OUR INSPIRING ORANGUTAN MONITORING TEAM’S

The vision and mission of the BOS Foundation to save orangutans and their habitat heavily relies on the efforts and commitment of our team’s.  Behind the scenes are the dedicated people who work for the BOS Foundation and are praised as an inspiration by their colleagues.
 

Purnomo: An Inspiration in Camp Totat Jalu
Born in Demak, Central Java on September 7 1987 Purnomo, called Pur by his friends and colleagues, moved to Kalimantan to stay with a relative and find a job to help improve his family’s economic situation.  The fifth son of seven children to parents Kasmun and Sarmonah he then worked as a shop attendant and sold clothes door-to-door from one village to another in the Muara Joloi area.

There he often met with and eventually chatted to the Nyaru Menteng Team, which at the time was on the way to Bukit Batikap Conservation Forest. His interest in the BOS Foundation’s work grew stronger and one day he decided to apply for a job.

Pur started working for the BOS Foundation in Nyaru Menteng in 2008 as daily worker. His great work ethic led to his promotion to a Orangutan Monitoring Technician in Camp Rekut, Busang River, Muara Joloi until 2011.  In 2012, Pur was deployed to Camp Totat Jalu in the Bukit Batikap Conservation Forest and ever since, he has been directly involved in the BOS Foundation orangutan released events in this area of Central Kalimantan.

It has been six years since he first joined the BOS Foundation. Having completed his formal education only up to Junior High School, Pur is now the Assistant for the Post Release Monitoring team in Camp Totat Jalu. His portfolio now consists of his vast knowledge in forestry, orangutan radio tracking techniques, data collection on orangutan behaviour, phenology, nest surveys and transect establishment.  He took it upon himself to learn about land navigation, GPS, and simple laboratory sample processing by observing and asking questions to both researchers and the Nyaru Menteng Team, who are on duty in Camp Totat Jalu.

With his knowledge and ability, Pur is never one to keep them to himself. He shares his knowledge with his colleagues, making him a highly respected person among the Team. He is an inspiration and motivation to everyone who knows him, especially those in Totat Jalu, to work hard and learn even harder.  He shows that limited formal education is not a barrier as long as one has the will to move further.
 

Agus: Favourite Technician Camp 103
Married to Siti Imronah since 2010 and now having a young son, Agus Purniawan was determined that he would support his family independently, even though it meant he would have to leave them behind to find a job that was scarce where he came from.  When a relative who already joined Orangutan Habitat Restoration (RHO) Program in Kehje Sewen Camp told him about their work on orangutan monitoring, Agus was interested to join.

Agus, who was born in Kendal, Central Java on June 6 1990, had to negotiate with his wife, parents, and in-laws when he announced his intention. His parents and parents-in-law were willing to help support the young family, but Agus was firm with his decision that he would support his own family and not to be dependant on anyone else.  He has long been known as an independent and hardworking person.

Helped by his uncle who already worked with RHO, Agus finally convinced his family. He officially joined the RHO Program in September 9 2012 as an orangutan monitoring technician in Camp 103, Kehje Sewen.

However, supporting his family was not his sole motivation when he decided to move far away to another Indonesian island.  Agus’ interest in wildlife stems from his uncle. “When I heard so many interesting stories  from my uncle, my curiousity and passion slowly grew.  I wanted to know more about monitoring orangutans in the forest.” said Agus.  Agus admits that joining RHO has given him a special pride.  It is an uncommon occupation, and Agus feels it is an honour to bring back the orangutans back to their natural habitat.

The high school graduate doesn’t have the corresponding academic background to what he is working on with RHOI, but thanks to his great will to learn, Agus now posseses knowlegde on radio tracking for orangutan monitoring, phenology surveys, GPS and compass operation; he even has vast knowledge on orangutan food trees and plants, together with their latin names!

In Camp 103, among his colleagues, Agus is known as a hardworker and a humble person. He is passionate in sharing his knowledge. Hence, Agus who also has gained expedition experience in the southern area of Kehje Sewen with experts and researchers, was chosen as Best Technician and Favourite Technician of Camp 103 Kehje Sewen in 2013.