It all started with pictures posted on Facebook about the condition of one of Anugrah Pressindo Foundation’s centers in the rural area of Central Sulawesi, in Uetuwu Sub-village to be exact, which is located in Salubiro Village, Bungku Utara District, and Northern Morowali Region, Central Sulawesi Province. Located there, Pondok Kasih Anugrah, where Anugrah Foundation mentors the children of the Wana tribe. These children have to study in the dark; a candle or a torchlight would be the only source of light they have in the early dawn, or at night. Having seen the pictures, a donator was moved to facilitate light to more than 30 children in the Pondok Kasih Anugrah, by donating Solar Panels. Prior to this, there was an electrical generator available, but due to the high cost of fuel needed to get it running, electricity was only turned on twice a week, from 6pm to 10pm. After much preparation, and after quite some time, Anugrah Team was finally ready to head to Uetuwu.
Sunday, October 30, 2016: The Anugrah team consisted of five people, and from the city of Jakarta, we travelled to Luwuk through the Soekarno Hatta airport, and transit in the Sultan Hasanuddin Makassar airport. We named this project, “Let There be Light in Uetuwu”. At around 10am, the team arrived in the Luwuk Airport. After lunch in the city of Luwuk, the team embarked on a five-hour car journey to Baturube (Capital of North Bungku district). Thank God, after a long journey, we finally arrived in the city of Baturube and spent the night there to prepare for the next day.
Monday, October 31, 2016: At around 10am, Anugrah Team headed to Uetuwu Sub-Village by means of motorcycle taxis. There were 10 motorcycles ready to take the team along with all the supplies, and solar panels. Amongst the team, three people were going to Uetuwu for the very first time. The terrain on the way to Uetuwu is very bad, especially if it rains, but nothing can diminish the enthusiasm of our team to complete the mission. Thank God, it was not raining and the roads were dry, so the journey was not very difficult. Because of the narrow and steep roads up and down the mountains, we needed to get down the motorcycles a number of times, and there were so many bridgeless rivers as well, but we never lost the joy in our hearts. Laughter and happiness filled our entire journey. After about 5 hours of travel, our team arrived in the village of Salubiro and unexpectedly it started to rain very hard, and that made the rest of the journey to Uetuwu even more difficult. We took shelter for a while, before heading towards our destination again. The downpour made the journey to Uetuwu to be very slippery, and very muddy. There were many obstacles that we had to overcome, and our team strived in the midst of the impossible terrain. After more than 3 hours, we finally arrived in Uetuwu. The children were already waiting in front of Pondok Kasih Anugrah, welcoming our arrival. They welcomed us with so much enthusiasm in the dark of the night, because tonight was not in the schedule to turn on the electrical generator. Not long after, however, one of the caretakers of Pondok Kasih Anugrah had the initiative to turn the electrical generator on, and the darkness subsided. The light did not last very long though, as the fuel was very thinly rationed, so it had to be turned off. After making sure all the supplies were intact, our team had dinner, and finally rested for the night.
Tuesday, November 1, 2016: Waking up in the morning, we had the chance to breath in fresh air from the mountainous area of Uetuwu. The air was cool; we enjoyed the beauty of Uetuwu, with all the clouds, and the morning sun slowly rising from the East. Our view from the window makes it seem as if we were in a dreamland above the clouds. It was mezmerizing! Today, we would be installing solar panels. Our team started to prepare every single part needed for the installation, making sure none got damaged from the journey to Uetuwu. Whilst checking all the parts, the other team members and the staff of Pondok Kasih Anugrah set up the framework of the panels. We worked for the whole day, and as the day ended, we wrapped our work and rested so we could finish the installation on the next day.
Wednesday, November 2, 2016: Our team resumed to work. One by one, the solar panels were installed on the framework we put together the day before. Unexpectedly though, it became cloudy, and it started raining very heavily until afternoon, making us have no choice but to stop working first. After the rain stopped, our team continued working until 11pm to catch up on the work as we were running behind in schedule. Time just seemed to fly when we did our work with joy. We were so happy to bless those who were really in need of the electricity that we were about to provide.
Thursday, November 3, 2016: Early in the morning, our team continued to work, for we had to return to Jakarta on the very same day. We were missing 4 panels and they were still on the way, being delivered to the site. We did not know if we would be able to complete the whole project on that day, but we learned to surrender to God, and the four panels arrived just in time! We were overwhelmed with joy, as there was not a single cloud in the sky. Exactly on 1pm, all 28 solar panels were installed, and starting from that day, Pondok Kasih Anugrah has been having 24-hour electricity available to them. How wonderful it is! Let there be light in Uetuwu, and there was light!
After making sure everything was completed, operating well, and as planned, Anugrah Team left Uetuwu to return back to Jakarta. We rode on the motorcycle taxis again, and went through the tough journey, but for our team, this was no hardship anymore. We were satisfied and fulfilled as we had done our job, and we had done it well. Mission accomplished! We started our journey from Uetuwu at 3pm with the motorcycles and arrived at the city of Baturube at 8pm. An hour after that, our team left Baturube to head for the city of Luwuk, as we had a plane to catch to fly back to Jakarta the next day through Bandara Syukuran Aminuddin Amir Luwuk.
Friday, November 4, 2016: At 4am, the car finally arrived at the city of Luwuk after a journey of 7 hours. Waiting for our boarding time, we had the chance to sleep and rest for a while. At 7am we headed for the airport of Luwuk. At 8:45am, the plane which boarded our Anugrah Team left the airport of Luwuk, and transited in Makassar. We arrived in Jakarta at around 12:15pm. Praise the Lord, we finally reached Jakarta, with safety and joy, and hopefully everything we had done in Uetuwu will bless all the children in Pondok Kasih Anugrah. We also pray that this will aid to help create a better and brighter future for them, for the sake of building this nation of Indonesia.
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