Empower Youth Through Youth Organization

Since graduating from high school in 2006, Suhendar has been active as a member of the Karang Taruna (Youth Organization). His motivation for joining this youth organization which exists up to the village / sub-district level is that he wants to add friends and experience and be useful for others.

When asked why he chose the Karang Taruna organization over other youth organizations, Nday, as he is familiarly called, answered "Karang Taruna is a legitimate organization recognized by the state from ancient times".

For 11 years he has joined this youth organization and has become chairman of 2 periods 2011-2014, and 2014-2017. In addition, Nday is also the administrator of the Bogor City Youth Organization for Cooperation and Imaging for the 2016-2021 period.

The dedication to Karang Taruna can be seen from the time spent by Nday for this organization. According to him, 30 percent of his daily time is devoted to the organization, 40 percent to entrepreneurship, and 30 percent to family and personal life.

In recruiting members of Karang Taruna, Nday said that he encountered many difficulties, including because at this time the awareness and interest of youth in the social sector had decreased. Today's youth are more individual, and busier with their gadgets than in socializing, let alone active in organizations.

According to Nday, Karang Taruna as a grassroots organization must receive support from the lowest level of government, namely the sub-district / village. This was felt by this young man who was born in Bogor, where the Head of the Village supports every activity and youth development of this organization.

"Being a member of the Youth Organization is an interesting experience, every road around the Cikaret Village area is always greeted, and there are many new families in various regions," said the young man who is also a volunteer at the Bogor City Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD).

Through the Tunas Bhakti Youth Organization, Suhendar also empowered the youth of the Cikaret area through productive economic efforts (UEP), namely screen printing, graphic design, and printing. In addition, he founded the Event Planner, which is the organizer of events in the field of child and family education through "Ulin.id" from 2016 to date.

These positive activities are expected to lead youth to be more independent and avoid various negative influences or associations, including drug abuse and juvenile delinquency.

To facilitate communication between Karang Tarunas throughout the city of Bogor, there is a communication forum through the Whatsapp Group (WAG), the aim of which is to share information and support each other in various activities and annually create joint activities.

In the future, Suhendar hopes that Karang Taruna can become a partner of the government in various fields, especially in youth and alleviating social problems in the region. Hopefully, Karang Taruna can continue to get attention from the government, especially related to operations and secretarial support facilities.