I know this coming from the man who said all along that he was so scared of "the real world" is a little hypocritical but it's true. I have now been living on Sumbawa and working with its people through the Harapan Project for about 5 weeks and I think I now have all the answers I came looking for.
I'm so glad my work here has reinforced my humanitarian and planetary ideas further. I initially thought there was a chance of me being let down with how an early days NGO works but I knew within the first few hours of medical aid and later children's education that The Harapan Project and the many locals it supports was a pretty amazing group of people and ideas. I think Harapan is going to be inspirational to me for a long time.
I have to admit another of my questions was answered within a few hours too. I quickly realised my suspicions and found out I'm not a fan of children or at least a room full of the screaming sort . Pretty much from the offset it seemed a life of selfless work through childrens education was a definite no go. It was only on working further with these children and seeing their homes, their conditions, their environment and the family they lived lived with (or didn't) that I began to genuinely feel a life of humanitarian and environmentally led work may be for me.
Sumbawa has stunned and shocked me. It's beauty, isolation, culture and it's people are certainly both stunning and shocking in themselves but I was often shocked for the wrong reasons too.
I was shocked to find people living on such a beautiful island to be seemingly so ignorant of and somewhat disrespectful to its charming assets. From beach to village and from jungle to mountains behind its very apparent that Sumbawa has a plastic waste problem.
It seems everyone just litters and the few times they collect it they burn it! I mean who can blame people living a hand to mouth existence for not giving a shit but its shocking that the government hasn't already came up with a solution to this problem.
Some of my thoughts and dreams are now a direct solution to this problem and many more issues surrounding this problem for all sorts of people around the world. I am thankful to Harapan for this.
The "real world" is a seemingly scary place and trying to find a job, house and friends is hardly ever going to be fun or easy but I am excited for the challenge and further more ecstatic to start moulding my thoughts and dreams for the future into reality.
Im leaving tomorrow so todays plan is to explore and see even more of this, the most beautiful place I've ever visited.
Secret beach sunset anyone?
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