For residents in urban areas, having a house with a bathroom is an absolute must, but for some residents in rural areas, this has not been fulfilled in every household. In Cibuntu Village, Ciampea District, Bogor Regency, West Java, for example, to serve the needs of more than Of 40 households, they only have 5 bathing, washing, and toilet facilities (MCK). Or, if the average is calculated, every MCK must meet the needs of 8 households.
Most residents in Cibuntu do not have MCK. They take advantage of the river around them to meet their need for water. This has the potential to hurt the environment and the health of residents if left unchecked for a long period.
This condition moved lecturers and students from the Department of Chemical Engineering (DTK) Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia (FTUI) to help encourage the welfare of residents by holding community service activities which were packaged through the “Chemical Engineering in Charity (CHERRY) 2022” activity. This activity began last September through the construction of public toilet facilities in collaboration with the Science and Technology Association of Chemical Engineering Students (IMTK) FTUI. “Alhamdulillah, on October 8, 2022, this public MCK was inaugurated. We hope that the construction of public toilets can help residents in the long term,” said Dr. Kenny Lischer, DTK FTUI lecturer who was involved in the community service activities.
Apart from the lack of toilet facilities, Kampung Cibuntu also lacks access to clean water, especially for houses that are far from the residents’ water reservoirs. To overcome this problem, DTK FTUI collaborated with the Society of Petroleum Engineers at the Universitas Indonesia Student Chapter (SPE UISC), the American Institute of Chemical Engineers at the Universitas Indonesia Student Chapter (AIChE UISC), and the Association of Indonesian Petroleum Engineers, Universitas Indonesia Student Section (IATMI SMUI), to build installation of water pumps to meet the demand for clean water with a larger debit.
In the series of CHERRY 2022 activities, DTK FTUI also synergizes with the Society for Biological Engineering, Universitas Indonesia Student Chapter (SBE UISC) to hold socialization and training on manure making for residents. According to Dr. Kenny, although many residents of Cibuntu Village have livestock such as goats, their livestock manure has not been properly managed and utilized. Through this socialization and training, it is hoped that residents can understand the stages of making manure so that the fertilizer can be used to fertilize gardens and increase residents’ yields.
This socialization activity began with a presentation of material related to manure and continued with a demonstration of the stages of making manure. One of the residents of RT 01 Kampung Cibuntu, Abdurrahman, welcomed this activity. “Alhamdulillah, with this training, I can learn how to make manure. In the future, fertilizer produced by CHERRY 2022 and SBE UISC will be used for plants in gardens. Hopefully, the next harvest will be better,” said Abdurrahman.
In addition, another activity in the CHERRY 2022 series in collaboration with the UI Student Executive Board (BEM) is to provide medical examination services. The health checks are provided free of charge to residents, including physical examinations (height and weight), general medical check-ups, providing healthy lifestyle education, and distributing health kits containing vitamins B, C, and D.
The student service team also visited and filled out activities at the Cibuntu Village Reading Gardens. They introduced several professions to the children of Kampung Cibuntu residents by showing videos. The students guide the children to draw their dreams and invite them to play.
The children of Cibuntu Village were very enthusiastic about being invited to play and learn, considering that their meetings were limited and school activities had to stop due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Dean of FTUI, Prof. Dr. Heri Hermansyah, S.T., M.Eng., IPU expressed his appreciation for the CHERRY 2022 community service activities carried out by DTK FTUI.
“The CHERRY 2022 activity is a community service activity that helps improve the welfare of the residents of Cibuntu Village, Bogor. This step of making a real contribution deserves to be appreciated. Hopefully, in the future there will be many activities like CHERRY 2022 within FTUI, as a manifestation of the realization of an Excellent and Impactful FTUI,” said Prof. Harry.
The community service activity for FTUI CHERRY 2022 was closed by handing over donations in the form of used books, used toys, and stationery for communal use at the Cibuntu Village Reading Gardens. Submission of this donation received a good response from the residents of Kampung Cibuntu. Several activities in CHERRY 2022 are expected to have a positive impact on the welfare of the residents of Cibuntu Village.
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Bureau of Public Communications
Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia