Led by Sergeant-2 Agus Rinto Sitinjak, the soldiers visited the homes of locals to hand out clothes, Commander of the 125/ Si'mbisa Infantry Battalion's RI-PNG Border Security Task Force Commander Lt Col Anjuanda Pardosi remarked.
"By visiting their homes, an emotional connection between the task force personnel and villagers would remain strong until the end of the soldiers' duty at the Kondo security post," Pardosi noted in a statement that ANTARA received here, Saturday.
Pardosi stated that the border security task force's members were glad to demonstrate their care for the residents of Kondo Village.
Local community leader, Marin Bernandus Bomak Mahuse, welcomed the caring gesture by the army personnel. Mahuse thanked them and prayed for their success in accomplishing their duties.
ANTARA noted that Indonesian soldiers, stationed in the provinces of Papua and West Papua, were not merely tasked with securing peace and stability there but were also expected to become involved in community services.
Last year, soldiers from this 125/Simbisa Infantry Battalion had also conducted a community service by inculcating the habit of reading and piquing the curiosity through a mobile library service.
Operated by three army personnel, led by Second Sergeant J. H. Manullang, the mobile library serves the students of Sota Village, Merauke District, Papua Province, according to the task force's commander, Lt Col Anjuanda Pardosi.
The mobile library serves students living in the Indonesia-PNG border area amid the ongoing global pandemic of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that has disrupted learning activities at schools.
The mobile library service is envisaged to stir local students to develop the habit of reading since it will broaden their mindset and expand their knowledge of several aspects of life.
"Books serve as a window to the world," he emphasized.
Through books offered by the mobile library service, the habit of reading can be cultivated among the local students, Pardosi affirmed, adding that apart from rousing their curiosity, the free library service is also part of the task force's territorial operational program.
The residents of Sota Village expressed gratitude and lauded the mobile library service being offered by the border security task force.
"We thank the task force personnel for their care for our kids," stated Alfons Katop, a resident of Sota Village in Sota Sub-district, Merauke District, whose administrative area is part of the Indonesia-PNG border area.
The literacy-related community services, offered by the Indonesian soldiers since several years, have contributed notably to the endeavors of the regional and central governments to boost the quality of human capital in Papua and West Papua.
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Muhsidin, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
