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Village fireflies (Kunang-kunang Kampung)

Village fireflies (Kunang-kunang Kampung)
The village people of Loncek practice how to use the internet.. Photo by Alexander Mering

He was right. He did not have to sell dog meat that cost Rp 30 000 a plate. He did not have to sell used clothing from house to house just like when I met him for the first time during an assessment in Loncek. He was now a final year undergraduate at the Mathematics and Natural Sciences Faculty (MIPA) at University Tanjungpura, Pontianak. He was an educator, facilitator and was now flying from places to places on a plane.

He told of his last days spent playing the dice. It was during his years at lower secondary school (SMP). To obtain an education, Edi had to leave his parents at home in the village. He lived at the student hostel owned by the church at Korek village not far from his own village about a day’s journey using a motorboat.