Meet Warwick Purser. The entrepreneur from Australia who won the Indonesian citizenship through his passion for humanitarian work.
Warwick So, that first brought you in Indonesia?
a honeymoon week in Bali in 1969, aged 22. I was going to London to start work in a large international travel agency. One week became two weeks, then three weeks because I kept delaying my departure. On the sixth week after completely fall in love with Indonesia, I sent a message and advised the company in London I will not take my new job.
You then have to set "Out of Asia", one of the largest exporters of the South Asian handicrafts. What you are about to achieve?
to be honest, at first I recognize a good business opportunity as so few Indonesian handicraft product has been finding its way to the international market. Out of Asia pioneered the large-scale export of Indonesian handicrafts and it found its way into some of the largest retailers and most prestigious in the world. once I saw how the business so obviously changed the lives of crafts people involved, and sometimes there were thousands, the company has become a passion and led to many related projects such as the embroidery work for women Acehnese tsunami widows and many others, which provide work for disabled and disadvantaged people and so on.
You obviously put a lot of your life in Indonesia, which triggered his passion to help Indonesia and its people?
It is very easy to develop a passion for something that can so improve the livelihoods of those involved. Although my efforts may have had an impact in the change I was sometimes surprised by the relative ease in terms of effort from my side that produced this change. Change offset if the effort. This change meant the children could be educated, dressed properly and good eating and living conditions were always available. Craftsmen and women deserve more credit, not me. I was just the bridge between it and the world market who buy and use the products. When people tell me that those who benefit should be very grateful, I always say - not what I should be grateful because I am one of the few in given life a passion for what they do - and when you have a passion like this, you never feel like its going to work.
You were an Australian who is now an Indonesian citizen by the Presidential Decree. Was it a difficult decision to change nationality?
He was perhaps the best decision of my life because after forty years of living here, I had been "cared" for her for a long time. I had actually started the process to become an Indonesian citizen and warned that it would take much time. I was so lucky, when people "high" is reached and the process has been reduced to less than a month. I did not ask for special help and I am very honored when he was given.
How the change of nationality affected your life? Where is home, do you have a family here in Indonesia
There are no real material benefits - the benefits are what you feel in your heart - a sense of really. Yogyakarta My house is in the village of Tembi I live for twenty years and where I have a house and a hotel - the hotel used to be my family compound. I also have a home and a hotel in Ubud, Bali but Tembi is where the heart is said to my house. Having said that I have a daughter Polly living in Bali so the attraction to visit is strong. I also have "adopted" family of four children to Tembi. local children - two girls and two boys - who I took under my wing and look after. I recently brought their mother to Jakarta where she worked and his employee in Tembi so she could be close to his family. I have a son, Oliver, living in Australia and, fortunately, it often goes.
How were you affected by the earthquake of 2006 and the eruption of Mount Merapi in 2010?
Well, the village and its surroundings have been almost destroyed by the earthquake of 2006. But with the help of my friends and HSBC we rebuilt the village and provided material of everyday life, including food for many people in the region. Similarly with the eruption Mt. Merapi, although my village was not really affected many areas near the volcano were devastated. We brought our experience of the earthquake and quickly moved to help these areas. In the earthquake, I lost most of my belongings in my house, including a large art collection, but had no time to feel sorry for myself when I am surrounded by people who had ly lost everything and were getting to rebuild their lives with so much spirit. I was deeply touched by it, filled from the amazing resilience of people around me. I would like to think that I learned a lot from this experience. It was a humbling when you lost valuable objects, but to discover other people there is so much more to life than worrying about lost possessions.
You also embarked on a mission with UNESCO to preserve Borobudur. Could you tell us a bit about this project?
Borobudur is for everyone, including me, and I am surprised by the paltry funds initially set to return after it was covered by the corrosive volcanic ash. The work was urgent because the reliefs and stupas of Borobudur were beginning to be affected by the ash and we had to start cleaning immediately. I gathered a group of friends, foreign ambassadors, business people and others, have formed a group called the Friends of Borobudur and began working with UNESCO to raise funds so that the process cleaning could start immediately - that because there was funding - could
How has Indonesia grown since you moved here, and where do you hope to see in Indonesia led to the future
Indonesia has increased dramatically - not always to the advantage of everyone. My hope is that this growth will continue democratically, and earnings growth will affect more and more people and not only those "above".
As an Indonesian citizen, what about your country you are most proud of?
The meaning of more and more "Indonesianism" and that the country is developing, how the generations are increasingly proud to be Indonesian. I am of the older generation and I feel sure.