Where Jo is from

Jakarta, Java, Indonesia

 

Interview

What was your dream when you were a kid? What was the reason?

Doctor. I just wanted to help other people and to be a doctor is one of the perfect ways to do that

 

What was your dream when you were 18 years old? What was the reason?

Doctor still. But since I made a different decision program to take for my bachelor, I need to gave up my dream to be a doctor. But the dream did not stop. I still want to help other people, so that I rethink of my dream and make this as my new life goal: creating a free healthcare system/place in Indonesia

 

What made you start thinking about social entrepreneurship/social enterprises? When was that?

I have no idea that my new goal is categorized as social entrepreneurship, not until I found MSE program back in 2013. So I decided to take this master to help me learn and organized my dream to become real one day

 

How much do you think social entrepreneurs play an important role in the world?

So many people do not realize what is social entrepreneurs means and how does it work. But if one understands it, s/he will get the feeling to do it and make impacts for others. Because out there, we find gazillions problem that needs to be taking care of, and someone needs to do something about it. It is not only just about doing business and get the benefit of it, but also to be responsible of what we are doing at the same time bringing social impact to others. If our own ego is the only thing matters, world is never going to be a wonderful place.

 

What would you say to future social entrepreneurs / those who are interested in social entrepreneurs?

Do not give up on your dream. Believe in yourself that you can somehow change the world to be a better place to live. Even a little help also can make an impact, either big or small, to someone (or environment). There are plenty of things you could do to achieve social impact. Never too late to start doing something good. Do not lose hope, keep trying and believing. Because you know what, make other people smile is way more beautiful rather than (only) make yourself smile.

 

What is your favorite quote? Who said that quote?

“Happiness is only real when shared” – Christopher McCandless (Into The Wild 2007)

 

Who Jo is

Jo is such an energetic person, especially at night. She is definitely a night owl. When night comes, she acts like it provides her energy. She never sleeps, just like Times Square in New York City. Yeah, she is basically“Batman”…well, “Batwoman.”

Jo is very sociable and has wide a network/connections. The range of her connections sometimes surprises me, like “how big can it be!?” It shows how friendly Jo is to everybody. She is lovable and is someone who is loved by people around her. I would say that Jo is like a mascot of the MSEs (Master of Social Entrepreneurship).

 

Awesome Episode

I wrote that we went to Maui together in Amogh’s article so this is not about only Jo and I, but I will present a story about my favorite moment on that trip; Haleakala bike tour. It was a tour that took us to the top of Haleakala Volcano to see the sunrise before we came down by bike. We woke up at 1AM that day and got to the top of Haleakala by 5AM. It was ridiculously freezing, even though it was in Hawaii, but we waited until the sun rose and…here it comes! Look how beautiful it is!

While standing on the top of Haleakala, I was thinking that it was like being a social entrepreneur; only those who get out of a warm and comfortable place can see the beautiful view of “changing the world.”

It was such a beautiful moment that I shared with Jo on top of that volcano.

Jo is also really good at making videos. Here is the video that Jo made for Musana Carts. She helped us a lot. Thank you very much, Jo! The video was amazing!

 

The Power of MSE

What Jo is holding is a symbol called “go-en(ご縁)”, which means ‘fate’, ’destiny’ and ’special tie.’

I believe that it is meant to be that we met in San Francisco! I studied Social Entrepreneurship with Jo for a year, saying “We will make the world a better place.” I would love to spend the rest of my life with MSEs (Master of Social Entrepreneurship; my classmates) until the very day I die. They have already completely changed my life.

At the same time, however, I also think that we should not be together all the time, because that is not the reason why we learned Social Entrepreneurship. That is not how we will deliver the impact we want to give to society and to the world.

I think MSEs are like dandelions. We were seeded at the first day at Hult and we bloomed on our graduation day. Our mission is that we spread all over the world like dandelions and seed the future, the next generation, from each place where each of us has landed.

本当にありがとう(Honto ni Arigato-); Thank you very very much for everything!! The world needs you! Let’s make the world a better place together!!