Ennie Sontowirono

After my three years at UWC, I always feel that I can take on any challenge

Ennie S. Sontowirono (SBUWC 94-97) from Suriname is the coordinator of the Artificial Insemination Department of Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries in Suriname. She is also responsible for the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) tele-food project ‘Improving Small Farmers’ Dairy production in Wanica’.

“After graduating from high school, I accompanied some friends to the Information Office of the Ministry of Education. I wasn’t looking for any information because I was planning to continue my studies at the University of Suriname, but then one of the officers told me about Simón Bolívar UWC” says Ennie.

“UWC was very different from my earlier schooling. The teaching was in a different language than I was used to and it was not easy to adjust. I had only studied Spanish in junior high, so it was difficult to compete with the other Spanish speaking students in my first year. However, as time went by, it slowly changed. I started reading and speaking more Spanish and my understanding became better and better.

“Also the education at SBUWC was different. The academic programme is taught in two ways: through practical ‘Hands On’ group learning experiences called practical modules , also known as ‘Cuadrillas’, and through Theoretical Modules. In the morning we would go to the farm, which had chickens, cattle, pigs, bananas, oranges and much more where we would undertake practical exercises. In the afternoon we had classes. On the weekends we were divided in groups, responsible for managing the various parts of the farm. I really like how the theoretical was combined with the practical part, it was learning about agriculture in a different environment. All this and much more were so different from my earlier schooling.

“It was also very different to live with so many people from different backgrounds, cultures and religions. By living, I mean they became my family for the three years. I spent my summer vacations with my friends in Venezuela instead of going back to Suriname and as a College we organised cultural events for our nearest town, Pedraza. And still I keep close contact with some of them.

“In our third year all students undertook an internship – I went to a rice farm which was approximately five hours away, travelling by bus, from the College. It was here that I met my other ‘family’, the rice farmer’s family and all their workers.

“UWC taught me about survival, how to be creative and appreciate life. Living in Venezuela for three years was a very different environment, with a different language, food and culture but I was supported by my new ‘Simón Bolívar family’. The experience has made me mentally stronger and better able to cope with many of the challenges in life.

“When I was a child I wanted to become a doctor, like many other children, but after high school I applied for a major in infrastructure at university. However, after UWC, the only subject I wanted to specialise in was agribusiness.

“I started working for the Ministry of Agriculture and in 2000 I went to Chile for nine months to study Business Administration, Forestry and Agricultural Enterprises at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. Then in 2006, I spent three months in Japan to follow a group training course on Cattle Artificial Insemination Extension System at the National Livestock Breeding Centre in Fukushima. This great opportunity was organised by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) under the International Cooperation Programme of the Government of Japan. Again I was living in and experiencing a whole new and different world. I enjoyed having to learn a new language, Japanese, and also to eat with chopsticks. After my three years at UWC, I always feel that I can take on any challenge.

“My approach to people has changed a lot because of UWC. I am a lot more team minded now. Furthermore I am a lot more organised in work, events and also in my personal life. I think that has a lot to do with the management I learned at UWC. I learned one phrase at the College that I am still using today in my own life and also when teaching others a new skill – ‘learning by doing’.

“My favourite memory from my time at UWC was during one of our fieldwork sessions with the Rural Development Department. We went around to kindergartens and primary schools to teach the children about eating healthy food and mouth hygiene. Some of us dressed up as vegetables – I was a tomato, so wore a tomato suit made out of cardboard. After that each time children saw me in the streets they would shout ‘Senorita tomate!’

“When other Surinamese students are offered the opportunity to study at UWC, they contact me. I share my experiences with them and help to prepare them for their journey and life at the College. I hope for more full scholarships for Surinamese students in the future, so they can be a part of this amazing UWC experience..