Consultation Meeting: Initiatives of Change (IofC) Indonesia
On 3-4 November 2018, the IofC Indonesia team held a Consultation Meeting at Jagat Arsy Boarding School Tangerang. Jagat Arsy, one of IofC Indonesia’s partnerships, is an Islamic World Civilization boarding school located in Tangerang. Fakhrul Rozi, one of the teachers, also a participant of the Asia Pacific Youth Conference (APYC) in 2016, gladly welcomed us at Jagat Arsy Boarding School.
We started our day by having morning reflection and the inputs were: What brings you to attend the Consultation Meeting and How can you contribute in this meeting. Nashaat Jihad, our friend from Iraq shared, “I came here to reconnect with my friends after attending the Life Matters Course (LMC) in 2017. I am glad to be here, where I am given a space to share during the IofC talk session.” Nenden, the program coordinator of IofC said “IofC brings enlightenment to my life and to others and it’s a calling for me to be here.” There is a saying, I have the calling and the calling has me. Ardiyamsi Sarmoko said, “I came here because of 3 Cs: confidence, connection, and content. I feel confident meeting the IofC family and I feel at home when I’m gathering with them, staying connected with friends, and getting insights from the content of the sessions. I also want to bring happiness to people here.” Some participants said that attending this gathering brings positive energy, refreshes positive vibes with positive people, getting inspiration from the speaker’s experiences, and knowing the updates from the IofC circle.
The next session was IofC Talk in which we invited some speakers to share their life journey within IofC. Irna Yugaswatie, the president of IofC Indonesia, delivered her welcoming remarks and appreciating all speakers who spent times with us here, and also welcoming all participants. Today’s theme was “Change starts with me from personal to global.” Dhuha Hadiyansyah, a lecturer, shared that through Sekolah Rekonsiliasi (SR), an IofC program, I learned how to deal with self-development, relationship, family, and parenting. “I was inspired to write a book entitled, Falsafah Keluarga telling about family and relationship issues. Rohmatulloh Amirodtudin, who was a participant of APYC in 2017, shared about her personal change stories. “Being part of IofC by participating with APYC was a great moment for me where I learnt to listen to others. It’s so challenging because I have to listen to people I’m not used to. When joining the Quiet Time session, we were encouraged to listen to our inner voice. It reminded me of a quote saying, “Since God gave man two ears and one mouth, he might as well listen twice as much he speaks.”
Khilda Baiti Rohmah, the founder of Sampahkoe Community, who has facilitated workshops in IofC programs, shared about her life journey. Sampahkoe Community is an environmental community focused on encouraging waste reduction. “I felt grateful to attend the Youth Camp held by IofC Indonesia in 2011. Through IofC, I learnt to reflect upon my journey in life. Khilda commits to help needy people and engages more people to take action in waste management. “I am still in the learning process, and I have much still to learn. I used to think if I hid my wounds I’d feel better but now I realize that being more open make me live happier and become free.” Najah Raniyah, shared about how IofC impacts her life. “What I learn within IofC is awareness; being aware of myself, the person next to me, and people around me; deep conversation; and learning to be honest and pure. I am thankful for the life process and IofC impacts my life on how I am learning to heal my past.”
Nashaat Jihad, the co-founder and teacher at Hope Learning Center Refugee School, shared how IofC has influenced his life and society and how he deals with the reality of his current status as a refugee in Indonesia. “IofC helps me to develop my friendship and relationship in my community, learn to listen to people and understand them better, keeping an open mind, gaining conflict resolution skills, and learning to make better decisions. I want to bring hope to other people by providing a place where they can learn practical and academic skills. I believe in diversity and learning to help other people without expectation.”
Neas Wanimbo, from Papua, talked about how he understands more about himself. He shared about his relationship with his brother. When he stayed far away from his family, his father became sick and nobody told him. Even after his father passed away, his brother didn’t tell him and he started to blame him. “I used to hate my brother but through my reflection, I realized that I’d been doing wrong. I then wrote a letter to my brother and asked for an apology.” My hope for Papua is developing a library for Hano Wene which I established with my friends. Neas said, “I learn to be the person I want to be and not who others want me to be and to build strong relationships with my family. I also love to make friends from different cultures, languages and countries.”
In the afternoon, the executive members presented the Biannual Report. We shared about the programs and reflected on what happened within these two years. We thanked all friends and donors who support and work together with us.
On the second day, the morning reflection started with, What is my next step after this Consultation Meeting and How do you see your relationship to create inner peace? We were divided into groups and shared our thoughts with other participants.
Dr. Agus Mulyana, the advisor of IofC Indonesia delivered his message on how we learn to respect and appreciate people. “When I come to IofC programs, I feel delighted that I believe we gather here to create peace and harmony.” The core values in IofC could be a guide for us in our life, how we live our lives in sincerity and purity. Afterwards, on behalf of Jagat Arsy Boarding School, Tata, delivered his appreciation to IofC Indonesia and looks forward to having further collaboration with IofC Indonesia.
Wendi Wijarwadi led a session on Open Dialogue for the Future of IofC Indonesia. We were divided into groups based on the years we have known IofC. We were asked to overview the journey of IofC and partnerships. “Networking is one of the most important assets for our life.” After this session, a book in memoriam of Ahmad Fikrie Arief, our friend who just passed away last month, was launched. We felt the loss of Arief, that Ulya Arifah, Arief’s wife and her father expressed their gratitude for the care and support from IofC team.
At the end of the session, we had an appreciation session, where we expressed what the biggest learning in this meeting was and to show our appreciation one to another. Nashat expressed his gratitude to be invited as a speaker and gladly met and reconnected with IofC friends. A touching message from Ulya’s father shared that he just got to know IofC Indonesia and how he could feel how his son in law lived his life within IofC. Another participant said, ‘Being here could recharge my energy, I get many friends to share, and to get inspiration from one another. Thank you for the friendship and togetherness.” We finally ended the meeting with gratefulness and joy. Some thoughts and ideas came up to take real actions in order to create a better world, starting with individual commitment.
Reported by Yofrina Octika Gultom