Dissa Ahdanisa's Stories

For the first time ever, Donald Trump’s sidekick, the current Vice President of the United States of America visited Indonesia. During his brief visit, he decided to meet with 23 YSEALI alumnae for a brief session, and I was one of them. Yes, it was unexpected. I was one of the four panelists who were chosen to represent the program, and no.. I was not there on behalf of just the Indonesian Alumni, I was there on behalf of the whole YSEALI alumnae in ASEAN. We were also the very first youth groups of US State Dept youth exchange programs that current administration met.  So, we needed to tell VPOTUS that youth exchange program matters and create a difference in our lives. We were there to be the voices of the youths of Asia, Africa and the world.. and each one of us only had 1 minute. It may sound dramatic, but it kinda was. When the US Embassy told me that VP is coming to Indonesia and going to meet YSEALI alumnae, I was really impressed. I know that he is ...

As an Indonesian, I have never been to one of the biggest islands in Indonesia, Sulawesi. All these 26 years, I have never been there, but in my 27 th year alive in this world, I finally had a chance to go to Toraja in South Sulawesi and today, I made it to Poso, Central Sulawesi.  With the Deaf Community in Poso - Signing "Poso" Many Indonesians may remember Poso as a conflict-torn town. Started in 1998, a riot happened between Christians and Muslims of the area. People died and massacred by the other groups, their bodies were flown into the river for the whole town to see. 80,000 people fled their homes and stayed at refugee camp.  The next following years, Poso made it to headlines of newspaper as a famous “terrorist nest”. Suicide bombers, gun fight between terrorists and state army were common sights. So I could not really blame my friends in Jakarta when they gave me a shocked face after I told them where I would be the next couple of days. “Poso?! For...