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Foreign lecturers visit East Java communities to answer grassroots problems
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Ali Hayes, a lecturer in political science at Murdoch University in Australia (third right), interacts with people in Ngeteh hamlet, Ngepung village in Probolinggo, East Java on Nov. 30, 2019. (JP/Wahyoe Boediwardhana)
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li Hayes has been working as a lecturer in political science at Murdoch University in Australia for the past six years. But despite his academic knowledge, he said he was nervous when facing various questions from local people in a recent program organized by the World University Association for Community Development (WUACD).
The community development program, which followed a proposal by Surabaya-based Airlangga University, brought 20 foreign lecturers to visit East Java late last month to communicate directly with the local communities and help find solutions to improve their lives.
“My heart is pounding. I have never done something like this before. This is a first time experience. I have never interacted directly with the people at the grassroots level. Especially in Indonesia, the culture of the people is different,” Hayes said after he talked with local people in Ngepung village in Probolinggo.
In the dialogue, many women -- mostly mothers who are active in the integrated health post (Posyandu) in Ngeteh hamlet in Ngepung -- asked him about how to improve their lives. They also asked about how their children could become lecturers and how to work abroad -- some honest questions Hayes said he had no academic answer to.
"Give your children the opportunity to look for experiences outside the region. Not just around here. This is not specifically taught in college. I answer based on my family experience," Hayes said.
Hayes was among the 20 foreign lecturers who visited various communities in the province, including high school students in Sidoarjo, people living in Probolinggo and at the foot of Mount Bromo, in a three-day WUACD program last month. The scholars came from 14 universities in nine different countries, including Australia.
Another participant, Sherlyn Mae F. Hernandez, who is a lecturer in political science at De La Salle University in the Philippines, was also nervous about giving the right answers to the questions raised by the local people. And just like Hayes, she answered the questions based on her personal experience.
