Our three angels: Helping Bangka's young people learn to SCUBA dive
We are fundraising to help train some of Bangka Island’s young people to SCUBA dive. Helping them earn an official qualification will open untold doors for them when tourism returns to Indonesia.
How did this campaign come about?
In March 2020, coronavirus reached the Indonesian archipelago and the government took the decision to close schools across the region. All schools, including Lihunu Junior High School who we worked closely with in 2019, were forced to close their doors. Students, including those who took part in our environmental education program, had to work from home. Unfortunately many of these students don’t have access to computers or Wifi and so were reliant on patchy mobile signal and their phones to access remote learning resources.
Coral Eye, the dive resort we call home, was unable to open its doors to tourists and so instead decided to put its resources to good use and invite local students to use its Wifi to facilitate their studies. Kids turned up with their books and phones, ready to learn. In between studying, they helped the Coral Eye team clean the beach and in return, were taken snorkelling. Three of the girls were enamoured by what they saw underwater and so it was decided to take them on a discovery dive. And they LOVED it!
Who are our three angels?
Ingrit Martina Iombo, 17 years old
Ingrit was born in Lihunu, Bangka’s main village, in 2003. Her father is a sailor and her mother works at the nearby Mimpi Indah Resort. Ingrit attends the local senior high school and has dreams of one day joining the navy! Coming from a family who’s livelihood depends on the ocean, Ingrit loves the sea and wants to learn more about it. On her discovery dive, she was blow away by the beauty of the underwater world. She has ambitions to travel the world and helping her achieve a diving qualification could enable these dreams!
Rini Aknes Lument, 17 years old
Also born in Lihunu, Rini currently attends senior high school and has been coming to Coral Eye so she can continue her studies. She was impressed by the beautiful coral and fish she saw on her discovery dive and is keen to learn more about the sea. Her parents both work at dive resorts on Bangka, her father at Murex and her mother at Nomad and so the family has been particularly impacted by the pandemic. Rini also harbours dreams of travelling the world and would like to become a flight attendant when she finishes school.
Meisye Truli Tinungki, 17 years old
Meisye was born in Bitung and now lives in Lihunu. She is a senior high school student and has been studying hard at Coral Eye over the past few months. She has dreams of seeing the world too and would one day like to become a teacher. Meisye’s family also has strong links to the sea, with her father working as a sailor. Her mother stays at home to look after the family. She loves to swim as a hobby so diving is a natural next step for her. She loves to see the fish and corals up close and is keen to share her passion for the ocean with others.
These three girls have proactively expressed an interest in learning how to dive, something that would be considered out of reach for many young people on Bangka, especially young girls. We want to help them follow their passion whilst teaching them more about the underwater world we’re fighting so hard to preserve and protect.
With just €1,000, we can certify our three angels, plus two others, to become accredited SCUBA divers. Bangka is an island that relies heavily on tourism. A diving qualification could open untold doors for these girls, offering them a potential income source as they study if they choose to become dive guides or giving them a means of seeing more of the world.
We’d love your support in making these dreams a reality. Please donate what you can!
