Police Officer Initiates Emergency Bridge in East Nusa Tenggara to Keep Students from Fording River
Inspector Arsilinus Lentar, head of Kuwus Police Sector, initiated and mobilised the community to construct an emergency bridge in Lesem Village, Golo Lajang District, Pacar Subdistrict, West Manggarai District, East Nusa Tenggara, to prevent local children from fording a river to reach school.
In recognition of his action, Rafael Hendrikus, a resident of Lesem Village and parent, proposed Inspector Arsi as a candidate for the Hoegeng Awards 2026. He expressed gratitude for the police officer’s concern for the village’s children.
“I am a resident of Lesem Village and a parent of students. I am very impressed by the humanitarian work carried out by police officer Arsilinus Lentar, who initiated and mobilised the community and military-police forces to build an emergency bridge for schoolchildren to cross from Lesem Village to SDK Wetik School and SMP Negeri 1 Kuwus Barat. This emergency bridge serves as flood mitigation for students crossing the Wae Songkang River in Lesem Village,” Rafael said. “As a parent, I am grateful and relieved that the children can now go to school safely.”
The river that children had to ford to reach school stretches approximately 20 metres, representing the only access route from Lesem Village to the schools. During heavy rainfall, children cannot attend school as teachers prohibit them from attempting to cross the swollen river. Previously, the community had attempted to build a bridge, but it collapsed due to weak construction and its height being too low relative to the water surface.
“The current bridge has now stood for almost a month and is quite sturdy,” Rafael noted.
He expressed gratitude to Inspector Arsi and his team, as well as military personnel, for addressing the village’s challenges. He also hoped the initiative would prompt the government to pay attention to Lesem Village’s development needs. “The community remains underdeveloped and still lacks electricity. We hope this police initiative will open the government’s eyes to our situation,” he said.
Inspector Arsi explained that he was moved to action after seeing a social media post showing children fording the river to attend school. Touched by their struggle, he tracked down the video’s source and visited Lesem Village on 28 January 2026. The location was so remote that he and his team had to walk four kilometres on foot.
Upon arrival, Inspector Arsi proposed a community cooperation project to build an emergency bridge using bamboo and coconut fibre rope. The community agreed to provide bamboo and other materials, whilst he supplied nails and paint. Everyone contributed funds for communal meals during construction.
“From the police, we did not want our community members, especially children, to become victims of the strong river current. Even if it is an emergency solution, we wanted to help them,” Inspector Arsi explained. “This initiative represents the presence of the state in addressing community problems.”
Prior to the bridge’s construction, eleven primary school students and ten secondary school students from Lesem Village had to ford the dangerous river daily. The emergency bridge has now made their journey to school safe.
Inspector Arsi hopes the initiative will prompt government officials and relevant agencies to allocate budget for permanent infrastructure development in remote areas.