By: Yohanes Tola          

Becoming one of the participants in the Local Exposure to Lampung program is a wonderful opportunity that I have experienced so far. I never thought that my meeting with the Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta team at the end of 2021 led to the best experience 'gift'. At that time, I met the Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta team as a 'new person' who did not know what Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta was, and at that time I was in charge as chairman of the Christian Student Association (PMK) of the Yogyakarta Institute of Technology.

Next, I attended Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta training on Water Security, including harvesting rainwater for drinking water, visiting Government Water Plant (PDAM) to understand the reality of water distribution problem in Yogyakarta Special Region, and joining the discussion with WALHI, an NGO concerning on the environment conservation, about water and its challenges. These various activities have transformed me into a figure that lives up to the motto of Live, Efficient, Independent, Analytical, and Perseverent.

I participated in the next activity, Local Exposure to Lampung, to share a public speaking training program and introduction of New and Renewable Energy (EBT). In Lampung, I discovered new things, met new people, presented material, adapted new environment, observed social sensitivity, and actualized campus knowledge in the community. I learned the world reality more clearly and found problems in society through the former people working for the society changing into a better condition.

My encounter with Rev. Theofilus Agus Rohadi, S.Th., the pastor at GKSBS Batanghari, East Lampung, also the Multiplicator of Stube HEMAT in Lampung taught me the meaning of sincerity, a response to God's grace for a better world and children. The interactions with children at Pondok Diakonia opened my eyes to the spirit of learning to overcome obstacles, such as economic limitations, the distance between home and school, and limited educational facilities, so staying at Pondok Diakonia was the right choice to continue their studies. Moreover, practicing public speaking skills will be an added value for them. I got another experience from a grandpa Ji, a member of the congregation at GKSBS Batanghari where I stayed for about fourteen days. With him, it was like experiencing 'college' and finding an imprinted meaning in 'Lecture of Life'. The meeting with “Yabima”, a church NGO concerning on farmer and village development, and the people working for this issue, gave a meaning to the idealism that must be owned in the current destruction of nature, especially in the agricultural world which has faced excessive modernization by leaving traditional values ​​of eco-friendly.

I am glad to meet some amazing people in my life. I believe there is always a reason for a meeting, whether it's about a time to reunite or a time to remember to keep those memories alive. Thank you, Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta for providing study space for me, I am proud to be a part of Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta as my 'life alarm', about an attitude and way of living as a student, which I will keep and share with my friends through my organizational and social activities.***