Justin in Indonesia

My story

My journey began when I chose the Internationalisation elective module in my final year. I had done it the year before as well, and that time I went to Georgia with my classmates to renovate a school. On the orientation day, various organisations came to explain the different trips they had on offer. One of those people was Roel, and he gave a presentation on behalf of The Power of Sports about all the projects they organise. The presentations about Argentina, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Mauritius, Saint Lucia and South Africa were all very clear, because those projects had been running smoothly for a while and everything was already fully arranged. Then I saw the heading Indonesia appear, and I was interested straight away.

At the time there was still very little information available about the trip to Indonesia, but that’s exactly what made it so appealing to me. A real leap into the unknown, where you didn’t know exactly what the trip would bring, but it was bound to be an amazing experience.

The first weekend in Indonesia was an introduction weekend, where the whole group (14 lads and girls) got to know each other and Indonesian culture. We went to the shopping centre, went out for dinner together and tried lots of snacks we’d never had before. There was an instant connection between the staff (Giza, Wanda, Ayu and Mas Yogi) and the volunteers. We were told what was expected of us that week and how everything worked at Wisma (the name for the house).

Every Monday to Friday we had the same timetable. At 07:00 we got into the taxi on our way to the schools. We had three different taxi drivers, all from Indonesia: Mr. Andi, Mr. Erwin and Mr. Gugus. Mr. Erwin and Mr. Gugus spoke good English, so I got to know them really well during the trip.

Once you arrive at the schools, you’re always greeted by children who want a high five. Sometimes the head teacher or other teachers come and have a look as well, because of course it’s quite exciting to have so many foreign people at your school. Whichever school you went to, you were always met by enthusiastic children who wanted nothing more than to do sport with the teachers from Daya Krida (the Indonesian name for The Power of Sports).

On Fridays and Saturdays we were completely free, but there were still plenty of fun things to do. Outings with the staff were definitely my favourite way to spend a Friday or Saturday. On Sundays we always went to a community (volunteers who organise activities for children and young people in the area) to run fun sport and games activities there.

All in all, I’d recommend everyone to go to Indonesia too! It’s an experience I learnt a lot from and one I’d love to live all over again.

Thank you, staff, freelancers and volunteers of Daya Krida. This was amazing.

What advice would you like to give future interns and volunteers?

Don’t be afraid to start a conversation with someone you don’t know yet, that’s exactly how the best memories are made.