In mid-2018, the first campus in West Manggarai Regency will soon be present among the people of Labuan Bajo.
For this reason, the groundbreaking event marking the start of construction of the eLBajo Commodus Polytechnic campus was held at the campus location, precisely in Lancang Village, Wae Kelambu Village, Komodo District, on Saturday, February 10 2018.
Apart from the management of the Bangkit Anak Negeriku Foundation (YBANK) as the organizer and several lecturer representatives, the groundbreaking event was attended by the Coordinator of Kopertis Region XIII, Prof. Dr. I Nengah Dasi Astawa, and the Regent of West Manggarai, Drs. Augustine Ch. Dula, who was accompanied by Assistant I, Drs. Benedict Banu. West Manggarai Police Chief, AKBP Julisa Kusumo W, West Manggarai SKPD representative, Komodo Koramil Commander, Komodo Naval Post Commander, SMA/SMK representative in Labuan Bajo, PKK TP Chair, Maria AM Daduk Dula, Komodo District Head, Wae Kelambu Village Head, as well as a number of Komodo Navy Post members, SMA/SMK representatives in Labuan Bajo, Chairman of PKK TP, Maria AM Daduk Dula, Head of Komodo District, religious leaders of Wae Kelambu Village, as well as various elements of Labuan Bajo society.
The groundbreaking ceremony began with a Manggarai traditional ceremony led by Theodorus Urus, a traditional elder from Lancang Village, along with other Lancang community leaders. After the traditional ceremony was completed, the event continued with prayers from religious leaders, namely Pastor Richardus Manggu (Catholic), Ps. Rudi Siswanto (Protestant), and Ust. Mukhtar Hadiyono (Islam). With this series of traditional events and prayer readings, it is hoped that the construction of the eLBajo Commodus Polytechnic campus can run smoothly without obstacles.
After the prayer, the groundbreaking procession was carried out alternately, including by the Regent of West Manggarai, the Chairman of the BANK Foundation, the Coordinator of Kopertis Region XIII, religious leaders, and several representatives of other agencies. Meanwhile, in his speech, the Regent of West Manggarai expressed his appreciation for the plan to establish this campus, because the desire for a Higher Education presence in the West Manggarai region would soon be realized, especially with the rapid growth of tourism in cities that are popular thanks to the Komodo icon.
“At first there was disappointment, because communication with the foundation stopped. However, today, we both witnessed and laid the first stone for the construction of the eLBajo campus, and this development is clearly a success,” he said. The Regent also emphasized that West Manggarai children no longer need to leave this area to continue their education because there is now a campus here.
