In January 2020, Dr. Merrin Pearse, a founding committee member of Masarang HK volunteers, informed us that Leo Bartu-Hong wished to donate his 11th Birthday gifts to support Masarang’s reforestation initiatives. Leo is a young man that is very concerned about protecting rainforests. Leo and his family generously donated the total amount of all of his Birthday gifts. Though this amount was not enough to pay for the acquisition of a large piece of land on the Masarang Mountain, Masarang Hong Kong then agreed to match the amount of Leo’s donation and we asked Masarang International, in the Netherlands, to finance the shortage for the acquisition of the land. The total donation was HKD 40, 000 , at that time almost 71 Million Rupiah, from Hong Kong. The total cost of the land was 140 Million Rupiah so in this way Leo’s contribution became the basis for the protection of the whole piece of land, four times the value of his donation. The land is most strategic as it is located in the middle of one of the old volcano craters in the Masarang Mountain range and from it oozes a small spring. It is right next to the sugar palm juice processing unit of the Masarang Foundation.
Beneath is a picture of the location of the land that was acquired starting with Leo’s. In the top right one can see the nearby village of Rurukan. This village had for many years a severe shortage of water for the households. A group of women came to the Masarang Foundation and asked if they could get a micro credit and permission to construct a pipeline from the reforestation area to bring water to their houses in the village below. The water came from new spring that came up after the reforestation work of the foundation. Of course, the Masarang Foundation agreed to their request and the women put in a pipe to their houses. The pipe has been delivering clean water to 200 families in that village for 7 years already. Before the pipeline was established, the women had to walk far downhill to collect pesticide polluted water with jerrycans, which led to many diseases and illnesses in their households. Now that is no longer the case!
This goes to show how important forests are for both nature and people and how every contribution can make a huge difference.
Thank you very much to Leo and his family, Masarang HK and Masarang International for this wonderful support.
Beneath is a picture with the exact outline of the location that was bought with the donations. In the top right corner of the image, the village of Rurukan can be seen. This is the community that benefits from the new springs that appeared after the reforestation of the crater by the Masarang Foundation.
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