by Mathur Hasibuan

In the village of Sopo Komil Dairi in North Sumatra, Indonesia, the majority of the people are Christian and make their livelihoods from farming. The region has a large forest and is rich in natural resources. In 2005, mining companies found lead and gold in one of the mountains nearby the village. Soon after investors came, bought the land from the people and started to explore the mines.

Some villagers started working in the mines, but the companies and the people only thought about profit without concern for the pollution from the mine and destruction of the forest. So one young Luthean leader, Deaconess Eleven Sihotang started a project to promote awareness about the effects of mining with young people and encourage them to speak about their rights and concern for integrity of creation. Her project was showcased as one of LWF’s Youth Program ENGAGE. She knew that to succeed she would need help from many parts of the community, like: the Church council, Village Council, NGOs and the parents of young people.

The project started was running for one year since July 2008- July 2009. It included:

1. Recruitment of youth
2. Meetings and discussion
3. Bible Study and Retreat
4. Seminars and Workshops on: family education, Global warming effects, leadership, and HIV/AIDS
5. Action: Free from plastics: cleaned the village from the plastics and made a bag.

The project was successful and now the people in the mining area can understand their rights and the real effects of mining.