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assive enthusiasm was exuding from the faces of children from Madrasah Tsanawiyah (MTs) in Biduk-Biduk regency, Berau, East Kalimantan, when we officially handed free bicycles to them on May 7 during the “Bicycles Procurement for Children below Poverty line in Biduk-Biduk, East Kalimantan” event.

Attended by the students, teachers, school’s committee, and government officials from Biduk-Biduk regency, the event was held on behalf of the Alumni of Young Leaders for Indonesia (YLI) program.

There is no doubt those children deserve the bicycles, living in remote Biduk-Biduk, which is a village included in the Society Empowerment National Program (PNPM) because of a poor economy.

Indeed, there will be no significant future changes without a proper and good education. Here we are always talking about the notion that youths are the engine of change — the ones that can create big leaps in society. Yet many youths at Biduk-Biduk don’t attend school, and it is not because they don’t want to, but simply because they cannot afford the transportation expenses.

If students at Biduk-Biduk want to go to school, they have to walk approximately 11 kilometers to reach it. The only existing public transport in this area is a pick-up truck, which could carry a maximum of 40 people, with a round trip costing Rp 4,000.

Since bicycles are the most suitable vehicle for Biduk-Biduk geographic and demographic conditions, we came up with the idea of distributing bicycles to students in Biduk-Biduk that can increase the Participation Index (APM) of education in this area. On May 7, the YLI Alumni Community officially distributed 15 bicycles to MTs DDI Biduk-Biduk, and I was enormously surprised how the bicycles could render wide smiles on the faces of students, teachers, school committee members and government representatives who attended the event.

Indonesia is in the mid of a generational transition. There is a shortage of leaders in our country, particularly with a 21st century mindset. Therefore, there are some professional development programs that aim to enhance personal leadership skills of youths and improve their ability to lead change within the greater community such as YLI, an intensive leadership development program initiated by the McKinsey and Company Jakarta office for high performing university students in Indonesia that wish to contribute their deeds to Indonesian society.

YLI Alumni Community works independently from YLI. It is founded on the basis of YLI alumni’s willingness to continue the fulfillment of the aspiration to unleash Indonesia in any positive way after they graduate from the program. We aim to empower and enable young people to take action and also connect the alumni with a multidisciplinary approach, knowledge, tools, advice and a network of like-minded young leaders and create an immediate difference by applying new skills and creativity to solve Indonesia’s biggest challenges. Furthermore, YLI Alumni seek opportunities to gain a better understanding of today’s issues, to develop their skills, and most importantly, to get involved.

Hopefully, this local action project can encourage and inspire other youths to be the agents of change and to do even more and better for our beloved country.

Even though they are just bicycles, the importance of them is perfectly portrayed by the response from Pak Agil, the vice headmaster of MTs Biduk-Biduk:

“Thank you so much for everything,” he said. “May God always bless the good deeds of YLI’s fellows in helping our school, which is located far away in the north of Indonesia.”

The writer is the president of McKinsey’s Young Leaders for the Indonesia Alumni Community