The Road of Hope in Manikaji

Manikaji, one of the fifteen sub-villages in Ban Village, lies on the slopes of Mount Abang and consists of three traditional communities. For many years, the roads in this area have been steep and often treacherous dirt roads, become dangerously slippery during the rainy season and dusty in the dry months, making daily activities difficult—especially for children walking to the EBPP school in Manikaji Puncak.

The last section of dirt road, stretching 1.6 kilometres from Manikaji Kaliaga to Manikaji Puncak, had long been a symbol of hope. However, due to limited government and local funding, road construction had been postponed year after year. Last year, EBPP submitted a proposal for building a concrete road through our German partner organisation for a potential government grant. Thanks to The Wave Project in Germany, the proposal was approved, paving the way for brighter days in Manikaji.

Today, the concreting work officially by ‘gotong royong,’ a community effort. Komang Kurniawan coordinated with the local traditional leader (Kelian Adat) to organize residents into three work groups. Each group takes turns working from 8:00 to 11:00 AM daily. Although the work is voluntary, the community shows remarkable spirit—driven by the dream of a better future for their children.

With deep emotion and gratitude, the people of Manikaji extend heartfelt thanks to The German Government funding and #TheWaveProject. This is more than just a concrete road—this is a road of hope to a brighter future!

#EBPP #NGO #RemoteArea #CommunityWork #TheWaveProject

By, Komang Kurniawan, EBPP Chairman & Team Leader