By Antonia Maria Oy.          

Being chosen as a participant in Local Exposure to Lampung province on Sumatra island is a precious blessing from God and a challenge for a student like me. It is my first time visiting an area that is new because I do not know the characteristics of its people. On the one hand, it is an honor to learn new things and add to the list of islands in Indonesia that I visited! However, on the other hand, this is a challenge for me because Lampung and its people have different cultures and customs from East Sumba in East Nusa Tenggara.

For two weeks in April, I did my best to share my knowledge and skills with young people, under 19 years old, at Pondok Diakonia GKSBS Batanghari, East Lampung. The characteristics of youth in one area are very different from other areas. Young people in my hometown do not have and are not used to using a smartphone, while almost all young people in Pondok Diakonia have a smartphone, even since elementary school. It affects their knowledge and insight about the 'world outside' because it is easy to find something 'trending' in cyberspace or learn new things they are interested in. In Lampung, I shared my public speaking skills, tips on hosting an event, techniques for recording and editing videos, and processing chocolate bars into various forms (emoticons, cartoon figures, miniature masks) for sale.

From the experiences, I found several things as reflections, first, the importance of educating the use of social media at an early age. From time to time, technological development runs rapidly along with the massive flow of information circulating, and hard to limit it. Along with the emergence of negative things circulating on social media timelines (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook) that affect their character, nature, and teenagers' attitude. Teenagers need to be able to filter spectacles and readings that are appropriate for their age, so they do not easily fall into negative things.

Second, I realize the importance of instilling basic skills among youth as a provision of life. I found that young people in the Lampung multiplication program are potential with a passion for self-development, such as being a writer, presenter, orator, and others. They can achieve it if they get a companion to develop their potencies. In my opinion, it must be continuously done because they need friends, coaches, companions, as well as teachers who can hone their abilities. Otherwise, if there is no attention to them, the potencies slowly wither away.

Third, sustainable basic health education is a necessity for young people. The findings of cases of sexual diseases and sexual behavior deviations that occurred in East Lampung were a sign of a lack of sexual education for children and adolescents. Sex education is no longer taboo and must be educatively informed so that teenagers understand what is dangerous and what should not do in their adolescence.

Last, empowering students in Lampung to contribute to their hometown, especially developing the capacity of young people, so that local people's human resources are improved and able to take advantage of local products.

Thank you to Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta for being a place to develop students' knowledge and skills. Hopefully, in the future, more students will have the opportunity to gain experience and to have self-empowering to benefit the community. ***