PROJECT TRIDENT (IndoneSIA)

"We believe that every child & their families deserve clean water and sanitation. It's the essential building block of life that allows them and their communities to survive and flourish."

This team of empowered young leaders all across ASEAN countries conceptualized and organized Project Trident - a WASH program to improve the access of the community to clean water and educate the people about water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in some communities of Sumedang, West Java, Indonesia. And it would only be right to say that this group has helped greatly in actualizing ideas into reality.

My 2-week exposure to community for the project implementation reminds me to pursue more of my advocacy to help and empower the community thru education and healthcare management. Thank you ASEAN Foundation and Maybank for the opportunity to be an avenue of making a difference and keeping their hope alive. The team and our CSO (YBUL) turned to a family - we became each other's brothers and sisters, cheerleaders, food buddies, secret-keepers, advisers, critiques and even shock-absorbers.

Thank you for this opportunity. My heart is filled with respect, love, and hope for my team, seeing the response of the people and the reception of the community to our project. We educated more than 200 kids and 100 mothers about WASH, provided skills and knowledge about waste management, water filtration & recycling and provided improvized water filtration system at the water source that will benefit more than 400 families. Also, through this project, we were able to replicate MyLeader - Project Danum's istorWASH. It made us realized that doing something that you love will make all the hours that you put in worthwhile. You will have the motivation to keep going and see past the conflicts and difficulties.

Our team could be crazy at times, but I know what we have is real, and definitely something I would remember even when we are miles away from each other. What’s important is staying connected to what you love, your advocacy and continuing to grow in the process.