On April 25, 2019, the three winners of the 2019 National WORDS Storytelling and Storybook Competition accompanied by their three ETAs and three staff members from AMINEF participated in a service-learning trip to Ende, Flores, East Nusa Tenggara.

The theme for the 2019 WORDS competition was “Future of Indonesia”. The three winners of the competition had the best storybooks and storytelling performances that embodied this theme. The WORDS winners included Tiara Fitra Ramadhani (SMAN 1 Padang Sidempuan, North Sumatra), her book “Big Sharkie and Little Remor” was the grand-prize winner; Carina Hakim (SMA Don Bosco Padang, West Sumatra), created the book “Bella, The President” and took home the second prize; and Laksmi Anindita Kusnanto (SMAN 1 Temanggung, Central Java) who garnered third place with her book “Unexpected Journey”. They were accompanied by their ETAs Anna Misenti, Amanda Cahn, and Allison Cwikla, respectively.

The purpose of the service-learning trip was to engage in service by sharing talents and creativity with community members in Ende, Flores. In addition, to learn about local culture, explore the natural beauty and understand the history of Ende with various tour activities. AMINEF collaborated with Ferdinandus ‘Nando’ Watu, a Community College Initiative (CCI) Program alumnus. Nando is involved with ecotourism efforts in his hometown of Detusoko, Ende, East Nusa Tenggara.

Nando and his Remaja Mandiri Community (RMC) Detusoko team helped plan a jam-packed itinerary which included two separate workshops with Taman Bacaan Masyarakat Ende and SMAN Detusoko. This allowed the WORDS winners a chance to share their stories about the future of Indonesia. Additionally, the ETAs designed sessions centered on storytelling to encourage students to further envision their futures and the future of their community. In coordination with this outreach, AMINEF hosted two sessions about scholarship and fellowship opportunities for interested community members.

Outside of this service engagement, the WORDS winners and ETAs learned so much about Ende by touring around the city including a visit to Bung Karno Museum and viewing the picturesque Kelimutu Three Colors Lakes.

Furthermore, everyone was in for a surprise as there was a special welcome dinner hosted in Detusoko Village. This dinner included a Q&A session with community members, performances by the youth of the community and Lio traditional food buffet.

Another highlight was a delicious lunch hosted by Nando at his home. The ETAs all agreed that it was the best food they’ve had in Indonesia. After lunch, the students tried their hand making peanut butter from local products at the RMC Detusoko community kitchen.

When reflecting on the trip, Tiara shared that she “learned a lot about the local culture in Ende, and saw how different it is from Padangsidimpuan”. When reflecting on the service component, “I think it was an inspiration for the attending to students to see how our students who worked hard were able to come to share their hard work on the other side of their country – definitely a cool way to motivate students!” said Allison.

With such strong reflections, it seems that the students and their ETAs fulfilled the purpose of the 2019 AMINEF WORDS service-learning trip to Ende!