Papuan youths have many proud achievements. They are able to make Papua and Indonesia proud in the eyes of the world. Not only that, they also received international awards. Quoting from merdeka.com, the following are young Papuans who have achieved and succeeded in making Indonesia proud:
Vanda Korisano and Martha Itaar
Two West Papuan students, Vanda Korisano and Martha Itaar, have dreamed to become pilots. Their dreams began to have a bright spot when they received a scholarship from the Papua Provincial Government’s Special Autonomy (Otsus) fund to study at Nelson Aviation College, New Zealand, since 2014.
Now both of them have succeeded in pursuing their dream of becoming the first female pilots from Papua with Indonesia’s largest airline, Garuda Indonesia as of June 2019.
Vanda was accepted as a pilot at Garuda Indonesia, while Martha was accepted at Citilink. Vanda and Marta, who arrived in New Zealand in 2014, were noted to have won the award for best all-round flying performance for international students.
They got certifications for; Private Pilot License, Commercial Pilot License and Multi Engine Instrument Rating. After graduating from New Zealand in early January 2018, they decided to continue their education at Ganesha Aviation School, Jakarta. Here, they got the Indonesian DGCA Pilot License certification. In June 2019, their hard work and struggle finally paid off, their dream of becoming pilots for Indonesia’s largest airline, Garuda Indonesia, was fulfilled.
Bob Royend Sabatino Kaway and Thinus Lamek Yewi
Bob Royend Sabatino Kaway and Thinus Lamek Yewi successfully represented Indonesia after fruitfully joining the NASA research team in March 2016. At that time, they were studying 12th grade at Doyo Baru Adventist High School, in Waibu District, Doyo Baru Village, Jayapura Regency, Papua.
Bob and Thinus managed to become part of the NASA research team when the Department of Education visited the school and selected children to join the NASA research team. Bob and Thinus did not miss this opportunity. They took part in the initial selection at the Jayapura Education Office. They joined the Padi team. Bob and Thinus researched whether rice can grow in space. Their idea was launched by the experts and the Department of Education.
Septinus George Saa
Septinus George Saa won a world competition, which is the First Step to Nobel Prize in Physics in 2004 while still in high school. Then he continued his studies with a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering in Florida, United States after graduating from high school.
It didn’t stop there, George continued his education at the Masters level in materials engineering in England. His motivation is that he can pass on his success to other Papuan children. In addition, in the next three to five years, George wishes for a research institution in Indonesia that “combine aerospace engineering with mechanical engineering” which he is studying.
George also wants to make elementary school education free in Papua. “In my opinion, elementary school should be free and school children are picked up every day to and fro. Lunch is given free at school and special mentoring programs are provided for special skills. This is for middle-high school,” George said.
Alvionita Kogoya
Alvionita Kogoya, a young woman from Nduga, Papua, won a bronze medal in the 2014 World Mathematics Team Championship (WMTC) which was held in China, while she was in junior high school. She has shown her intelligence in mathematics by winning various national and international competitions.
Nita admitted that she was not good at academics when she was in elementary school. “From the Nduga Regional Government, children who are less able to study are taken, and then I was taken to Tangerang to the Surya Institute, where we were taught,” Nita said. At that school, Nita studied from 07.00 to 17.00 WIB and then continued with a special math lesson at 19.00 WIB until it was finished.
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