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UPF-Indonesia National Tour Comes to Eastern Indonesia
Written by UPF-Indonesia
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Maluku, Indonesia—The third leg of UPF-Indonesia’s national tour, “Building Harmonious Families—Our Shared Responsibility” took place in the eastern most provinces of Indonesia.
Ternate, North Maluku Province
The fifth program was held at Bethel Tabernacle Church in Ternate, North Maluku. Pastor Lisar Kumendong had invited UPF to deliver its message on the theme of the tour to his congregation during three Sunday services that took place at his church on October 23, 2016. The evening service, which was attended mostly by young people, concluded with the Pure Love Pledge. The pastor was so inspired by the presentations on pure love and family values and UPF’s Blessings celebrating marriage and family that he invited UPF-Indonesia to arrange a Blessing ceremony for 600 participants once the construction of his new church is complete by the end of this year.
Ambon, Maluku Province
The next three programs were coordinated by Mr. Immawan Wilson Sanheinizh, a member of the Central Board of the Muhammadiyah Student League who oversees international relations for the group.
The vocational high school SMK Muhammadiyah Ambon was honored to host the tour’s event in Maluku, a province encompassing the central and southern Maluku Islands. It was the first international seminar the school ever held, and the principal, teachers and students put their whole heart and efforts into preparing for it. The school auditorium was packed with 200 participants, many of whom had to stand at the back of the room. The teachers and students were so curious to learn more about UPF’s vision for peace that the Q & A session, which was led by the principal of the school, was extended to allow for more questions from the audience. After the presentations, the principal and all participants recited the Pure Love Pledge, which was led Mr. Alfred Forno, secretary general of UPF-Indonesia. At the end of the event, the students eagerly posed with members of UPF-Indonesia for photos and selfies.
Sorong, West Papua Province
Three hundred people attended the program in Sorong, which took place at the Al-Akbar Convention Center on October 26, and was the largest event that was held during this leg of the tour. The Regional Board of the Muhammadiyah Student League of West Papua province organized the one-day program. Two university rectors, Dr. H. Hermanto Suaib of the Muhammadiyah University Sorong (UMS) and Dr. H. Rustamadji of the Teachers Training and Education College (STKIP) Sorong, opened the event with special remarks, in which they encouraged the students to listen with an open mind. During the intermission, a group of students performed a Papuan dance expressing their hope for peace and unity within the society and nation.
UPF honored the two rectors with an Ambassador for Peace award and they and UPF agreed to conduct more programs together.
The local newspaper, Teropongnews, featured an article on the event the following day.
Jayapura, Papua Province
The final program was held at the Muhammadiyah College for Communication Science in Jayapura, the capital city of Papua province, which is about 31 miles (50 km.) from Indonesia’s border with Papua New Guinea. One hundred and twenty teachers and students of the college gathered in a conference room at the school for the event. Though the officers and staff of the college are Muslim, the student body is comprised of 80 percent of native Papuans who have a Christian background and 20 percent are Muslims from other parts of the country. At times, members of the tour team could sense tension between the officers and staff of the school and the student body, and therefore the topic of peace and building harmonious relations was all the more appropriate for this province. The students listened very carefully to the presentations and asked many relevant questions.
The program concluded with the appointment of two new Ambassadors for Peace: the two vice rectors of the college.
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