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.

I am Amara Rachmat and I am a part of establishing GEKKO in early 2020 (when I was 14 years old). Through my parents, I have been involved in helping address poverty (through GK Indonesia) since I was a kid. But I believe these two things are very different. Being involved in GK, I was able to build relationships with the community and participate in multiple activities, but joining GEKKO allows me to take initiative on my own. I have the opportunity to pursue individual projects that are much closer to my heart and that I am more passionate about such as the micro enterprises and revitalizing Handswork. Being with my own peers in GEKKO, there is a bigger sense of belonging; a comfortable space to contribute our own ideas while efficiently working on our GEKKO projects; and a lot more fun.

My name is Anna and I have had the privilege of working with the GK communities through GEKKO since I was 12 years old. 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.

My name is Chloe. I joined GEKKO in early-2020 as a volunteer in the shirt project — contributing to shirt designs. 2 months after, I officially joined the GEKKO founding team. GEKKO stood out to me due to our focus on providing opportunities to underprivileged communities. Our mission to foster a self-sustaining community truly resonates with me, and I am grateful to be part of GEKKO’s many efforts. As we move past the pandemic, taking on new initiatives and projects, GEKKO has truly blossomed. Whether it is cooking classes, visits, or badminton games, it has been a blessing getting to know the GK community. I am excited to continue our projects and initiatives here at GEKKO, and I look forward to supporting more GK members in the future!

My Name is Katie! I joined GEKKO in early 2021 when I was 15 because of the stories I heard of how people and families were impacted by the COVID-19 quarantine measures, some more severely than others. I wanted to be directly involved in the efforts made to help the community around me, and GEKKO gave me the opportunity to do so. Ever since lockdown subsided, we all agreed that GEKKO should remain active as a platform where we can all find ways to address poverty and other global issues in communities around Jakarta. Without the limitations of the pandemic, we now have more opportunities to work at the frontlines of these global issues and expand into different initiatives that we are all passionate about. In addition to this, working with GEKKO has also given me the opportunity to work closely with the people I love, and I hope that it continues to grow beyond our small team and touch the lives of people around Indonesia.

My name is Darron Lembong and I joined GEKKO  when I was a sophomore at the Jakarta Intercultural School (JIS) in 2022. One of the reasons why I found GEKKO to be so important is because it focused on providing the community with what it truly needed; allowing for a connection to form between the community we help to develop and us. My hope for the future is to  continue with GEKKO and for the families in communities GEKKO is helping to truly thrive.

Hello, My name is Kyle. My social involvement adventures began in sixth grade when I joined the middle school GK club. Back then, the school would bring the kids from GK communities to school and we would do activities with them. In early 2022, I joined GEKKO as a teenager wanting to be a part of finding solutions to the issues confronting our society today.  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 GEKKO inspires me to do more.

My name is Farah Zalfa, I am currently studying at Al-Azhar Senior High School and I just recently joined GEKKO. I am in social media team with Adhel and Wiro. With the world interconnected through internet, I hope Gekko social media platforms can inspire people by learning about GEKKO’s mission and work.

Hello, my name is Wiro. I joined Gekko earlier this year (2023) as a high school student at Al Azhar High School.

Helping others and also teaching those who are in need is what I found in Gekko. It inspires me that we can all be together helping address poverty in our country.  I hope GEKKO will continue grow as a platform.

My name is Adhel. I joined GEKKO in early 2023 as a senior high school student at Al-Azhar Senior High School. I found an opportunity in Gekko to help people while being together with youth like me. I hope Gekko will continue to be a successful and strong team in the future.

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!