Traveling with The Asia Foundation to Yogyakarta
I’ve past the halfway mark of my time in Jakarta with the Peduli team at the Asia Foundation (TAF) and I have begun the task of slowly cataloguing the things that I need to remember from my time here.
Currently included in my list are:
- Martabak — an incredibly luscious, decadent pancake sandwich hybrid that can be filled with nearly anything under the sun. When I tried it, it was filled with chocolate, condensed milk, margarine and cheese, and it also took me 3 days to finish.
- The rooster perched on the branches right outside TAF which periodically crows at random times of the day.
- At certain events, the emcee would open by leading participants through the singing of the Indonesian national anthem and through a prayer.
- Coffee from the beans grown in Indonesia has an almost savory aftertaste.
- The sense of satisfaction I get everytime I successfully navigate the tempestuous traffic in Jakarta to cross the road/walk anywhere in Jakarta.
The minute details of my day to day life here in Jakarta are the things that I will always hold dear. Of course, there are also the larger moments that have made my time at TAF so worthwhile. My main project with Peduli so far has been to document a case study on policy changes regarding religious minorities over the past year of its programming. As mentioned in my last post, language issues have posed a difficulty for me, especially in accessing some of the materials that I need for the project. However, over the last month I have been able to meet with some of Peduli’s partners who have very generously offered to sit for an interview with me to supplement my research! In addition, my Bahasa has definitely been seeing steady improvements due to the help of an Indonesian friend who has been tutoring me in the language.
In July, I was also given the opportunity to join the rest of the Peduli team for the Program Learning Group (PLG) event that they were organizing in Yogyakarta, Central Java. The PLG event is essentially a workshop for the local leaders across the Indonesian Peninsula who have been working with Peduli to come together to discuss the various social inclusion projects in their districts, and to brainstorm further efforts needed to improve social policy. For the event, I was able to contribute by preparing the materials needed for the conference and by writing the English versions of the fact sheets regarding Peduli’s work with religious minorities and victims of human rights violations in Indonesia.

With Peduli’s attempts to address social inclusion and poverty across six different populations (religious minorities, children, people with disabilities, remote and indigenous people, victims of human rights populations, waria), in a country as large as Indonesia which has in recent years become more and more decentralised, I have always been curious about how Peduli manages a program of this scale. It was fascinating to then be able to play a role in the PLG and witness first-hand the interactions and networks that must be in place in order for Peduli to function.
On the second day of the PLG, I went for my first field visit with my team to the town of Sleman! Sleman is known amongst Peduli and its partners as the “inclusive village” due to its goal of ensuring that every aspect of the town is accessible for people with disabilities. A few of their efforts include ramps in public facilities, counters at lower height, and videos that address the appropriate ways to be mindful towards those with disabilities. The modifications to the village were spearheaded by Sasana Integrasi dan Advokasi Difabel (SIGAB) whose headquarters are in Yogyakarta, and during this field visit, we were very fortunate to have leaders from SIGAB speak to us about their plans to expand their efforts to improve social policy for those with disabilities in other towns as well.

To end what were already two enriching days, we made a stop at Ratu Boko on our way to the airport. Ratu Boko is an expansive palace complex in Yogyakarta, that is often overshadowed by its neighbours, the Prambanan and Borobudur temple complexes. Even so, like so much of what I have seen and experienced in this country, it is breathtaking.

Written by Nicole Wong’18, International Relations major, FSI Global Policy Intern at The Asia Foundation in Jakarta, Indonesia.
