Vision of Change Towards Being 'Mandiri'

Hold the vision, 
Trust the process

With Every Difficulty Comes Relief

FROM 1994 TO 1996, I made bimonthly 12-hour road trips from Medan city to the rural mountain town of Blangkejeren in Aceh, Indonesia. Due to its cool, alpine-like 1200 metres high elevation, it earned the name "Mont Blang" as a pun on Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps.

The two who usually travelled with me were Hamzah Mutalib, Managing Director of Global Impact Singapore, then in his early forties; and Idris Darga, Chairman of a rural development NGO in his mid-thirties, whose hometown was our destination. 

We would pass through the jungles of Gunung Leuser National Park where we often encountered checkpoints manned by government soldiers looking out for GAM insurgents. Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM) or the Free Aceh Movement was a separatist movement that fought against Indonesian government forces in the Aceh Insurgency from the mid-1970s to 2005 when it surrendered following a peace agreement.

Taking breaks along the journey and enjoying the beautiful sceneries.

The drive would take us along meandering and partly unpaved mountainous roads. Our vehicle was a small 4-wheel drive and my designated space as a rookie was on the side-facing foldable seat at the back. Most of the time I would just sit on the vehicle's floor in between the luggage and boxes to avoid getting dizzy. Fortunately nowadays, the same road trip would take less than nine hours and only one hour by air from Medan after the opening of a small airport in 2018.

No wonder my predecessor lasted not more than a couple of trips before throwing in the towel. For me, I just accepted it as part of my baptism of fire and a test on whether the work was really my passion. “So surely, with every difficulty, there is relief. Surely, with that difficulty, there is relief” (Al-Inshirah 95:4-5) was one of the reminders that kept me going. 

Patiambang Airport in Blangkejeren was opened in 2018 for small propeller planes.

The Mission

Our mission was to assist a rural NGO called SP3 Mandiri or Sarjana Penggerak Pembangunan Pedesaan Mandiri (Association of Professionals for Independent Rural Development) with their social and economic programs. The word 'Mandiri' also means empowered or self-reliant, which aptly characterized the NGO as it did not want to be reliant on donations alone but instead run businesses that provided sustainable income. The social enterprise was able to generate income from agriculture and trading that supported the education and social programs 

In less than a year, we completed the construction of a few buildings for a boarding school (pesantren modern) and started a citronella (serai wangi) plantation equipped with a steam distillation plant. Parcels of land, mostly unproductive for decades, were leased from the villagers for a 10-year period to grow the lalang-like plants that produce citronella oil which is widely used as natural insect repellent and fragrances.

The school complex today (circled red) and the citronella plantation in the northeast and west. Source: Google Map.

Founders of SP3 Mandiri (from left): Sudirman Darga, Chairul Abdi, Idris Darga and Tahmin Ja'far. Source 

Posing amidst the citronella plants, which to the uninitiated looked like the common lalang 

The citronella oil distillation plant under construction at the edge of the plantation

Local farmers usually did not have the capital, market access, or expertise to process the raw materials and usually sold them to middlemen at very low prices. Therefore, owning our own steam distiller that was used to process the raw material was a big advantage. Also, as our company had a branch in Italy, we could export the product directly to Europe and also the Middle East.  Furthermore, as the citronella oil was very concentrated, transportation was easy and cheap. These advantages resulted in better returns on investment and more profits for the NGO's programs. 

Social entrepreneurship was not a well-known concept at that time and I would argue that we were amongst its pioneers in the form of 'creating wealth by non-profit organisations'

Our company itself was a form of social enterprise as well. We made profits from the management consultancy and trading business, and then offered consultancy and training programs to non-profits and NGOs at affordable rates.  Hamzah once quipped that social enterprise should be called "enterprise social" for the simple reason that an enterprise has to make money first before it can help society. 

With Mr Salem Dwella, Director of Global Impact Italy, at a training seminar that we conducted in Leicester, England.

Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) was a guest speaker at the seminar. We later invited him to Singapore to give public talks.

As our company was small, I had the chance to do almost everything which was mostly learned on the job. I was fortunate to be mentored by Hamzah and felt that I have learned more applicable knowledge during the two years in the company than while in the university. I'm also blessed that up until today I'm still working with him on several social initiatives.

To overcome the lack of resources and save costs, we organised volunteer service trips and eco-tours to Indonesia for groups and professionals including architects, teachers, social workers and engineers who provided pro bono advice and help in their areas of expertise instead of depending on professional consultants.

Hands-on

Project visit in another part of Aceh 

In England with Hamzah Mutalib (top) and the late Idris Darga (bottom).

As social entrepreneurship was still an unknown concept, my family was still wondering why I did not take up 'normal' jobs. One way to get them to understand my work was to have them join me on a tour in Aceh! I had to assure my wife and parents that even though the road trip was going to be long and bumpy, they would eventually find it worth their time and trouble once they experienced the breathtaking scenes and cool mountain air along the way and at the destination. It also helped when they were told that the "tour package" included shopping and sightseeing in the cities of Medan and Padang! 

Clouds and morning mist on "Mont Blang" as taken by my auto-focus film camera

'Mont Blang' as seen today on Google Map.

The Vision

Other than infrastructure and business development, we also focused on capacity building and training to ensure the continuity and sustainability of the programs. We conducted workshops for the local leaders and teachers as well as brought their leaders overseas as part of the learning journey and visioning exercise. It is always more impactful when leaders get to travel overseas as it gives them a vision of change for their communities.

By the time I left the company 2 years later, the NGO had completed 3 school buildings as well as operated 100 hectares of citronella plantation and an essential oil export business. The income from the economic activities enabled the boarding school and the NGO to operate and grow for many years. It now has at least 20 buildings and reportedly produced many leaders and alumni who have set up their own schools and become regency and provincial leaders.

More details on the school's background and development from 1994 to 2017 can be found on Wikipedia based on a research paper dated 2019.

The original gateway of the school that led to the first few buildings that were constructed. Source

 

The current gateway of the school complex. Source: Ministry of Education and Culture

Official Opening of the school on 17 October 1994 and a formal event that we attended. Source 

Recent pictures of the school and activities. Source: Facebook

The Challenges

From the very beginning, we were very aware of the need to empower the local leaders by instilling a sense of ownership of the development work. The long-term sustainability and development of the underserved communities depend not just on us providing immediate help but on ensuring that they do not become dependent beneficiaries but active partners. Their participation at both the strategic and implementation levels, as well as the sharing of risks and rewards, would ensure that we did not need to hold their hands forever.

As it is challenging to change culture and norms, we tried to change mindsets, habits and behaviours instead. The first step was to identify the triggers and rewards in the process of change.  

For instance, smoking cigarettes was very common there as they were very cheap. It was also normal to see people smoke everywhere including in mosques. Not only that it is an unhealthy habit and considered prohibited by some religious opinions, but it also affects the cleanliness of the mosque. So, we implemented a no-smoking rule (the trigger) in the mosques and compliance with the rule was made one of the conditions for receiving future assistance or funding (the reward). 

Damanhuri Abas, a friend and a trained architect, beside a campaign notice that we implemented at a mosque

We were also aware that such change would not be sustained for a long period unless there is a change in beliefs and attitudes, which would take time through education and role modeling. We, therefore, kept on emphasising to the leaders that they had no choice but to be exemplary in their behaviour if they wanted to see any change in their community.

We also ensured that there was proper governance and effective management by training and coaching the leaders. One of the greatest organisational challenges was practices of cronyism and nepotism. Even though we acknowledged that the patronage system and practices are usually institutionalised in less developed communities, they still need to be managed and mitigated such that they do not affect the general efficiency and governance of the entities that were set up to serve the community.

I strongly recommend that social entrepreneurs and development workers read the book Good Intentions Are Not Enough - Why We Fail at Helping Others to understand how when help is offered without a thorough understanding of the context or the impact of actions, it can create situations that leave the beneficiaries worse off than before. The book also elaborates on essential principles that I broadly adopt — Never Help: Engage, Enable, Empower and Connect. 

  

 Presenting certificates to the participants after a training course.  Source

The Current State

The school's data including the no. of students, facilities, students' performance and teachers' qualifications can be found on the Ministry of Education and Culture website:

Junior High School (SMP):   Reference     Report 

Senior High School (SMA):   Reference     Report 

Although the Ministry had certified that the school's infrastructure and facilities are fit for use, they are generally assessed to be in a 'slightly dilapidated' state.

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Pictures of the school in the 2021/2022 report.

Pictures of the school compound. Google Map

The Future 

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

- Nelson Mandela

I recently learned that the ownership of the school had been transferred to a different Foundation established by the current chairman and one of the founding members. He took over the leadership from the founding chairman's brother who had passed away.

As shown on the banner below, the school was still enrolling students for the current academic year. I really look forward to visiting the school to meet the various stakeholders to learn more about the school's development and progress.

A banner for the registration of new students in the new academic year of 2022/23. Source: Facebook

It is worthwhile to note that for nearly thirty years, the NGO and the school have contributed not only to the community's social but also her economic development. Extremely remote and unknown then, it has gone through rapid development such that in 2002 it was made the Regency (Kabupaten) capital of  Gayo Lues. 

From being a remote town, it's now just an hour away by air from Medan, the fifth-largest city in Indonesia and the largest in Sumatra. I hope that our part as Singaporeans in bringing the expertise, resources and funding, was a catalyst that empowered the young people in the community to achieve their vision of being more self-reliant or "Mandiri". 

It is serendipitous that after a 15-year break, I decided to relaunch this unorthodox career 5 years ago. By now, I had already carried out education development projects in many other parts of Indonesia and other countries including Cambodia, China, Fiji, Maldives, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. I hope that the experience, resources and network that I have accumulated, will benefit more underserved communities.

Who wants to join me on this adventure?

Education Success is empty if you arrive at the finish line alone.
- Howard Schultz