Group taking steps to make history more accessible

Primastuti Handayani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Organizing about 200 people for a walking tour of Jakarta is no easy task.

But for the young people in Sahabat Museum (Friends of Museums), it's a means to spread their interest in preserving the heritage of the capital.

Sahabat Museum was set up after current chairman Ade "Adep" Purnama took part in a tour of traditional kampongs organized by the Jakarta History Museum last July.

The 27-year-old graduate in Dutch literature from the University of Indonesia asked like minded friends to start Sahabat Museum.

With the aim to provide knowledge on museums throughout the city in a more attractive, accessible way, Sahabat Museum recently held the Plezieran Tempo Doeloe, taking participants on a tour of old sites.

The inaugural tour took place last Sunday at the Weltevreden or Batavia Baru area which covers Gambir, Banteng Square and Pasar Baru areas.

Adep said the group had yet to receive sponsorship for its activities.

"Therefore, we couldn't provide the best service for participants. However, we tried hard to satisfy them," he said.

For example, funding constraints meant that the guides could not use megaphones during the tour, and Adep said income from the tour fee would be used for the next tour.

Another problem in scheduling activities is that most of the group's members are volunteers who have work commitments.

Sahabat Museum has a number of activities planned for the future, including regular walking tours, identifying old architecture around the city, holding the Pusaka Indonesia Year Jamboree as well as a Sahabat Museum gathering.

-- Primastuti Handayani