This story was written by Mansur Taihu, Stimulant Institute Staff
I remember 14 April 2025 as the day a door was opened for me. It was not merely the door to an office, but a door of trust. As I stepped inside that day, my mind was filled with two feelings at once: excitement and, at the same time, fear.
I kept asking myself, am I capable of being here? Can I keep up with those who have already been walking this path? My fear was that my presence would instead slow the team down.
That feeling did not come out of nowhere. There was a story behind it, one I had carried with me for years.
Before becoming part of Stimulant Institute, the local implementing partner for the KREASI Program, or Collaboration for the Education of Indonesian Children, in Pulau Morotai District, I was an honorary teacher. My daily life involved moving from one school to another, from elementary school to junior high school and senior high school. I also often served as a school operator in between teaching.
My salary ranged from IDR 500,000 to IDR 1 million per month, an amount that was far from enough to meet daily needs. I had to think hard about how to survive and support my family. In the end, when my teaching honorarium was no longer sufficient, I went to sea as a seasonal fisherman, placing my hopes against the waves so that my family’s kitchen could keep running.
Correcting students’ assignments in the morning and pulling fishing nets in the afternoon became part of my daily routine. For me, this was the struggle of a son of Morotai: doing any kind of work, as long as my family could still eat.
But behind that exhaustion, there was something inside me that never faded: a longing for better quality education in my homeland. I saw firsthand the face of education here, and how Morotai’s education report showed that many improvements were still needed.
From there, the fear and doubt that had haunted me on my first day slowly transformed into ambition. I wanted to be part of that improvement, not merely someone watching from the roadside.
I still remember the times when I came home from the sea with my body exhausted and my hands still smelling of fish, but my mind had already wandered back to school, thinking about what material I would teach the next day.
Learning Again from the Beginning
In my first days with KREASI, I was mostly quiet. I listened a lot and took many notes. Working here, for me, was not just about moving to a new workplace. It was a journey that changed the way I think. There were nights when I sat alone, rereading my notes and trying to understand new terms that once sounded unfamiliar to me.
Slowly, while continuing to move forward and being tested to endure, I found a new awareness: an awareness of how fragile education in my homeland truly is. More fragile than I had thought, even after years of being a teacher within it.
Now, I have been with KREASI for more than a year. Sometimes, a small thought comes to mind.
“It feels like being an undergraduate student again, except the classroom is not in a building, but directly in the field,” he said.
There were many things I had to learn, and many old ways of thinking that I had to let go of, one by one. But in that process, there were moments I will never forget, such as sitting at the same table with government officials: BPMP, KGTK, the Head of the Education Office, and even members of the local parliament.
I was not merely sitting quietly and listening. My voice was heard, and my suggestions were accepted. I still remember how nervous I felt at the time, and also the sense of pride that is difficult to put into words. It was an opportunity that not every child of Morotai gets to experience.
Confidence That Grew Slowly
There have been many challenges during my time with KREASI. At times, fatigue and doubt returned, just like on my first day entering the office. But whenever those feelings came, I tried to remind myself that I had overcome far more difficult things than this, both on land and at sea.
And every time I felt like I was about to falter, the Stimulant Institute team was always around me, helping one another and never letting me walk alone. As the old saying goes, “Toku wela-wela, rio moi jojo moi,” which means, come closer because we will all support you; walk forward because we will not let you fall.
Looking back now, I realize how far I have come. From a teacher who once stood only in front of a small classroom, I have now become someone who contributes to designing education improvements in Pulau Morotai District.
For all of this, for the trust given to the son of a fisherman and an honorary teacher like me, I extend my deepest gratitude to Stimulant Institute and the KREASI Morotai Program.
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KREASI (Collaboration for the Education of Indonesian Children) is a program to improve the quality of education by strengthening literacy, numeracy, and character education. KREASI in Pulau Morotai is managed by Save the Children and implemented by Stimulant Institute, with funding from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), as well as support from the Government of Pulau Morotai and Indonesia’s Local Education Group, led by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) and the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag).
Editor: Michelle G Momole, Andika Ramadhan | Photo: Ayutama Putri Jordy/KREASI/Stimulant Institute/Save the Children