Djenny Kogoya Bala, Serving Inland Villagers in Papua

KOMPAS/FABIO M LOPES COSTA

Djenny Kogoya Bala

Djenny Kogoya Bala, a North Sulawesi woman, has devoted her life to providing health and education services for hundreds of Papuan people who live in the remote area of Kustra district in Mamberamo Raya regency, responding to a call she heard three years ago.

Djenny is a volunteer who has served the villagers of Kampung Biri in Mamberamo Raya’s Kustra district since February 2016. At her own expense, she set up the Behika early childhood education school (PAUD) in the village, which is home to about 150 families. Behika means love in the Biri dialect.

When Kompas met her on Saturday afternoon (7/6/2019) at her home on Jl. Matoa in Sentani Kota district, Jayapura regency, Djenny was packing T-shirts and medicines into two boxes with the assistance of fellow volunteer Rolasida Sihombing.

She plans to deliver the boxes to Kampung Biri on 25 July 2019 on a small plane operated by Yajasi airline. It takes about 90 minutes for the Yajasi flight to fly to Biri from Sentani.

Djenny also receives frequent cash donations to buy teaching materials and to cover her transportation costs, and she also receives vitamins and medicines donated by churches and private individuals who care about the people of Kampung Biri.

She stays in Biri at a wooden house that belongs to a missionary who was sent to serve the village.

Djenny returns to Sentani just twice a year, in June and in December for Christmas, spending about a month each time. She stays in Biri at a wooden house that belongs to a missionary who was sent to serve the village.

While she is in Sentani, Djenny takes a break while she collects learning materials for students and food supplies like biscuits, as well as vitamins and medicines for the Biri villagers.

"Before I come back to Sentani, the people [of Biri] usually ask me to return [to the village] as soon as my leave is over. They always look forward to welcoming me back," said the 55-year-old.

In Biri, Djenny teaches 60 students from Monday to Friday at the PAUD Behika that has been established at her house. The students come from Biri as well as Wakiari village.

The 20 Wakiari children walk two hours to get to Biri village to attend their classes with Djenny. In addition to PAUD Behika, Djenny also teaches reading and arithmetic to 45 Biri elementary school students from Monday to Friday at her house.

In 2018, she started teaching 20 Biri women how to read, from Monday to Wednesday. "The children and women are very keen about studying at my house. Their enthusiasm motivates me to stay in Biri," said Djenny.

Pilot’s story

Djenny set up her volunteer school in Biri after she heard a story from her best friend, Nate Gordon, an American pilot who has worked in Papua for 20 years. Gordon is a former pilot of Yajasi airline who often flew to Mamberamo Raya.

Gordon, who returned to the United States last year, discovered that many inland villagers lacked health and education services, including the people of Biri.

In 2015, Djenny attended a religious service at Gordon\'s house in Sentani. It was there that she heard Gordon speak about the people of the remote villages in Mamberamo Raya. "With tears in his eyes, Nate described the conditions of the people living in poverty, without access to education and health services," recalled Djenny.

Gordon spoke to Djenny about what he had seen, because he knew she had been active in community service for the last decade with the Indonesian Evangelical Church of Mamberamo Raya. Djenny had lived and worked as a teacher in Kampung Taive, Mamberamo Hulu district, from 1993 to 1996.

God wants me to devote myself to the people in the remote areas of Mamberamo Raya

Djenny did not immediately decide to head to Biri upon hearing Gordon’s story: She was still teaching English and Ethics at the Sentani evangelical high school (STAKIN), where she had worked since 2001.

“A year later, I became convinced and finally decided to go to Biri,” she said. So Djenny quit her teaching job at STAKIN. "God wants me to devote myself to the people in the remote areas of Mamberamo Raya," said Djenny, whose husband Moury Kogoya died in 2014.

Many challenges

The first time she traveled to Biri in 2016, Djenny discovered a number of surprising differences from major cities in Papua, such as Jayapura. Biri had no public health services or regular schooling. The village had only two residents who served as mantri (orderlies), but they had limited medical knowledge. Biri’s elementary school only had a non-permanent teacher who was also from the village.

Many children dropped out of school and did not speak Indonesian; they also did not know the alphabet or numbers. The people of Biri joyfully welcomed Djenny\'s arrival. She was like a savior who had arrived in the midst of their hardships.

Djenny does not only provide schooling for the children and women, and she also treats the ill. She picked up the skills in 1993, while completing a short course for medical assistants in Kampung Taive.

In addition to minimal schooling and health care, Biri also has the challenge of limited access. There are no regular flights to Biri, and chartering a small plane from the Mamberamo Raya capital of Kasonaweja or from Sentani costs at least Rp 10 million (US$700).

Djenny regularly owed the airline tens of millions of rupiah. She once had to take a two-day boat journey from Biri to Kasonaweja that involved crossing the strong currents of the Mamberamo River.

She often travels by boat to provide religious services to seven other villages around Biri. Many people have been killed when their boats sank in the Mamberamo. The river also has many crocodiles.

"Whenever I cross the Mamberamo River to provide religious services to the people of other villages, I always pray and surrender myself to God," said Djenny.

Djenny is not as busy today as she was before, thanks to Rolasida Sihombing and Riyaty Daily, who arrived in March 2019 to help with her volunteer work. They were motivated to volunteer with Djenny in Biri after they watched a video of Djenny\'s work online.

"As long as God gives me breath, I will stay with the people of Biri," said Djenny.

KOMPAS/FABIO M LOPES COSTA

Djenny Kogoya Bala (left) and a volunteer prepare books and medicines for donating in Biri village, Mamberamo Raya regency, Papua.

Djenny Kogoya BalaBorn: 10 June 1964, South Minahasa, North Sulawesi

Husband: Rev. Moury Kogoya (dec.)

Education:

- Master’s candidate, Baptist Theological College, Semarang

- English studies, Teacher Training and Education Institute (IKIP), Manado

- SMAN Amurang senior high school, South Minahasa

- SMPN Tenga junior high school, South Minahasa

- SD GMIN Tawaang elementary school, Tenga, South Minahasa