Meet the Team

In 2003 Rebecca founded the Bukit Lawang Trust as an emergency aid station. In response to a disastrous flood that destroyed much of the community. Now almost 18 years on, she overseas the Trusts global growth strategy, manages donor and grant acquisition & is responsible for the Trusts vision and ethos. 

Melanie used to work for the UK railways, before leaving in Spring 2022 to go travelling. During this time period she volunteered as a teacher across Asia and loved working with international groups of children and adults, believing that education is the most valuable asset we can give to each other. She is also a coach and has always enjoyed helping others to achieve their goals. 

As Operations Manager, Melanie runs our community hub in North Sumatra and makes the on the ground decisions. She oversees all the day to day management and works closely with our trustees, donors and partners. She is also our hub Yoga teacher!

Jesse worked for charities in the UK before leaving to go travelling. One of the charities helped refugees and asylum seekers to become chefs and in the other, he helped migrants to obtain their UK citizenship. 

Jesse has been a volunteer in many projects himself, including English teaching, and so really understands the volunteer experience!

He manages volunteer recruitment and coordinates all volunteers throughout their journey with us. He is also a brilliant cook and Jungle Fit instructor!

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Yessie is our newest Programme Coordinator and prior to joining Trust, she worked as a Teacher and Community Engagement Facilitator in remote areas of Indonesia, such as South Nias, West Papua, and Mentawai Island. She is passionate about education and community development. Today Yessie works to provide outstanding teaching and facilitation for the English Second Language (ESL) Program with quality learning for children and adults in the communities we serve.

Sifa was actually a member of the Trust as a high school student! She then went on to study Public Health at the University of North Sumatra. As Program Coordinator at the Bukit Lawang Trust, Sifa works alongside our Program Managers to facilitate the delivery of our English teaching and business programmes. Sifa works closely with our project partners on the ground to deliver outstanding teaching and facilitate high quality learning for children and adults in the communities we serve.

Additionally, Sifa helps to train and guide our volunteers through their placements with us.

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Yola is our FM and is in charge of organising and running many of the day to day operations at the hub and managing the building. She is also in charge of Community Engagement and leads on developing the Trusts relationships with local NGO and other partners in and around Bukit Lawang. 

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Yola is a Bachelor of Education, majoring in English. She really enjoys teaching students as they have a passion for studying even though living in a rural area. She loves arts and culture, and the BLT helps her discover more about them. In particular, Obrolan Wanita (Women’s Chat) has taught her knowledge and she’s shared lots with the women.  She believes everyone deserves to have access to the same education so that they can learn about and see more of the world that we share.

Dea studied in medical school as well as learning German in her spare time before shifting over to working in the field of education.  Dea gained valuable work experience as one of the Trust’s Kindergarten Teachers and is now one of our Programme Coordinators. She is responsible for delivering high quality sessions in the communities we serve so can often be found river crossing at the eco-farm and on jungle treks! 

Additionally, Dea helps to train and guide our volunteers through their placements with us.

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Agnes is Programme Coordinator for arranging Youth Ranger Program at Bukit Lawang Trust. Prior to that, she was an Education Improvement Facilitator in a remote area of Indonesia. She graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture Universitas Sam Ratulangi with summa cum laude GPA (3.95/4.00) and was awarded as Gold Medalist in National Student Scientific Week by the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education in 2020. Aside from work, Agnes is passionate about empowerment, sustainability, and mental well-being. In her spare time, she loves to practise mindfulness and spread impact through actively volunteering and being a speaker in youth-related activities. For her, Joining Trust is a personal journey to grow and learn more about conservation.

The vast majority of Rasimah's work experience has been based around delivering education to children of all ages. Rasimah has also worked to adapt educational curriculum through the implementation of conservation attitudes and the ideals of equality and independence into pre primary education. ​Rasimah is responsible for supporting the other kindergarten teachers in the delivery of the Indonesian 'Saya Suka Membaca' curriculum. She is also responsible for preparing our 'Roses Class' students for starting the Indonesian curriculum with 'Roses Class' through the delivery of a 'Learning through play' pedagogy and running crafts and activity sessions alongside our other 'Roses Class' teacher Ida. ​

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Butet has been working as a Kindergarten Teacher for the Bukit Lawang Trust for the past 8 years.

She works with Selvia in our Lions Class and also delivers weekly fitness classes for all of the Kindergarten Students and Parents to take part! 

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Butet is responsible for delivering the Indonesian 'Saya Suka Membaca' kindergarten curriculum to our Lions class alongside our three other Kindergarten Teachers.

She is also responsible for assisting in the delivery of the Education Program alongside education volunteers. ​

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Ida has been working as a Kindergarten teacher for the Bukit Lawang Trust for the past 8 years. She works with our Roses Class and also delivers craft and circus sessions for the Kindergarten students. ​ Ida is responsible for supporting the other kindergarten teachers in the delivery of the Indonesian 'Saya Suka Membaca' kindergarten curriculum. She is also responsible for preparing our 'Roses Class' students for starting the Indonesian curriculum through the delivery of a 'learning through play' pedagogy and running crafts and activity sessions alongside our other 'Roses Class' teacher Rasimah. ​

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Selvia joined the Trust in 2022, making her our newest kindergarten teacher. She is responsible along with the other teachers for the delivery of the Indonesian ‘Saya Suka Membaca’ curriculum.

Selvia also helps organise transport for the kindergarten trips and loves taking them out to explore outside of Gotong Royong. 

Wati is one of our most senior team members, having been part of our family for over 10 years. Wati looks after the school building and the grounds as well as looking after all of us! Wati is responsible for cleaning and site maintenance, She also assists with cooking and preparing class materials and events for the Bukit Lawang Trust.  

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Wati looks after the staff team providing excellent Indonesian and international meals every day for the volunteers and staff.

She also looks after the many tropical plants in the Trust watering and caring for them daily and assists our Hub Caretaker with the cleaning of the Trust.