The students take a longboat to get across the river to reach their school. JP/Indra Harsaputra

For the children of the far-flung village in Berau regency, East Kalimantan, the longboat driver and local farmer are the real unsung heroes in their pursuit of education.

If the driver missed a day of work, Julianti, 13, and dozens of other students of SMP 33 junior high school who live in kampung (village) Benabaru, Sambaliung district, would have to literally walk up and down hills for more than one hour to reach school.

“The dirt path to the school is slippery and no vehicles take the road in the morning. We also have to walk pass the forest… many wild monkeys are in there,” she said.

The village is located more than 20 kilometers from Tanjung Redeb town, the government center of Berau regency. Most of the villagers are fishermen with monthly income ranging between Rp 500,000 and Rp 1 million (US$110). About 174 families live in the village. It only has one elementary school, so the children have to travel far to pursue higher education.

To get to Tanjung Redeb, where the school is located, the villagers have to take the longboat to cross Kelay River, which flows to Sulawesi Sea, and continue the trip by public minibus, which carry only 15 passengers each.

There are only two public minibuses and they operate only twice a day; at 8 p.m. and late in the afternoon. If the villagers miss the minibus, they have to pay Rp 50,000 to get the longboat to take them to Tanjung Redeb pier.

The longboat is the school “car pool” provided for students for free by Berau Coal, the biggest mining company operating in East Kalimantan.

“We’re lucky that we can still go to school. We are grateful for the longboat service,” Julianti said.

Berau Coal also provides a car pool service for students in Tumbit Melayu, Tumbit Dayak, Long Lanuk and Meraang villages.

Ahmad Effendi is a farmer who modified his produce transportation vehicle into a school bus.

“It’s not that I get big pay; I take the responsibility to take the students to school. All of the trouble seems worth it when I see the children arrive at school safe and sound and happy,” Ahmad said.

Rahmawati, 17, a student of vocational high school SMK 2 in Tanjung Redeb, is forced to live separately from her family so that she can attend school. She currently lives in one of six dormitories built by Berau government and Berau Coal for students from far-flung regions in Kalimantan.

“It is too costly to get to and from from my home to school and it usually takes hours… Now I come home only every
three or six months,” she said, adding that she studies hard to be eligible for a university scholarship from Berau Coal as she dreams of taking agriculture as her major subject so she can develop her home village.

Berau has shown good achievements in education. While many regions suffered from low pass rates at the national exam last year, all of Berau’s 3,025 elementary students passed the exam, along with 99.15 percent of its 2,248 junior high school students, 95.91 percent of high school students and 91.95 of its vocational high school students.

On top of that, high school student Riana Pangestu Utami won first prize at the Asia Pacific Astronomy Olympiad (APAO) in Damyang, South Korea, in 2009, while Hairil Anwar received an Honorable Mention at the International Physics Olympiad in Thailand in 2010.

Head of the education agency in Berau, Rohaini, said the government was currently developing “education for all” programs down to the most remote areas. “We are building road access to the remote areas so the students can reach their schools easier,” he said.

When more roads have been built, and when there is more public transportation, and when more university graduates have been produced who can help develop Berau, then it may finally be time for the farmer’s truck and the longboat to be retired.

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