In December 2019 I had the chance to get to know the work of Selamatkan Yaki through an internship. The internship has been made possible in the frame of the exchange program for young professionals organised by the German organisation “ifa” (institute for foreign relations).  As a fellow of this exchange program I was interested in strengthening my knowledge and experience in the areas of community development and education for sustainable development. 

In my home organisation “MehrGenerationenHaus Wassertor”, a neighbourhood centre in Berlin, I am working as an educator and community manager. My areas of expertise are education for sustainable development, social equality and capacity building. Thus it has been a wonderful chance to get to know the ambitious team of Selamatkan Yaki and to discover their work and impact.

Selamatkan Yaki is doing an excellent work in empowering local communities and strengthening social & ecological development in a reciprocal and supportive way. It´s been very enriching to me, to discover similarities in our work and to see how the Selamatkan Yaki team is tackling systematic challenges, like fair distribution of ecological responsibilities in the area of tourism. 

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My three weeks have been packed with diverse activities: From radio podcasts to advertisement about the protection of the Macaca nigra at traditional markets; from Upcycling Workshops to discovering shared work visions; from strengthening families to getting to know approaches of ecotourism. So much has been made possible! It has been a pleasant mixture between work with local communities, public relations and exchanging thoughts about best practices. 

I am grateful for having been welcomed with open arms & hearts, quickly accepted as a part of the “Yaki family” and for having been able to experience the work of this great organisation in North Sulawesi. Selamatkan Yaki is working astonishingly passionate on their mission of making this world a better place, through bringing back together which always belonged together: Nature and human.

Dear Selamatkan Yaki, thank you for spreading your enthusiasm and for lightening up the importance of living together in unity with our environment. Thanks for supporting and saving the wonderful Macaca Nigra! Together we will save the Yaki!

Leonie Beeskow
Pedagogic Manager of the youth and family sector and Community Manager of MehrGenerationenHaus Wassertor,
German CrossCulture Programme – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa)