8,178 students from Universitas Gadjah Mada are currently taking part in a Community Service Program known as KKN. They've been spread across 298 locations in 32 provinces throughout Indonesia, in a program designed to show, in real terms, how universities play a direct role in community development.
Although Indonesia and Timor Leste share a dark chapter in their shared history, this KKN program run by Universitas Gadjah Mada students in Belu, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), and Timor Leste carries a hopeful spirit among other things, aiming to rebuild good relations between the people of both nations.
Bonafasius Karel Laksamana Pratista, a Regional Development student at Universitas Gadjah Mada, serves as the unit coordinator (Kormanit) for the KKN program in Belu, East Nusa Tenggara. In this area, students are spread across Dualaus village in Kakuluk Mesak sub-district, as well as Sadi and Tulakadi villages in East Tasifeto sub district. The program runs from 20 June until 8 August 2026.
According to Karel, one of the reasons they chose to run the program far from campus is to serve in 3T regions Indonesia's term for underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost areas especially those along the border.
In the three villages covered by the program, UGM students identified different local potentials. Dua Laus village is home to a large statue of Our Lady, Protector of All Nations, which holds strong potential for religious tourism, in addition to fishing potential as a coastal village. Tulakadi village has strong potential in agriculture, particularly dryland farming. Currently, efforts are underway to develop a crystal guava orchard there.
Meanwhile, Sadi village stands out for its rich social and cultural character, thanks to its cultural heritage and traditions. This village is also where fossils of an ancient elephant species, known as stegodon, were discovered.
Beyond this potential, NTT is known as a province with a dry climate and one of the poorest in Indonesia. This condition presents its own challenge one that the students must also help address.
These are the kinds of challenges we're trying to address together. One way we're doing this is through our flagship program. We're working on creating a village masterplan a document we design to map out how a village should be developed in the future.Karel
Collaboration was also built with universities in both NTT and Timor Leste. From NTT, these include Universitas Nusa Cendana and Politeknik Ben Mboi, as well as Universitas Pertahanan, a military logistics vocational campus. Meanwhile, from Timor Leste, there's the Dili Institute of Technology.
One of the students taking part in the KKN program at this location, Mahadri Arkan Abimanyu, focused on issues related to relations between the two countries, as he is a student in the International Relations program at UGM.
It would be strange to see the border as a potential source of conflict. In fact, the border binds the two nations together. If a river that serves as the national border can't be managed, it's the local communities who end up losing out.Abimanyu
UGM students come to Belu, NTT, and Timor Leste not to build monumental projects that end quickly, but instead choose to build lasting systems. This involves transferring knowledge and developing community groups. The hope is that what these students have started can continue, even after they return home.
