Borneo volunteer expedition

Our names are Ben Lewens and Jenna Watermeyer and next year, for the first time, the school is hosting a trip to visit Borneo through the ‘Student Horizons’ association. This one month trip to Borneo will allow the few participating students to live amongst a rural Sabahan community, working on ongoing projects to improve the lifestyle of the local people. The main problem we are most interested in improving is the one of deforestation; as the global demand for timber increases, commercial logging companies are looking for immediate profit rather than a long term, sustainable solution. This in turn causes the lifestyle of indigenous tribes, such as the Penan hunter-gatherer tribe, to be greatly altered (since just 1990, 14,860 square kilometers of rainforest has been lumbered), thus their culture is being destroyed. As well as helping with deforestation projects, we will be attempting to assist in matters such as pollution, over-harvesting of wildlife, global warming, improving local facilities, and finding alternate, sustainable resources. Over the past year, we have been on the student council at Albany Junior High school, involved in both fundraising for our community and leading the pupils of our school, and are always looking for ways to improve ourselves as leaders and become a better people. More than anything, we look to make an impact on the world, and leave it a better place than the one we were brought into.

Many of the people living in Borneo are faced with poverty, a cycle which they themselves cannot fix. We believe that this is a problem that we, the people living in first world countries, can fix with ease. Interrupting the poverty cycle is key to stopping this predicament. In our society where education is seen as a right not a privilege, Jenna and I think it is our duty to assist those who require the basic education required to further themselves and their country into better times. Once they have the skills a basic education will give them, they will have better chances of providing for their families and will not be taken advantage of by these international companies. They can both protect their culture, heritage, and their families.

This trip would be the start of our experiences as pioneers of the new age, the age of which humans can be unified to become not separate from others, but a global community at large. One that is peaceful, compassionate, and sustainable. This could be the start of our life long venture. We will learn new languages, live amidst an entirely different culture, gain skills that we otherwise could not learn, and sanguinely help a unified community to do the same. For more information on the venture, I have attached a document that was sent to us, showing what exactly we are doing and what difference we will make.