The curtain was finally called. After five and half years of field activities and programs across the Indonesian archipelago, the USAID-funded Environmental Services Program (ESP) culminated its close-down through a one-day workshop themed “Melanjutkan Jejak Perubahan”, or Continuing the Footsteps of Change, at Hotel Sultan, Jakarta on 20 January 2010.

The event was attended by ESP partners, including those from donor agencies, local and national government bodies, NGOs, and local communities. ESP’s closest partner agency, the Coordinating Ministry for People’s Welfare (Menkokesra), was represented by the Secretary to Minister Indroyono Soesilo.

“It is a bittersweet moment for all of us,” expressed USAID Mission Director Walter North in his opening remarks. ESP has come to an end, but its work has touched the lives of millions of people. “The number of people suffering from water born diseases has dropped by 10.6%, from 18.3% in February 2007 to 7.7% in June 2009 in communities in Aceh, North Sumatra, West Java, Central Java/Yogyakarta, East Java, DKI Jakarta and Papua. Fortunately, in the last 4-5 years we have seen growing interest and support by all stakeholders to increase access to safe water for the people of Indonesia.”

“Bittersweet” seemed to be the preferred word for describing the workshop, cropping up in Walter North’s opening speech and USAID Director of Basic Human Services Alfred Nakatsuma’s closing remarks. The workshop marked the end of an ambitious environmental program with impressive results. Over the program period, ESP spanned 6 High Priority Provinces, namely Aceh, North Sumatra, East Java, Central Java/Yogyakarta, West Java and DKI Jakarta, in addition to the three Eastern Indonesia provinces of Manado, Ambon and Jayapura, Papua. It has conducted, among other things, 239 awareness campaigns with topics ranging from hand washing with soap to gender awareness, from reforestation to spatial planning.

Partnerships with municipal water companies and local banks have impacted the lives of approximately 1.25 million low-income households in several cities in Sumatera, Java and Sulawesi, who obtained access to piped water facilities. From the award-winning sub-district Wonokromo in Surabaya to inspiring community of North Petojo in Jakarta, millions of Rupiah were earned from sale of products and accessories made from recycled plastic and organic waste. Walk down the beach of Kuala Meurisi in Aceh Jaya, Aceh, and you will see hundreds of pine trees as part of a reforestation program in 2007, which transformed a devastated beach area following the devastating 2004 tsunami.

Yet throughout the event, it was apparent that all these results were just the beginning of a new journey. During the event’s morning session, eight ESP partners including member of community, PDAM director, Aceh governor’s aide, entrepreneur and government officials, vowed to continue the work of ESP into the future.

“There is no reason why we should stop working on what we have now, even when ESP no longer assists us. We can see how our lives have improved with the CGH School and Kampong programs, and we will do it ourselves from now on, be it reforestation or other awareness activities,” said Deny Setyorini from Batu, East Java with confidence.

Representing the Aceh Green initiative, Yakob Ishadamy explained how donor programs come and go in his province. “Many of them just give money or aid without working together with the people to figure out what they really need and want. ESP staff listens and then gives us resources in the form of knowledge and skills. These two things enabled us to move on after the tsunami, and even better, to get what we couldn’t get before.”

The morning session was followed by three thematic workshops on watershed management, services finance, and sanitation issues. Here, workshop participants were presented with not only testimonies of ESP works by partners but also with ways on how to leverage those excellent results.

Central Jakarta Mayor Sylviana Murni, one of the speakers for the sanitation panel said that the ability to engage urban communities in an environmental activity is what she valued most from ESP.

“Take MCK++ for example,” said Sylviana. “It is a sanitation facility that brings a lot of benefits to surrounding communities. Without better preparation, both technical and social, it will be useless. ESP knows this and thus starts approaching with communities from the beginning. The result is a sophisticated facility well-managed by local communities.”

At the watershed management session, when asked by moderator to describe ESP, local community leader Solehudin, who worked together with ESP in the Micro-Watershed Management program simply said, “ESP is a bridge. It helps me connect with what I need to improve my environment and my life.”

The bridge has not disappeared. The links that strengthen the foundation still remain. The closing of ESP starts a new beginning of a long journey to improve health and environmental conditions in Indonesia.