Yogyakarta, November 20th 2022—Students of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL) UGM, Buhari Ramadani, successfully elected as a delegation in the expedition of young steps held last May in Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi. The expedition of young steps itself is a community service program held by Indonesia’s young steps, a non-government organization (NGO) engaged in the field of community empowerment.
Ari, who is a student of the Department of Social Development and Welfare (PSdK), feels that he needs to implement the knowledge learned in college through social activities. “I feel the need for giving to the community,” Ari said in the Friday interview (11/18). This expedition is also not the first time he has followed the community service program. Various regions in Indonesia have previously visited to contribute to the community.
Before successfully passing as a delegation, Ari must first go through two stages of selection, namely file selection and interview. In the file selection, Ari confirmed to prepare a curriculum vitae (CV) that emphasizes the experience of social activities that have followed by him. Then, Ari also enriched insight and understanding of community empowerment to support the interview stage. “For example, an approach in community empowerment, how to create an impact and sustainable program, and also an understanding of the location of the program,” Ari explained.
The program implemented by Ari covers several sectors. In the education sector, the program carried out is to donate books, provide information about scholarships, to provide motivation and inspiration. In the tourism sector, Ari and his volunteer friends conducted a souvenir-making workshop and produced videos containing the documentation of natural beauty and the culture of Runduma Island—which became the location of the Expedition program—in order to be known by more people. The program also includes the health sector where socialization is carried out on Healthy Clean Lifestyle (PHBS) and conducts medical check-ups for free.
Through these activities, Ari felt he could continue to be a growing kind of person. He admitted that many things he could learn from the people there. “What I gave the people there was only a small part of what I got from the people there,” said Ari. Ari said that he would continue to carry out similar activities, especially because the faculty was also very supportive of the activities carried out by him.