Lena (24): Building a healthy future with local food

We first met Maria Magdalena — better known as Lena — four years ago. You may remember her: a young woman with a big heart and strong determination.

When Lena was eleven, her life changed completely. Her mother left, and her father was rarely at home. Lena took care of her younger sisters and earned a little money by doing small jobs in the neighbourhood — fetching water, cleaning, cooking. Her grandfather used his modest pension to pay her school fees.

Now, many years later, Lena is almost a certified dietitian. Twice she had to pause her studies due to health issues. But with encouragement from our scholarship coordinator Nova, she found the strength to continue. Today, Lena is doing internships in several places: she advises pregnant women about nutrition, gives health talks to the elderly, and studies food safety in a tempeh factory.

What makes Lena special is her critical mindset. She recently researched Indonesia’s national school meal programme and found that food is often prepared hours in advance — with little control over its nutritional value. She also noticed that positions are frequently given through connections rather than expertise. These issues have even reached Dutch news. Last year, the NOS reported that many children became ill after eating from the controversial free school meal programme of President Prabowo Subianto. Lena argues for stricter food supervision and the use of fresh, local ingredients.

“Children deserve healthy, freshly prepared meals,” she says firmly. “We can do so much better with what we grow ourselves.”

Lena dreams of starting her own healthy catering service — using local products like sago and pesticide-free vegetables. To complete her final year, Lena still needs €1,000.

Would you like to help her reach her goal? Donations can be made via NL66 TRIO 0321 0888 32, mentioning “Lena”, or through our website or the QR code next to this story.