After an intense and highly successful environmental education program in the village of Dibalal, on the island of Kofiau in the south of Raja Ampat, the Kalabia pulled away from the dock to move on to the next village in the schedule. (To give you an idea of where on earth Dibalal is, here's a Google Earth map with placemark)
The kids from Dibalal had left a special bag of pinang on the boat as a gift for the education team... and once it was opened, something even more special was discovered in the bag...
The Kalabia (or, realistically, the Kalabia TEAM) had received a love letter from the kids of Dibalal.
(I've been wanting to post this for some time (as you can see by the date on the letter, it was back in late 2008), however I've only just found a scanned copy of the letter now.
In the letter the students thank the Kalabia team profusely, telling them how much they have learned, how much fun they have had, and how much they miss them already, and hope the Kalabia will soon return to their jetty. They say, "You, (naming the team members' names), our big brothers and sisters, don't forget us, as we will never forget you." They also included the lyrics to a local song (in the local language), and translated its meaning into Indonesian for the team; it is a song of longing for loved ones.
This is not unusual -- the Kalabia often arrives at a village jetty to great excitement and activity, being welcomed with traditional song and dance; team members are led into the village in a traditional ceremony of welcoming, and adorned with the traditional local token, sometimes a small wreath made of native vines, sometimes a stroke of sand on their face. Upon completion of the program, there is always a closing ceremony, and when it is time to weigh anchor, the entire village gathers on the jetty to say thank you and good-bye -- tears can be seen in many participants' eyes, and show the strong bond that has been formed with the education team during the program.
It is such an inspiring program -- I still get goosebumps when I think about what an incredible initiative it is and what a positive impact it must be having on marine conservation. The new team is just beginning the training and capacity building program - we've a longggg way to go, but I hope we'll be able to get these guys up to scratch so that before too long they'll also be receiving love letters!
You can see a few previous posts about the Kalabia by following the links at the right to the themes Kalabia and Environmental Educaiton, or at the following links (Most of you will know I tend not to write about this here, but I did want to share a few things):
- The Education Vessel
- The Namesake
- The Maiden Voyage
- The Program
- The Kalabia in Friwen Village
- The Team
- The Kalabia in Yenbeser Village
- Kalabia Refreshing
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