Posted on December, 15 2011

HoB’s GI communications has experienced several staff movements in the past few months.

Welcoming

First we extend a big welcoming hello to Noverica (Very) Widjojo, who recently joined us as the HOB NI Assistant Communications Officer, based at WWF-Indonesia in Jakarta.
Very is an International Relations graduate from Parahyangan Catholic University in Bandung who has loved animals since she was a little girl. “I never missed watching education channels on TV such as Animal Planet, National Geographic, and Discovery. I knew WWF and what they were doing while watching one of those channels. I remember WWF as an international organization, working to save animals, because their logo is a cute panda!” She says

While at college, Very wrote her thesis on WWF and its Sumatran tiger conservation programme in Riau, which is where she gained first-hand experience of WWF’s conservation work. After graduating in 2010, she joined WWF-Indonesia in Riau, as one of their Tiger Protection Unit members for 6 months.
“From the first day I worked as an intern, I learnt that conservation isn’t just about saving wildlife. It’s much more complicated than that. But knowing these things made me fall in love with the organization and made me want to pursue my passion even more. For me, it’s an honour working for WWF. Now I believe what my father had taught me: that dreams do come true if you work hard and are willing to sacrifice things to pursue them”, she says.

Farewell to another Australian communications volunteer

Short but sweet… and productive, is how we will remember Gemma Deavin’s time with us. Though only with us for 5 months of her original 12 month assignment, she certainly hit the ground running and produced some great communication’s work, particularly in the multi-media area.

She says the highlight of her time with the HoB initiative was a trip to East Kalimantan where she travelled up the Kayan, Pujungan and Bahau rivers on a long boat for six days with a WWF team experiencing some of the most pristine forest, and friendly villages, in Borneo.

Gemma leaves WWF Indonesia in December to take up a position in Australia as a producer of multimedia content for the ABC’s Open project. This role is based in the Australian outback town of Longreach, Queensland, which has a population of just over 3000 people. The big blue skies, red earth and the odd car and cow will be a big change to the busy streets and machet of Jakarta – a city she says she has grown to love.

“Thank you to everyone at WWF Indonesia and the Heart of Borneo initiative for having me in Jakarta. A special thank you to my close colleagues, Chris Greenwood, Nancy (Ochie) Ariaini and Noverica (Very)Widjojo for your support and collaboration. I have enjoyed every minute working with you all and will always remember my time at WWF Indonesia with a big smile. Selamat tinggal!”

Congratulations

Last but definitely not least, congratulations to HoB’s Communication Officer, Nancy ‘Ochie’ Cahyono, who is currently on maternity leave after welcoming her son, Abiel Pangamiannu Cahyono into the world on October 10, 2011. Weighing 2.5 kilograms, he was delivered three weeks early.

Now over two months old, Abiel’s day-to-day activities involve starting the morning with sunbathing before bath time, something he is not a fan of. Ochie has learnt that sleeping is a rarity during the early days of motherhood. She has mastered trying to sleep when Abe is but is often woken just as she slips into deep slumber. She has resigned herself to no sleep during daylight but Abe is an excellent night time sleeper, something she knows is very lucky.

Before she returns to work Ochie looks forward to spending more time with her baby and stealing time to learn about more about parenting. We congratulate Ochie and her family on the arrival of their baby boy and wish them all the best.