At the end of the event, we held a symbolic session by releasing a dove. As that was done, I was thinking: Just like doves, wherever we are released, wherever we will be, no matter how much we have grown, we will always remember where we came from… Thank you, Titian family.

Send-off is an event held annually at Titian Foundation to celebrate the graduation of Titian scholarship students. This time, our generation, the 14th Generation of Titian Bayat, held the Send-off on June 9, 2024, at the Multi-purpose Hall (GSG) of SMKN 1 ROTA Bayat. It felt melancholic, but this is not necessarily a farewell because we are now part of IKATIFO, the Titian alumni association. The 2024 Send-off was very lively with special guests attending such as Ibu Lily, the Principal of SMK ROTA, Titian alumni, and all the Titian staff who came to see us off.

The series of events began with a speech from the Send-off committee leader, Regar, our junior from the active generation, Generation 15. Next was a speech from Mas Timo and Mbak Risky as our facilitators. Then, there was a ‘Payung’ dance performance presented by Generation 15. The dance was so beautiful and harmonious that it left us in awe.

Then, there was a pencak silat performance by our juniors, and at that moment, we all watching were very tense because there were stacked tiles being broken using hands, and there was also concrete that could be shattered by their hands! Wow, luckily everything was under control, the audience was amazed, and everything ended safely. They were really cool. After that, there were also speeches from the alumni who came to encourage us by saying ‘welcome to the real world’. One of our ‘older brother’ who also represented the alumni, Mas Dodo, is one of the Titian alumni who has now succeeded in becoming a Titian sponsor. After that, the representative of the scholarship students’ parents gave his remarks. He’s the father of my friend, Aminin.

The next event was a remark delivered by myself. At that moment, I thought that I wouldn’t cry, but it turned out that it was just my plan. On stage, I did cry because I couldn’t hold back the sadness. I also thanked all the staff and facilitators from Titian Foundation Bayat who have guided me and transformed me into someone who loves life more than before, appreciates others, and accepts both my shortcomings and strengths. At the end, I had the opportunity to give a message to all my friends, “Spread your wings and achieve your dreams.” I hope we can meet again another time, friends.

In the final part of the event, we presented a drama performance depicting our journey at Titian. It began with a scene where a young person is hesitant because she’s afraid of the path that will hinder her in the future, but she has big dreams and find friends who are just like her. After everyone voiced that we all have dreams, a filled-with-joy flashmob began, using ‘Terhebat’ (‘the greatest’) as the song. Then, we sat in circle, and one of our friends appeared to read a meaningful poem. During the performance, I silently said, “We thank all of you, the 14th Generation of Titian Bayat is signing off, and this is our final present… Now, it is time for us to spread our wings.”

Written by Raffi Anandra, Gen 14 Titian Foundation Bayat