Hello, my name is Matthew Sennelius, I am a rising 10th grader at Singapore American School. I joined Gerakan Kepedulian (GK) as a 6th-grader at Jakarta Intercultural School, thinking that GK looked like a fun, one-off experience. Then I found myself signing up semester after semester. I discovered, by working with these kids, that we had much to learn from one another.

Through this pandemic, I found an opportunity to work with friends and help the GK communities in a new way. The team behind Gekko Indonesia wants to help GK families by creating jobs and building learning centers. One day, we want to hand over this online business for them to run independently. We all look forward to the day that they hit the ground running as autonomous, self-sustaining, and successful members of their community.

My name is Anna and I have had the privilege of working with the GK communities for four years. Many people ask me why I’m so committed to helping “strangers”. The truth is, these people have become my friends. The sense of community is so strong, working together with them has been an eye-opening experience. They are so generous and welcoming they inspire me to become the best version of myself. I thought I would be the one helping them but through all these years, they have taught me a lot too. No one is too young not to be able to do something towards poverty uplifting, community development, and nation-building.

Hello, My name is Kyle, and I am currently a student studying at Jakarta Intercultural School. My adventure with GK began in sixth grade when I joined the middle school club. However, I am a member of GK’s Gekko initiative as of 2022. After witnessing the issues confronting our society today, I was determined to make a difference. I wanted to make a difference in my home country of Indonesia, where I was born and raised. I enjoy working with Gekko because everyone on the team is profoundly passionate about making a difference. Being a part of GK has been amazing, and joining Gekko now is truly inspiring.

My name is Katie, I’m a high school student at Sekolah Pelita Harapan Lippo Village, and I’m the leader of marketing. I decided to get involved with Gekko Indonesia because I have seen how many people’s lives have been affected by COVID and the quarantine measures, some more severely than others. After seeing how difficult life becomes for the less fortunate, I have come to a new appreciation to still have my family and friends around me. This project has given me the opportunity to help people while working closely with the people I love. My hope for this project is for it to grow beyond our small team and to one day touch the lives of people around Indonesia.

My name is Chloe, and I'm a sophomore currently attending JIS. I joined GK at the start of the pandemic, and the experience has been delightful. GK stood out to me since it didn't simply donate money to the less fortunate but instead focused on providing opportunities for all its members. It has been humbling and gratifying to be a part of GK (and now Gekko Indonesia), and it's incredible to know we are helping GK families during tough times like these!

My name is Darron, and I'm a sophomore at JIS. I only recently joined GEKKO, GK’s youth initiative, but it's such a welcoming community that it has already become a passion of mine to continue this project. One of the reasons why I found GK/GEKKO to be so important was because it focused on providing the community with what it truly needed, allowing for a connection to form between the community we strive to preserve and us. My hope for the future is to not only continue with this project and have the community develop and grow with our

Hello, my name is Amara and I am a JIS student. When I first started working with GK, I had the opportunity to support many children through the Gekko initiative. I, along with my teammates, encourage youngsters to be more creative.

I have been often asked why am I helping out in a foreign land. My reply? I have always thought that helping those who are in need is something that is part of our responsibility to a world we all live in, regardless of nationality, race, faith, culture. We are all brethren sharing the same world.

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The youth, regardless of economic background, are the future. When you plant the seeds of caring and “reaching out” in them, you are building a new world that cares.

My name is Amanda, and I am a designer in Gekko. I graduated from JIS in 2010 and studied Film/Animation/Video at Rhode Island School of Design (2011-2015). I have been part of Gekko since summer 2020. It has been my pleasure working with the Gekko crew in helping GK families in Indonesia especially in this pandemic where many families are hit hard economically. I love that Gekko doesn’t help families in Indonesia only by giving them funds, but that they also teach them to fish and support themselves. While helping Gekko, it was especially inspiring to see the collaborative energy and heart the crew poured out to help these families. I hope that many more families can be empowered through Gekko!