We headed back to Indonesia after almost a month spent in the Kingdom of Cambodia, ready to start 2018 with hearts full and minds clear. We knew there was a lot of work ahead of us and operating in such a remote setting wouldn't be easy. Flying back to our island home for the next four months... we felt are faraway from civilization but closer than ever to nature... and we thought, isn’t that more natural, being closer to yourself, your essence as a living being?
It wasn't long before we dove into the ocean and paddled into sets breaking into perfect barrels. We arrived just as the swells were lining up and heading towards Morotai. They brought with them beautiful waves put also masses of plastic waste.
Like most remote coastal communities in economically emerging places, Morotai's villages do not have a trash collection system. This means that trash finds it way onto the beach pretty easily.
Through our Action Communication program with our local partner, A Liquid Future, participants addressed this issue using their words but also, through actions - by cleaning the beach themselves and illustrating the predicament of what to do with the trash afterwards. The immediate solution is to burn it.
Our workshops included photojournalism, interviews, and short videos.
At the end of our six months, we celebrated the students and their communities through a screening for the whole village to come and see what these extraordinary kids had done over the past half year.
We will miss our surreal island home that we grew in ways we never imagined.