Story by Eric Baldwin, co-founder of Telunas Resorts
While sitting with my friend Wan recently, I reflected on the past 11 years (which is a long time to know anyone, especially someone from a different culture, language, socio-economic status and religion!). I had visited his village 30+ times, spent countless nights sleeping on the floor in his house or on the deck outside, and helped him host literally 100’s of tourists from around the world.
As I was reflecting, I was deeply struck by the transformation that had occurred – and what was even more shocking was that the transformation had not only happened in Wan and his village; it had also taken place in my life and the lives of the hundreds of tourists whom he had hosted on his island.
As we at Telunas Resorts look to our vision of seeing holistic community renewal through geo-tourism, this story is a great example of what we hope to see happen on a much larger scale across the Riau Islands, in our own lives and in the lives of our guests who come to stay with us.
Community Renewal happens through individual lives being transformed. Transformation – a thorough or dramatic change in form or appearance (Oxford Dictionary); many dictionaries even use metamorphosis as a comparable word to transformation. What exactly needs to change? Here are several key components of the transformation process:
- Knowledge
- Worldview
- Behavior
Now back to the example of my friend Wan. What transformation have I seen over the past 11 years? Here are some of the lessons we have learned:
- Wan continues to comment to me how foreigners are much different than he thought at first. “You are not like the movies or what I see on TV. You are good people”, he always tells me.
- We have also seen Wan grow in his leadership along with others in his village. They have taken concrete steps to provide themselves with electricity, better education and other basic services.
- Our tourists are surprised to learn that not all Muslims are like what they see on TV. Most have returned home with radically different views and feelings towards these people!
- I have learned that poverty is quite different from what I originally thought. Many of the poor are not inherently sad; not all poverty is a result of laziness or complacency.
- I have also learned that I don’t have the answer to all of life’s problems. I may think that with a master’s degree and 38 years of life and business experience, that I can come in and solve everyone’s problems. Not true!
It is not easy seeing a life transformed. It takes effort, intentionality, willingness to take risks. And yet, as we seek holistic community renewal through our company, we are seeing a steady stream of lives transformed by and through the programs and trips offered!
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