Djoko Kusumowidagdo and Elly Tjahja, Transformation through Outdoor Training
Djoko Kusumowidagdo and Elly Tjahja, have managed to change the outlooks and mindsets of people of all walks of life, from corporate executives to hoodlums, religious figures to disabled people.
By
ANDREAS MARYOTO
·6 minutes read
ARSIP PRIBADI
Djoko Kusumowidagdo and Elly Tjahja
They have practically contributed to Indonesia’s transformation. Is this an exaggeration? Probably not: as they have managed to change the outlooks and mindsets of people of all walks of life, from corporate executives to hoodlums, religious figures to disabled people, and from civil servants to delinquent students, isn’t this description appropriate?
The description can rightly be accorded to the founders of Outward Bound Indonesia (OBI), Djoko Kusumowidagdo, 74, and his wife Elly Tjahja, 73. The couple has experienced many ups and downs in developing their social enterprise and organizing outdoor training and experiments for thousands of people and groups in Indonesia. OBI may be a household name, but few are aware of the great services the organization has rendered.
“The changes those who join outdoor activities experience occur in their outlook. People who are apprehensive become bold and daring, and those who lack confidence become self-confident,” said Djoko, also the OBI chief executive, revealing the essence of OBI’s programs on Thursday (23/2/2023).
He and Elly started their social enterprise in 1990 after two years of preparations. It was not easy at the outset. They had intended to train youths, but they feared such activities would be viewed as political.
They decided on another focus and settled on business management. They initially trained young executives, which dispelled the likelihood of their activities being labeled as politically tainted. They asked a number of companies to take part in the outdoor training program at facilities located on the edge of Jatiluhur Reservoir in Purwakarta, West Java.
“It was very hard to make people understand outdoor activities at the time,” said Djoko. He met with each company director individually to deliver a presentation.
His efforts bore fruit. There was positive response. Several companies later sent their employees to be trained at OBI. Well-known companies joined one after the other. OBI played a major role, because a number of companies were in the process of transforming their businesses at the same time. OBI’s training program greatly their needs.
On OBI’s journey, Djoko and Elly did not just train executives. Elly was actually challenged to provide a training program for the disabled. However, a student brawl on Central Jakarta’s Jl. Juanda in 1998 temporarily “diverted” her attention to another issue. She witnessed with her own eyes the violence committed by students, with dead victims among them. Elly could recall the incident in detail, so she wanted to help settle the muddled issue of student brawls in Jakarta.
It was very hard to make people understand outdoor activities at the time.
“‘It’s no use settling this problem. They are, in fact, street children,’” Elly said, recounting the response of one of three principals with whom she discussed trying to help the student groups reconcile.
Elly refused to give up. She continued her efforts and finally, one by one, convinced the schools to each send eight students who had been involved in the brawl. The schools were also willing to pay for the bus used to transport the students to the outdoor training ground for an eight-day program.
The students still felt estranged from one another on the bus. After the OBI training program, though, they became unwilling to be separated. Afterwards, they frequently met at a house to do homework. The outdoor training for students lasted five years and included students from all parts of Jakarta. It was not just students involved in brawls who joined the program, but also a number of hoodlums.
Challenges
Elly has not forgotten the challenge of providing outdoor training for the visually impaired. She began inviting visually impaired participants to join the training during the student programs. Her desire to provide them with training arose when she observed that visually impaired people mostly stayed at home and lacked the self-confidence to venture out. She started the program by convincing them as well as several institutions to take part in an outdoor training program.
“One of [the visually impaired participants] was successful and developed the courage to travel abroad alone. He visited Australia, China and Singapore. Every time he felt fear or anxiety, he recalled his OBI training and recovered his self-confidence,” said Elly.
The program went on to train a total of 400 people. Elly later set up the Helping Hands Foundation to support disabled people and chaired its board of patrons.
Djoko and Elly continued to accept challenges. When an order of nuns asked OBI to train its members, the couple promptly accepted. The nuns were trained to they would be self-confident during public appearances. Through various training sessions, the nuns developed the courage to step forward. At the same time, when the 1998 reform movement began, the nuns also joined the demonstrations. They took action in the field as a result of their training.
Later in 2017, on observing how the nation was divided, the couple created the Ekspedisi Bhinneka Bagi Bangsa (national diversity expedition) program. They appealed to young people from all provinces to join this outdoor training program, which was held twice before the pandemic emerged and halted it. Djoko and Elly are now preparing to restart the program with support from various circles.
“One of the important aspects of outdoor training is that people become sensitive to their environment,” said Djoko.
The participants are stimulated to be daring, to try, to think positively, to cast aside all doubt and to tackle problems. They then share their experiences, followed by stating their commitment to their future.
Outdoor training is not obsolete in the digital era, and has even found its place. The current demands communication skills, social intelligence and a capacity to adapt, which can all be gained from outdoor training.
Djoko Kusumowidagdo
Born: Tegal, November 1948
Education:
- SD Pius Tegal elementary school, 1961
- SMP Pangudi Luhur Ambarawa junior high school, 1964
- SMA Santo Aloysius senior high school, Bandung, 1967
- Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, Portland State University, 1972
