A Journey to Jakarta with J. Luce Foundation Young Global Leaders

Jakarta, Indonesia. In life, we have many long, treacherous journeys that we must complete. The flight to Jakarta was one of them for me.  After an entire day spent on planes, we had finally reached Indonesia at midnight Wednesday, August 8 for the J. Luce Leadership Experience 2018 .  As a Breaking Walls  Ambassador, this was an exciting experience that I wish to share with my global brothers and sisters.

One of the first places we visited in Jakarta was the Indonesian Peace & Security Center where Gen. Victor George gave us an important and extremely interesting tour. Over 3,500 Indonesian Peacekeepers deployed at 17 conflict sites around the world for the United Nations were all trained there.

During the trip, we also attended a meeting with IPCC Jono Koesmo of  Jakarta Nusantara Lions Club  and other Lions of District 307-B1 and visited the Monas Tower —a famous monument within Jakarta.

With IPCC Jono Koesmo and members of Jarkata Nusantara Lions Club at

Lions Club Indonesia Headquarter Building. Photo: Duane Lyken.

The highlight for the trip so far has been the insightful Lions Club meeting. Lions Clubs are extremely helpful when it comes to healing communities. As most people know, a few earthquakes have occurred in Lombok and Bali, Indonesia a few days before our flight here. Currently, local Lions Clubs in the country are coming together to raise money for disaster relief.

N.Y. Global Leaders Lions & Leo Club and Jakarta Nusantara Lions Club

together visit Old Folks Home, a senior center in North Jakarta.

Photo: Duane Lyken.

During our meeting with Nusantara Lions Club, Jim Luce gave a rather enlightening speech that explained his desire to help the people around him and across the globe, starting with his wonderful adopted son and my global brother, Mathew Tendean Luce.

Jim Luce (President) speaks on behalf of the N.Y. Global Leaders Lions & Leo Club.

Photo: Duane Lyken.

By the end of the meeting, my notes revealed to me that I had been sitting among some of the most kind-hearted and determined people this world had to offer. I was extremely proud to be included in their discussion as a member of a community that fights to unify and heal society around the world.  Jim explained his family history and how his inheritance was put to use to create young global leaders and support young global leadership. It was a very heart-warming moment for me, and I developed a stronger and deeper respect for him at that moment.

Photo: Duane Lyken.

The meeting was very successful and the Lions Club members in Indonesia and New York combined would definitely be an enormous benefit to the people within these lands, and even beyond that. The experience so far has been highly educational and influences me each and every day to help the people here in any way that I can. Indonesia has so much to offer, the people are friendly and I do not have enough words that could explain my appreciation for being included on this wonderful trip.

Our Young Global Leaders and chaprones in front of the Monas Tower.

Photo: Duane Lyken.

On Monday, August 13, we departed to Manado, North Sulawesi to continue on our Leadership Experience. There, we will visit Nazareth presbyterian orphanage that Mathew came from and continue our work towards a better and stronger community for the people of Indonesia. I am especially interested in this part of the trip because helping children is something I love to do, and I hope to make a difference here and continue my work around the world.

Attending this annual gathering right after my trip to Chile with Breaking Walls is slightly overwhelming, but worth every step of the way. I have met so many wonderful people and I feel a renewed sense of purpose. I know now that I will progress further in hopes of making a change for the better, wherever I may go. I would love to thank the founder and director of Breaking Walls—Fran Tarr, for seeing the potential in me and allowing me to follow my passion to help people. Perhaps one day, I can be like Jim Luce and Fran Tarr, changing the lives of many, one step at a time. Thank you for reading, stay tuned for more updates on our Leadership Experience!

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