Kang GURU Travels
to Makassar and Gowa, South Sulawesi
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by Kevin Dalton
On April 11th, KGRE went to South Sulawesi to join with the Australian Ambassador and officials from the Australian
Embassy in Jakarta. The Ambassador was there to visit some of the wonderful AusAID projects in that part
of Indonesia. They included cattle fattening with ACIAR, maize drying
with IFC, and the Australia Indonesia Basic Education Program which is
building 2000 new schools across Indonesia PLUS the Official Opening of the SADI office in
Makassar.
Here's Kevin's report for you to read.
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The Ambassador presented special awards to local SMP and SD students. Congratulations to all those students.
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It was 9am departure on Garuda from Ngurah Rai airport in Denpasar for the one hour flight to Makassar, or as
some people still call it, Ujung Pandang. The flight was good and although landing seemed a bit odd, the plane
arrived safely. I went straight to the hotel and almost as soon as settling into my room on the 9th floor overlooking
the Makassar foreshore, I started work.
Out came the trusty KGRE laptop and I started on the next 6 radio programs numbered 5601 – 5606. Those
programs will feature interviews from Tora Sudiro, Anggun and Nicholas Saputra. Be sure to listen in June and
July as there will also be a few competitions, a few musical segments plus valuable information about Australian
Development Scholarships for 2007. I also worked on KGRE's ongoing efforts to get contacts going between the
KGCC network of language clubs and Aussie teachers and students. During May and June it is hoped that clubs and
their members will exchange information on the topic of the environment. That happens to be the theme of the
2007 September magazine. Did you know that? It will prove to be a very interesting and informative
‘international’ activity for all concerned in the KGCCs.
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On Thursday the 12th, I joined the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia's official party and traveled with them
out to Gowa. That was about 30 minutes from Makassar. The Ambassador, Mr. Bill Farmer, met with officials
at the offices of the Bupati Gowa, Mr. H. Ichsan Yasin Limpo in Gowa. It was an official visit but nevertheless
Mr. Farmer managed to have people laughing along with him as he addressed the meeting in bahasa Indonesia.
Within the speeches, the basic features of the AusAID's new Small
Agribusiness Development Initiative (SADI) were outlined. To finish off the meeting Mr Farmer commented
that agriculture was very close to his heart. After all his last name is Farmer and that is petani in
bahasa Indonesian. The audience thought it was very funny. So did I.
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Ir. Rachmat Rahman, MSc, researcher from the BPTP-South Sulawesi chatting with the Ambassador
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The offcial party then moved on to the ACIAR cattle
fattening project in Lemoa Hamlet, Pattalikang Village, Kecamatan Manuju, Kabupaten Gowa to see some of the
anticipated work of SADI in South Sulawesi and other provinces. The journey took about 45 minutes. We went
to the village of Pattalikang to meet with farmers and to look at the work being done with grass varieties.
Improving the quality of grasses eaten by cattle is very important to the growth and therefore the value of
those cattle. Mr Farmer took a great interest in the work being done and was keen to meet with local farmers
to talk about their situation. The village was very pretty and there were hundreds of people watching as the
SADI team explained their work to the Ambassador.
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Farmers chatting with Mr Farmer
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Next stop was International
Finance Corporation (IFC) integrated maize drying project in Kelurahan Kalaserena, Kecamatan Bontonompo,
Kabupaten Gowa. Jagung is a very popular product of South Sulawesi and this factory, with all of its workers,
were busy producing bag after bag of golden yellow corn. SADI will soon be assisting with the growth and development
of this industry. Next stop was for lunch at Limbung Mas Restaurant in Limbung, Gowa. It was great BUT the fish
was just about as pedas as it could be. Wow!
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Workers bagging the maize
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Jackie together with the owner of the maize
drying factory, Mrs. Abdul Malik Hamid
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In the afternoon the Ambassador's party returned to Makassar for the official opening of the SADI office.
Jackie Pomeroy, SADI's Team Leader, welcomed guests into the building where SADI will work from during the
next three years, and hopefully much longer than that. In fact it is expected that SADI will work for the
next ten years in four provinces including South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, NTT and NTB. That is fantastic
news for farmers and agriculture in general in Indonesia. Check in the June 2007 KGRE magazine for more information.
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In the evening Mr Farmer hosted a dinner at the Imperial Aryaduta Hotel to celebrate the official opening
of SADI. It was a cultural evening with cultural performances presented from the four provinces in which
SADI will be working
— South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, NTT and NTB. The dances were very entertaining and proved very
popular for all onlookers. It was no surprise that the Ambassador was invited to dance on stage. He added
his own style to the dance that he was invited to join and it was a memorable performance indeed. The Aryaduta
Hotel was terrific but it was the SADI team who decorated the hotel meeting room and in fact the whole evening
was very special for everyone concerned.
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The Ambassador with Jackie Pomeroy and other guests at the SADI Dinner
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On Friday April 13th, the Australian
Ambassador to Indonesia, Mr. Bill Farmer, led the way to Parangloe Village, Kecamatan Manuju, Kabupaten Gowa
to the Dedication Ceremony of just one of the new 2000 SMP schools in Indonesia. This field visit by the
Ambassador, AusAID and Indonesian government officials was a highlight for that excited community of parents
and students. The community really joined in with the excitement of their new junior secondary school, SMPN
2 Manuju, in Parangloe Village. The school is being built through the cooperation of the Australian and Indonesian
governments and AusAID's Basic
Education Program.
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There were hundreds of school children there to greet the Ambassador and his team from Jakarta. The school
is not yet finished but it is well on the way to being a terrific school for the students who live near this
school.
SMPN 2 Manuju, Parangloe Village, Kecamatan Manuju, Kabupaten Gowa
Other important speeches, in a mixture of English and Indonesian, were delivered by both Indonesian education
offcials from both Jakarta and South Sulawesi, plus Mr. Farmer representing the Australian government.
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One of the early highlights of the opening ceremony was the speech given, in English, by one of the SMP students
from the area. He spoke extremely well and was a real inspiration to everyone who listened to his speech.
He thanked the Australian and Indonesian governments for working together to build a new school for him and
his freinds. The Ambassador made a special point of thanking the students personally immediately after the
student finished his speech.
Two students who participated in the Dedication Ceremony. Andi Manuntungi, (left) presented the Opening Prayer
while the other student, Firmansyah, (right) spoke about his new school, and in excellent English.
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The school is being built to a very high standard as it is the local people of Parangloe who are responsible
for the construction. It is their school for their children and grand-children SO it has to be built strong.
Our new school — fantastic!
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Although the visit was quite a short one, the visiting officials were taken on a tour of the school buildings.
Many of the rooms are already identified
— teacher's room, canteen and library. It will be a great day when they are fully completed and students
are enjoying their lessons in their new buildings.
The Ambassador spoke with officials as he toured the new buildings at SMPN2 Manuju including Bupati Gowa,
Mr. H. Ichsan Yasin Limpo (second from left) and Pak Suyanto, Dirjen Manajemen Pendidikan Dasar dan Menengah
Depdiknas (fourth from the left).
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