Marhaen students share knowledge with others
Marhaen students share knowledge with others
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Tat Wan Ansi, the slogan of the student conservationist group,
is always in the head of its members.
The Sanskrit words that mean "I am You and You are Me" are the
motto of the Marpala (standing for Marhaen Pecinta Alam) -- a
student conservationist group at Jakarta's Bung Karno University.
"It means that there is no difference among all Marpala
members and between them and the society. That is why we must be
ready to share with others," secretary of Marpala Muhammad Erwin
told The Jakarta Post at the group's office on Thursday.
Being ready to share with others, the Marpala members have
transformed it into various actions, especially to keep their
surroundings clean and to conserve nature.
The latest activity of Marpala, for example, was a joint
program in June to clean up a section of the putrid, overpolluted
Ciliwung River in Jakarta.
The students, the Marpala members, did not only clean up the
river, but also spent time speaking with nearby residents on the
subject of throwing garbage into the river.
"From that discussion with people living along the Ciliwung
River, we know that they just throw garbage into the river
because they do not have garbage bins," Erwin said.
He added that the students then tried their best to contact
related institutions to respond to the complaints of the people.
The Marpala has organized the operasi bersih (cleaning up the
river) several times. Usually, they start at 8 a.m. and ended at
4 p.m. with a break for lunch.
About 30 student conservationists participated in the social
activities.
"Government offices and the neighborhood of the houses give
support to us," said Yuliatin, who just joined Marpala five
months ago.
As a new member, Yuliatin -- popularly called Yuli -- said
that she learned many lessons from the activities with Marpala.
"Well, I know how to cooperate with government officers and to
build coordination among many people," she said.
Aside from organizing the river clean-up program, the group
also contributes to natural conservation. As an example, the
group always tells its members to bring tree seeds any time they
go to a forest.
Since its establishment in 2000, Marpala has consistently
planted and nurtured trees in different places like Pasir Rengit
on the slopes of Mount Salak, Pasir Muncang on the slopes of
Mount Gede and in Citeureup; all in West Java.
"When we return to those areas, we can see that those trees
have grown up high," Erwin said.
Like other student conservationist groups, Marpala also does a
few activities just for fun. It has five divisions of activities:
spelunking, rock climbing, mountain, forest and nature treks.
Although the group is divided into five units, members of each
unit often organize activities together. For example, if there is
a navigation drill for the mountain and forest unit, members of
other units can join in and learn too.
Among the activities that have been organized are: offering
assistance for victims of a Jakarta fire in 2001; participating
in social activities for victims of the Banten floods of 2001;
sending volunteers to help victims of floods in Jakarta in 2002,
a mountain climbing expedition on Mount Pangrango and Mount Gede
in West Java in 2002; conservation of mangrove areas in Muara
Angke, North Jakarta in 2003; and conservation of coral reefs in
2003.
Given the various activities, it is not surprising that the
Marpala members have received many accolades.
One Marpala member, Wahyu Sudrajat, won second prize in a
water rescue competition in 2003.
As a senior member of Marpala, Erwin still contributes to the
group and encourages younger members to improve on their
achievements in the future.
"I only prepare my younger colleagues to become better
conservationists," he said.
Preparing the younger associates to perform better requires a
readiness to share. That is Tat Wan Ansi.