Diligently Caring for the Ciliwung River
A number of residents are tirelessly taking care of the Ciliwung River in Jakarta. They steadfastly make the Ciliwung part of the terraces of their homes or their ever growing kampung (settlement).
Usman Firdaus (53), the initiator of the Ciliwung Caring Community or Mat Peci explained how the community was founded, on the banks of the Ciliwung River, Cikokol Village, Pancoran District, South Jakarta, Thursday (2/2/2023).
Brownish water flowed between two concrete walls along the stream of the Ciliwung River in Cikoko subdistrict, Pancoran district, South Jakarta, on Thursday noon (2/2/2023). Plastic waste and styrofoam drifted or were caught on the 40-meter-wide riverbanks.
“When [I was] small, the Ciliwung was appealing. After playing football we went down to the river to swim, catch fish and net shrimp. When we wanted to get to the river, we had to go down first, like descending a hill,” said Usman Firdaus, 53, while looking at the terrace of his kampung from the office of Masyarakat Peduli Ciliwung (Community Care of the Ciliwung), known by the community as Mat Peci.