127 / Pulau Baguk, Singkil, Aceh
Chosen as one of the best youth of Pulau Banyak, Singkil, Aceh Province, Desi Irdawati got her university scholarship in Bandung, West Java. She took the Elementary School Education as a major with huge vision that someday the children of Pulau Banyak will have the same level of competencies with the children of megapolitan cities in Indonesia.
Soon after she got her bachelor degree, she was eager to come back to her land to improve the education system. Her first mission is being a volunteer teacher in a public elementary school in Haloban, for whom she spent 6 hours a day in boat crossing the sea. It was a not a cheap transportation, she often had to lobby fishermen to give her a free seat in their boat.
Desi is now focus to educate the children of Pulau Baguk District. She is listed as a middle school teacher, and she also helps to run Zoo Liberec education programs for kindergarten to high school audience. On the weekend she also participates in weekly clean up altogether with other local volunteers.
“Doing clean up is good, but I found it silly if after doing clean up people drink water from a single-use cups and produce more waste, I want to change that,” she said. She was amazed with how much the water-filter provided by Zoo Liberec supports zero waste lifestyle. She hopes one day people in Pulau Banyak will adopt this lifestyle and stop the single-use plastic bottle drinking habit.
“The key is education,” she added. She hopes the Eco-Education Center she is initiating will bring a good impact to the current education system and trigger a significant change.