New road in Indonesia paves way for future generations
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SOLO, Indonesia — Church members in Solo joined with their community in building a road that will pave the way for future generations.
"The building of the road is not the most important thing that happened here," said Hendro Suranto, area director of public affairs. "It was the cooperation of the community and the government."
Solo is a city of 1 million people in Central Java, Indonesia, a country that is 95 percent Muslim and 5 percent Buddhist, Hindu, and Christian. Indonesia has been the scene of terrorist activity, most notably the tragic bombings in Bali on Oct. 12, 2002, and the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta on Aug. 13.
Most of the people of Indonesia, however, share the same concerns as the rest of the world. They worry about their families, the economy and the weather.
When the flood season begins in Indonesia, usually in November, many of the dirt roads on the edges of town become impassable. Villagers across the river can canoe across the swollen river, but cannot navigate the muddy, slick slope in Sangkrah on the southern edge of the city.
This year, the community took action. The city government of Solo donated $625, and the Church donated $500 to a road building project. More than 100 men and boys from the community worked for three days in August, carrying rocks to prepare the road bed, setting up the forms, laying in rebar and spreading cement.
The road, named Untung Suropati Street, after a past hero in Indonesia, is 100 meters long by three meters wide. It was built entirely by the people living in the neighborhood who will be served by the road; 15 Latter-day Saint families live in the area, and 30 LDS men and boys — organized by Haryono Soemadi — participated in the building project.
Mayor Slamet Suryanto spoke at the ceremony to open the road. "I'm proud of what we did. The community realizes they want to build their city," he said. "The community did everything; the government was only the facilitator."
"We are grateful for all the inter-faith leaders and volunteers and hope what we do can be an example for others to follow."
Because of the success of this project, Mayor Suryanto promised four more roads scheduled in 2004 with funds provided from the city budget. The only condition placed on the funding was that local community volunteers build the roads in their areas.
