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KangGURU Travels to Lumajang & Surabaya, East Java-June 2005 In late June 2005, Rachel went to East Java. Rachel stopped
off in Surabaya first to meet with AusAID's BEJIS (Bapedalda
East Java Institutional Strengthening Project ) project and with
Tunas Hijau, a very active environmental group
which KGRE has met many times before. Rachel went to Lumajang for a meeting
with KGCC English
Practicing Club
and to present a Teacher's Workshop
to local English language teachers.
I left Bali at around 9am on Thursday 23rd June.I caught my flight easily and landed on time in Surabaya.First I went to check into my hotel and have some lunch.After lunch I jumped into a taxi and went to meet the young members of the Tunas Hijau Club. Kevin visited this great environmental club in October 2003.
The competition to find the Prince and princess of the environment happens every year. Its aim is to encourage young people in high schools to think more about their environment. Candidates have to propose an environmental project. Then they have to create it. It is not enough to have an idea, the young people have to be able to start up a project and make it work. Candidates have to write about their project, make presentations and debate environmental issues. The writing part of the competition is done in English as well as Bahasa Indonesia.
Since Kevin's last visit the club has many new projects. Now they have seven green spaces but they had only three the last time Kevin visited. Also, the Prince and Princess project was only in Surabaya at that time. Now it includes all of east Java. So Happy and Marina have to travel all over east Java. The princess from 2003 went to the International Children's Conference in the US in Connecticut in 2004. While she was there she won a United Nations environmental award. This month (July 2005) Happy and Marina are participating in a cross-cultural project with Millennium Kids in Perth. Then they will go to Japan. They promised to get in touch as soon as they get back so we can tell you all about their adventures. Prince
& Princess of the Environment 2005/ Tunas Hijau Club Action Plan 2
"By Kids for Kids"- teaching children about the environment. Project Directors Marina Lestari and Christina Sandi Tjandra. This team will start an Anti Plastic Movement. They aim to encourage people to use less plastic through education seminars and many other activities, such as a plastic recycling competition. Project Directors- Vincent and Katrin. This team has many plans to get rid of rubbish.Project director- Putri. Planting tress, educating people about trees, more green spaces. this team has some big plans. Project Directors- Randi Setyadi, Bayu and Ardi. One of this teams plans is a Clean River Awareness campaign. Project Directors- Marisa and Adit. This team will be ckecking emissions form vehicles all ove the place. Project Directors- Tsuraya, Ido and Kelvin. Happy's team will be making crackers to raise funds and put organic waste to good use. Project Director- Happy. This team will build greenhouses to grow the magical Toga Tree and other plants and herbs for medicines. Project Directors- Donna and Ester. There will be lots of beach clean up operations. Go along and join in! Project Directors- Dika and Fenny. This team will visit many schools to teach students about the environment and hopefully get some schools doing some tree planting and recycling and..Project Directors- Yogi and Floren. This team have a big roadshow coming to a street near you very soon. They have posters, stickers, competitions and of course lots of information about caring for the environment. Project Director- Dhani. This team will take the street show into the mall. Project Directors- Popon and Vania. This team is taking care of all the web stuff. Project Director- Michelle Happy and his crew are making an environmental film. Project Directors Adit and Happy. This team is collecting songs about the environment. Project Director- Bisma. The club's artwork including their comics, posters and murals with be exhibited. Project Directors Dani and Michelle. Throughout the year there will be lots of competitions, like poster competitions, comic competitions, recycling races, and much more. Project Directors- Dani and Michelle. All the products from the Food Team and Toga team and everything else witll be on sale at the bazzar. Project Director- Popon. This will be on the same day as the bazaar and there will be lots of fun things to do. Project Director- Marisa. AusAID and BEJIS in Surabaya
In fact the Karah project is very big now and has many new participants. These include public participation, especially from local women's groups, and government department participation. In fact some of the women involved have made their own environmental group called the Women's Group for Environmental Care. This waste management and compost-making project has been replicated in many other districts too. BEJIS also runs an Action Learning (AL) Program. This AL program is where people in communities, schools and government agencies learn about taking care of the environment and conservation. BEJIS has now done 80 AL workshops. These workshops have taken place all over east Java. Many of the participants of these workshops have now formed their own groups to take care of the environment. BEJIS also has a new advisor working with local Kabuputan, particularly in Malang. Now there is an environmental 'taskforce' in Malang. This advisor works with the governor's office to help decide on important environment tasks. After the flooding and landslides in Motjokota in February 2004 BEJIS started doing AL programs with 20 schools in Motjokota. This project has been very successful. So far students have planted 10,000 tress in the area. Two of the schools involved have won environmental awards. And finally, Pak Koko was given an award by the newspaper, Radar Mojokerto, in April 2005. There too many other projects to mention them all here. Now the BEJIS project is at the end of its five-year schedule. All the staff are confident that the groups they have worked with will continue taking care of the environment. On Saturday morning Pak Yudi picked me up at the hotel.Pak Yudi often drives Kevin and I around in East Java.Thanks Pak Yudi!We left soon after 8am for the long drive to Lumajang.There was some traffic in the city, of course, but it didn't take too long.We passed through many nice towns and villages on the way.We arrived at Lumajang at 12pm, just in time for lunch. The workshop was arranged by English Practicing Club (EPC)- KGRE Connection Club # 85.The EPC is organized by the staff of a Yayasan school for learning English called Deny's Bunch.Thanks to the great team of Pak Dede, Pak Augs and Pak Zainal.The KGRE teacher workshop was just one part of a big seminar organized for that day.My turn came at around 1.30pm.First we talked about all of KGRE's activities and materials for teachers.Then we did a few activities from the KGRE In The Classroom Teacher Package.We had some fun and everyone was singing and dancing.We even had a quick game of Aussie Rules football.As usual we had a quiz about Australia and gave away some Kang Guru goodies to the participants. After the workshop I checked into the hotel and had a rest.Pak Agus came and collected me at about 8pm for dinner.We went to a restaurant in Lumajang city center called Warung Yogya.There was a really great band playing that night, and they sang many English songs.Pak Agus' friend is the owner of the restaurant.He sang a song and played the piano especially for us.He was great too.Pak Yudi was singing along to all the songs too, I think he wants to be a rock star!On the way back to the hotel we went to see the famous Pisang Agung street.These bananas are definitely the biggest I have ever seen.EVER!Pak Agus told me the soil near Lumajan is magical, that's why the bananas are so big. KGCC
English Practicing Club at Pemandian Sulokambang The next morning I met the three Deny's guys (Pak Dede, Agus and Zainal) at the Deny's school.Many of the club members were already there.We had a tour of the building and a chat.When everyone had arrived we got into cars and onto motorbikes.We drove seven kilometers to Pemandian Sulokambang.On the was we saw beautiful scenery- lush green rice paddies with Gunung Semeru in the distance.This magnificent volcano was letting out clouds of smoke as we passed.This is only the second time I have seen an active volcano erupting.The first time was last month in West Sumatra, did you read my report?
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