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Conflict in the region continued to disrupt Minda’s studies until the escalating risks" /> <meta name="generator" content="Drupal 7 (https://www.drupal.org)" /> <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.sil.org/blog/courage-return" /> <link rel="shortlink" href="https://www.sil.org/node/343101" /> <meta property="og:site_name" content="SIL Global" /> <meta property="og:type" content="article" /> <meta property="og:url" content="https://www.sil.org/blog/courage-return" /> <meta property="og:title" content="Courage to Return" /> <meta property="og:description" content="An education consultant in Southeast Asia overcomes a lifetime of obstacles to return to school. Minda began her undergraduate degree studying management in her home province [of Maluku, Indonesia]. She dreamed of becoming an economist after witnessing a riot in the city where she lived. Conflict in the region continued to disrupt Minda’s studies until the escalating risks forced her to relocate to Jakarta to finish her coursework. After arriving, Minda encountered even more frustrations. The Faculty of Education offered the only available openings for incoming students at her new university." /> <meta property="og:updated_time" content="2024-11-21T08:30:57-06:00" /> <meta property="og:image" content="https://www.sil.org/sites/default/files/images/story/mm.png" /> <meta property="og:image:url" content="https://www.sil.org/sites/default/files/images/story/mm.png" /> <meta property="og:image:secure_url" content="https://www.sil.org/sites/default/files/images/story/mm.png" /> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" /> <meta name="twitter:creator" content="@SILintl" /> <meta name="twitter:url" content="https://www.sil.org/blog/courage-return" /> <meta name="twitter:title" content="Courage to Return" /> <meta name="twitter:description" content="An education consultant in Southeast Asia overcomes a lifetime of obstacles to return to school. Minda began her undergraduate degree studying management in her home province [of Maluku, Indonesia]." /> <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://www.sil.org/sites/default/files/images/story/mm.png" /> <meta property="article:published_time" content="2024-11-21T11:10:04-06:00" /> <meta property="article:modified_time" content="2024-11-21T08:30:57-06:00" /> <title>Courage to Return | SIL Global</title> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://www.sil.org/sites/default/files/css/css_lQaZfjVpwP_oGNqdtWCSpJT1EMqXdMiU84ekLLxQnc4.css" media="all" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://www.sil.org/sites/default/files/css/css_EM9PzeHZt2AxxQ3R05nXINg9akBOG66G3hxOgWtlp2E.css" media="all" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://www.sil.org/sites/default/files/css/css_y-6OGvqwgwpR259lzJYNwvxpJm3Q1qOD_DWt90goRpM.css" media="all" /> <style>.panels-flexible-new .panels-flexible-region { padding: 0; } .panels-flexible-new .panels-flexible-region-inside 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<section id="block-system-main" class="block block-system clearfix"> <article id="node-343101" class="node node-blog node-promoted clearfix"> <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img class="img-responsive" src="https://www.sil.org/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_1140/public/images/story/mm.png?itok=x4VajN3p" width="950" height="502" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="view view-blog-post-masthead-information view-id-blog_post_masthead_information view-display-id-entity_view_1 text-center view-dom-id-9536eb8c3b930314cfca9835b4b25f43"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first views-row-last"> <div class="views-field views-field-title"> <h3 class="field-content">Courage to Return</h3> </div> <div class="views-field views-field-name"> <h6 class="field-content">by <span class="blog-post-author">Kelly Martin</span></h6> </div> <div class="views-field views-field-created"> <span class="field-content blog-post-post-date">21 November 2024</span> </div> <div class="views-field views-field-nothing"> <span class="field-content"><hr/></span> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><h2><small>An education consultant in Southeast Asia overcomes a lifetime of obstacles to return to school.</small></h2> <p>Minda began her undergraduate degree studying management in her home province [of Maluku, Indonesia]. She dreamed of becoming an economist after witnessing a riot in the city where she lived. Conflict in the region continued to disrupt Minda’s studies until the escalating risks forced her to relocate to Jakarta to finish her coursework. </p> <p>After arriving, Minda encountered even more frustrations. The Faculty of Education offered the only available openings for incoming students at her new university. However, Minda felt serious reservations about a career in education after her teacher in grade school advised her to avoid jobs in teaching due to the low salary and health risks of inhaling years of chalk dust. </p> <p>Disappointed, but without other options, Minda transferred to the education department. Isolation from her friends and the burden of completing the course load alone placed an immense strain on her, and she struggled to adapt in this new setting. When she completed her undergraduate studies, the emotional exhaustion left Minda with little desire to attempt further education. </p> <p>Minda’s perspective on teaching changed once she encountered adults and students desperate to learn. Moved by their enthusiasm, Minda started a children’s reading course. Years later, Minda unexpectedly found herself invited to attend a linguistics training in Jakarta by SIL staff member, Kay Ringenberg, a longtime family friend. Kay’s team supported language communities in Minda’s home province, and at the training’s end, Kay asked if Minda enjoyed literacy and education. Minda quickly responded, “Yes!”, and in 2007, Minda began working alongside Kay as a member of SIL Indonesia. </p> <p>After years of friendship and professional guidance, Kay eventually encouraged Minda to take over her role and responsibilities working in multilingual education. Minda clearly recalls a time when Kay responded to an invitation to visit the Ministry of Education, saying, “I am already old; I will send Minda.” Though Minda admits, “At that time I did not feel adequate.”</p> <p>In 2016, Minda joined <a href="https://suluh.org/en/mengapa-menjaga-bahasa-dan-budaya-english/">Yayasan Suluh Insan Lestari</a> (Suluh) to continue her pivotal role in contributing to multilingual education efforts as a member of Suluh’s Education Team. An Indonesian-led organization which supports language and community development throughout the country, Suluh Insan Lestari often collaborates with SIL in the areas of training and consultation. </p> <p>Her work in early childhood education often results in invitations to visit educational institutions who naturally ask about her educational background and credentials. These questions made her uneasy, so she limited her sights to only working in rural settings which required no additional education. However, the words of a colleague helped her reconsider this decision: “If you want to enlarge the impact of what you are doing, you have to develop yourself. You have to improve your capacity.”</p> <p>Minda felt hesitant because of her previously poor experience and the financial burden of continuing her education, but in January 2022, she learned that SIL would provide a scholarship for her to pursue a master’s degree. With support from her colleagues, this opportunity gave Minda the confidence boost she needed to set her professional sights even higher. </p> <p>Learning she would receive a scholarship to continue learning, Minda says that she “felt like she had been granted a dream come true beyond her imagination.” Minda has been diligently working on her studies since January 2024, pursuing a major in Education Technology. She is eager to apply the things she is learning in the communities where she works, and by attending online classes in the evening, she can continue serving in the role she loves—helping young students succeed in the classroom. </p> </div></div></div> </article> </section> <section id="block-block-261" class="block block-block blog-footer-links blog-footer-links clearfix"> <p> </p> <hr /> <p><a class="btn btn-default text-center" href="/blog" role="button">Back to Blog</a></p> </section> </div> </section> </div> </div> <footer class="footer"> <div class="footer-top"> <div class="container"> <div class="region region-footer"> <section id="block-panels-mini-sil-bootstrap-footer-menu" class="block block-panels-mini clearfix"> <div class="panel-flexible panels-flexible-new clearfix" id="mini-panel-sil_bootstrap_footer_menu"> <div class="panel-flexible-inside panels-flexible-new-inside"> <div class="panels-flexible-row panels-flexible-row-new-main-row panels-flexible-row-first clearfix footer-links"> <div class="inside panels-flexible-row-inside panels-flexible-row-new-main-row-inside panels-flexible-row-inside-first clearfix"> <div class="panels-flexible-region panels-flexible-region-new-column_1 panels-flexible-region-first "> <div class="inside panels-flexible-region-inside panels-flexible-region-new-column_1-inside panels-flexible-region-inside-first"> <div class="panel-pane pane-block pane-block-276 pane-block footer-logo" > <div class="pane-content"> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/sil_logo_white.png" style="width: 100px; 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