One Week Journey in Alor: Warm and Beautiful Smile of Local Community

Surrounded by wonderful bay, Moru and Wolwal are two villages in Alor Barat Daya. In the early morning with shower rain, local community already started their activities respectively – go to school, back to home after fishing, office, etc. Here in one week, volunteering to deliver some CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) programs – Perfectfit: Menstrual Health Education program, 1000 Days: Stunting program, Beach Cleans, Mutiara Kids Program, and Fisherman Group Donation.

Started landing at small and unique airport and then went straight to attend Fisherman Group Assistance discussion, this was how I start my first day in Alor after two hours. I, CSR rep, and Ibu Rebbeca Barbara J (we called Ibu Beki) met with 13 groups with total more than 60 members and local government reps from Moru and Wolwal. We bring good news to them – increasing budget donation from Rp 18.000.000, - (eighteen million rupiah) to Rp 20.000.000, - (twenty million rupiah) per year, started in FY 2026. One of fisherman groups as rep said thank you to PT. Cendana Indopearls to increase the amount. He also delivered some issues for last year donation scheme, especially tool and equipment purchasing. To solving this problem last year, we gave a form – tool and equipment list that should be selected after discuss with their group and the next day should be collected to CSR rep. After that, CSR rep will be organizing to purchase with fisherman rep each group and logistic staff.

New day is new chapter journey; I was realizing a mango tree on yard every house when we visited SMP Moru for Perfectfit: Menstrual Health Education Program. This is a program that is initiated by Ibu Beki after living in Alor for five years. She met a little girl student who didn’t go to school because menstruation due to her pad cloth was not dry yet. So, she created program collaborating with Perfectfit – as an expert for this issue in Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) to educate and donate reusable pads. During Menstrual Health Education at SMP Moru, we invited class 7^th with total 55 female students for one hour class. Also, we donated 110 reusable pads to them one for night and daylight. 24 teachers and staffs asked this pad also. So, we give them 48 pads. At the class, shy and beautiful smiles from the kids are priceless and warm moment for me.

Night rain is so refreshing here in Alor. Warm morning sunshine and laughter of moms and kids in local government assembly house for POSYANDU was wonderful. Mandate from province government of NTT asked us to help them to prevent stunting. So, we collaborate with 1000 Days – as an expert to help and teach us for stunting preventive education. During this one-hour section, we taught POSYANDU reps including mom about stunting preventive action. We also donated smart chart to kids who under two years old and smart blankets to kid under one year. The chart and blanket help parent to monitor their kid’s growth – stunting suspect. More than 60 smart blankets and charts were delivered around 40 kids at the day for one POSYANDU. We have educated and donated for five POSYANDU in Wolwal and Moru. For this project, we allocated budget Rp 60.000.000.- (sixty million rupiah).

Next day around 3 p.m. local time, many kids came to our office and went straight to a building in the corner of office. They came to attend Mutiara Kids Program. This is an English Program for kids in Moru and Wolwal that is taught by our CSR rep once a week. Total average around 30 kids from SD, SMP, and SMA have been attending this class per month. This program is designed with interactive class by Ibu Beki – she has experience as a teacher for several year. We also created many programs for Mutiara Kids students, this year we invited them for picnic together and Christmas party. Every year, we have allocated budget more than Rp 10.000.000, - (ten million rupiah) to success this program.

Last day in Alor, I closed with Beach Cleans program as part of World Clean Up Days in 2025. Attend by around 100 participants from local government reps, school students, staffs, and Thresher Shark Indonesia reps. We did beach cleans costal area nearby PT. Cendana Indopearls area. We successfully collected more than 150 kg waste from the sea. We did this program also as a part of to protect biodiversity around our company – especially for mangroves. As we know with well, mangrove has good benefits for costal area – protecting from abrasion, home for costal creatures, and more. Cleaning beach help new mangrove to prevent young mangrove mortality. We spent around Rp 2.000.000.- (two million rupiah) to support this program – tool and equipment purchasing.

Saturday morning on car to airport, I still remembered kids and people around me in Alor. People is so very welcome and harmony there. Feeling like this is life what should be for human. Perfect harmony among local community and beautiful nature. Take 3 hours to back to Denpasar – our head office. Thanks for short journey Alor. I will be back, promise.

Perfectfit: Menstrual Health Education program