Thirty six students of Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) associated in Generasi Indonesia Mengabdi (GENESIA) has officially commenced a community service (KKN) in Sajang, Sembalun, Lombok Timur (Lotim) on Thursday (20/7). Regent of Lotim Dr. H. Muhammad Ali bin Dahlan, S.H., MBA wound a scarf around the neck of Chief of the GENESA team Rahmat Ghifar Djulihardy, an International Relations student of batch 2014, as a symbol of the KKN.

On his speech, Regent of Lotim stated that it is an appropriate decision to have a community service in Lombok Timur since residents in Lombok Timur are the greatest among areas in Nusa Tenggara Barat. “I am delighted that students of UMY come to the east area of Indonesia to contribute to this nation,” he expressed.

He also appreciated that the GENESIA team dares to perform the community service independently. “I think that all students should conduct an independent community service. It is really great because the students will feel a different atmosphere from each area. They will be familiar with differences. Indeed, the community service will raise their pride of diversity in Indonesia,” told Regent of Lotim.

Ali Bin Dahlan also advised students to not only serve the community but also learn and become more critical of social phenomena. “Kuliah Kerja Nyata (a community service) can be broken down into ‘Kuliah’ and ‘Kerja Nyata’. ‘Kuliah’ means studying, while ‘Kerja Nyata’ refers to action research that we do in a community. Thus, you may learn the community immediately,” he said.

I wished that the students could assist government of Lombok Timur. Indeed, he expected that the community service programs is to not only help the people paint a gate and build a school but also become more critical what happens in the community. “Two months are not enough to make this village developed. The crux is that you can feel and find out basic problems faced by the community, and you can tell us,” he maintained.

Meanwhile, Rahmat Ghifar Djulihardy informed that the GENESIA team comprises of students from various departments. “The team has several programs arranged based on previous observation. The main programs focus on developing fields of tourism and education, while the additional programs concern with fields of agriculture, creative economy, and health,” he mentioned.

Rahmat also stated that this is the second time that UMY’s students have a community service in Sembalun. The area is considered as a 3T (the frontier, outermost, and remote) region. “UMY’s students performed a community service in Sembalun Bumbung. This year the GENESIA team conducts the community service in Sembalun Sajang since no students did a community service in the region,” he told.