Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Hope fading for missing teachers

Hope fading for missing teachers
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 04/11/2012 1:58 PM
A | A | A |

Evy Maya Stefany, 21, is waiting for news of her brother, Heru Fendi Angga Akhmadi, 22, who went missing along with another teacher, Rizki Susdiasto, 25, during a school holiday at Tanjung Mas Beach in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, last Wednesday.

“Isn’t there anything else anyone can do to find my brother?” Evy said on Tuesday.

Heru, Rizki and a student named Mundus Mutaebenu, 17, were reportedly carried away by currents while swimming. Mundus’ body was found by a fisherman on Monday, 30 kilometers away from the beach.

Reports said that on the day of the incident, Heru, Rizki and 20 students from state senior high school SMAN 1 in Amfoang Barat Daya were enjoying their Easter holidays. Heru went to cool himself off in the water after playing soccer and was swept away.

Hearing Heru’s cry for help, Mundus and Rizki quickly went to rescue him, but were carried away as well.

The Kupang administration is ending its search today, seven days after the incident, even though Heru and Rizki are still missing,

“The search and rescue team has had difficulties with the bad weather, high waves and strong tides,” Wayan Sukrawarpala from the Ganesha Education University in Singaraja, Bali, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Wayan is Ganesha’s coordinator for the Sarjana Mendidik (Graduates Teaching) program, of which Heru and Rizki were members.

The program was launched by the Education Ministry in 2011 to give an opportunity to people with Bachelor degrees in education to teach in remote and underdeveloped regions for one year.

Heru, along with 67 other teachers, were sent by Ganesha Education University to Kupang, while Rizki was sent by the Jakarta State University to the same regency with 123 other teachers.

So far, the ministry has assigned 2,479 Bachelor-degree holders to 21 regencies and cities throughout Indonesia, including Kupang, Raja Ampat in West Papua and Aceh Besar in Aceh.

The ministry’s spokesman, Sukemi, said that before leaving for their assignments, the teachers underwent training so that they would be able to adapt to the local way of life.

“We invited locals to share their knowledge. We also organized two weeks' physical training for the teachers. They did not go unprepared,” Sukemi added.

According to Heru’s sister, Evy, her parents were reluctant to let her only sibling join the program.

“My parents wanted him to stay at home, mostly because at that time, my father had just undergone cancer treatment. He suffers from pancreatic cancer,” she told the Post via telephone from her home in Jembrana, Bali.

However, seeing how excited Heru was after being admitted to the program, their parents finally gave him their blessing. “My brother has always been passionate about teaching,” she added.

Heru left for Kupang on Jan. 4.

Evy said that her brother was ecstatic when he arrived in Amfoang Barat Daya the area to which he was assigned. She added that he loved it there and continuously sent pictures to his family.

They received news about his disappearance from a friend of his last Thursday. His mother didn’t believe it at first and tried to call him on his cell phone but a Kupang Police officer answered the call.

Evy told the Post that her family had been devastated by the news. Her mother is so incapacitated by grief that she cannot leave her bed.

Evy turned down Ganesha Education University’s offer to send her to Kupang to oversee the search process because she felt obliged to take care of her parents.

“My parents and I can only wait. I hope the Kupang administration will extend the search because my brother is still out there somewhere,” she said. (tas)

casey anthony released from jail|cheap airline tickets|atlantic beach nc|green bean casserole recipe|philadelphia eagles

No comments:

Post a Comment