application to be selected as a Chevening awardee
I believe communication skills are necessary for networking. Networking is great for sharing ideas and knowledge, people use to build social networks or social relationships with others through various platforms. In my opinion, forming a connection does not only require communication skills but also must be influential. The connection is the most important thing in life.
In 2019, I decided to work as a Village Facilitator for the Peat Restoration Agency of Indonesia (BRG RI). Peat care village is a program that functions to restore the hydrological function of the peat ecosystem. During the dry season in 2019, 60 village facilitators from 7 provinces discussed the initiative to take action to tackle peatland fires in their respective villages. We agreed to distribute N-95 masks to priority villages affected by the fire smoke. The distribution is prioritized for small children, pregnant women, and residents with special needs. I empowered women to improve the economy through purun product crafts from all villages on the island of Sumatra. As a fresh graduate, the things that I got on campus became more and more developed. Through this work, I have had the opportunity to grow my network. I had the opportunity to discuss with representatives of government agencies, health institutions, infrastructure, services, education, and others. I realize that the success of a program must be supported by the collaboration of each stakeholder. As a result, the village under my guidance is free from forest and land fires and has been able to run the economy through purun products. This success strengthened the trust between villagers and extension workers, making it easier for future program planning. Besides that, I also learned a lot from the many people I met during the process. Indirectly, connections and communications are made professionally and personally.
If I am selected as a Chevening awardee, I will be able to join Chevening communities to develop my network with fellow international students in the UK. Upon the completion of my study, I plan to maintain this relationship by developing social media (Instagram, Whatsapp Group, Facebook, Twitter) as communication tools to share our stories. I believe that sharing various Chevening scholarship activities can provide new insight to others, and of course, open up useful discussion spaces. Through many relationship-building activities, I believe that this will impact my future career.