
\neffort to contribute, our group and several other JIS students
\norganized a project to reduce pollution, promote the preservation
\nof the local environment and measure the severity of
\nurbanization.<\/p>\n
After assessing the pollution situation in the area, we
\ndiscovered that the core of the problem was that the inhabitants
\nwere not educated about the effects of pollution and they did not
\nhave a proper place to dispose their waste.<\/p>\n
Therefore, Andrew and I went to a hardware store to purchase
\ntrash cans and we had already printed out posters encouraging the
\nlocal community to throw [their] garbage into the garbage bins.<\/p>\n
The second step was to actually spend a couple of hours at the
\nkampong cleaning. We called up several friends to assist in this.<\/p>\n
By the end of the day, we were extremely successful, as the
\ndwellers started to understand the objective of our visit. Before
\ndeparting, I had a chat with a respected kampong elder, and I
\nasked him to make sure that the trash cans we purchased (which
\nwere going to remain at the kampong) were to be used
\nappropriately. I also asked that, instead of leaving trash on the
\nground, the trash can would be used whenever necessary in order
\nto preserve the cleanliness of the area.<\/p>\n
After three weeks of periodical visits to clean, educate and
\nassess, the project proved successful. There was a clear
\nreduction in the amount of road-side trash, and young children
\nwere increasingly mindful of disposing of their garbage properly.<\/p>\n
Seeing that such a small-scale project was successful, we
\nbelieve that everyone has the potential to make a difference.<\/p>\n
We were also overcome by the amount of progress that could be
\nmade if non-governmental organizations, or even the government,
\ndid more to control urbanization. Large-scale action, such as
\nregional planning to appropriately distribute health, educational
\nand entertainment services to rural areas outside Jakarta, could
\nrelieve the city of its currently high rural-to-urban population
\ninflux.<\/p>\n
Other solutions such as "smart growth" could be implemented,
\nwhich revolve compact cities with high-density development and
\nmixed land uses. This would reduce the number of shantytowns
\nwithin Jakarta and limit the city's "pancake style" expansion.<\/p>\n
Overall, something must be done to address urbanization, and
\naction must be taken on any scale.<\/p>\n
Andrew and I, merely two individuals, proved, using only the
\nresources available to us, that making a difference was
\nachievable. We urge that the inhabitants of this city take action
\nand help reduce pollution, because if we work together, we can
\nwork wonders.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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