Mapa Gunadharma

By Barrie | October 5th, 2007 | No Comments

What can a student organization for nature lovers offer to its members? Students join this organization at their campus for different reasons. Many have said they joined to get knowledge and skill in outdoor activities like wall climbing, caving, rafting and anything else that brings fun.

Others said they joined the group as a show of their concern for the environment. Through this organization, they can get involved in reforestation, river cleaning and other beneficial actions.

But when we asked similar questions to members of Gunadharma University’s nature-lovers organization (Mapa Gunadharma), they gave a different answer.

“I joined because I feel like I am home. Members of the organization have become family,” Nonik said at her campus.

“We are not just members of the organization but feel we are brothers and sisters,” she added.

Ulin, another member, expressed the same opinion. Although she finished her studies in 1995, she often visits the “office” of Mapa Gunadharma to share information.

“My husband and children also know several group members,” said Ulin, a mother of two.

Finishing her studies in 1995 meant that Ulin was never a schoolmate of Nonik, who started only in 2003. Eventually, they met each other through the organization.

“We met each other at an event here. Then, we get closer and become like sisters,” Nonik said.

Good relations between organization members are maintained through outdoor activities like Smiling Camp and family gatherings.

“At those events, I can bring my husband and children to have fun. Eventually, they got to know my friends at the organization,” she said.

Of course, Mapa Gunadharma, which was established in 1987, is not just about outdoor activities and games. There are trophies that the organization has collected in competitions.

The latest was won at a Wall Climbing Contest in Jakarta last year. The winner was none other than Nonik.

“I won first prize for my ability to reach the top in a wall-climbing contest,” she said.

To be sure, every success requires a lot of effort.

For Nonik, the challenge is getting regular physical exercise to keep her stamina up and to improve the strength of her fingers. She usually exercises twice a week during which she practices running, push-ups and pull-ups.

She started doing those exercises after Mapa Gunadharma officially accepted her as a member three months after her enrollment.

Like other students who wanted to join the group, Nonik had to participate in an orientation program and a small expedition to a mountain or forest.

“We provide basic training to help them with survival skills,” Ulin said.

It is in this training that the members are introduced to the organization’s principles and motto that says, “Tough is neither at the beginning nor in the middle. But tough is through the end.”

When there is no scheduled expedition, the group organizes social activities such as blood donation or setting up command posts to help disaster victims.

Through togetherness, the organization not only offers something to its members, but also the community.

Kurniawan Hari