Ahmad Bayu Gawtama, Founder of an Inspiring Volunteer School

His full name is Ahmad Bayu Gawtama or familiar with the nickname Mas Gaw. He was born in February 1974. For a long time Mas Gaw has been active in various programs of activities to help others as if it was a part of his life. Mas Gaw was educated to be a strong and independent figure even since he was a toddler.

Little Gaw only lives with his mother who is a Koran teacher. In order to meet his daily needs, on the sidelines of his busy school life, he helps his mother sell nasi uduk, lontong sayur, and fried foods. Not only that, Mas Gaw has also worked as a dishwasher, busker, and shoe polisher.

He continued to do this until he went to college for a bachelor’s degree at his alma mater, namely STMIK Indonesia Management. Even though his life is full of struggles, Mas Gaw is very grateful that there are many good people who help in his life. This is what inspired him to become the volunteer like he is today, tirelessly helping others.

For him, there is no need to wait to be rich to be able to help others. However, because he had been in the same position, he was moved to become a volunteer. He had been in hunger and had difficulty paying school fees, so he didn’t want other people to feel the same way.

Therefore, in January 2013, together with their two friends, Roel Mustafa and Doni Aryanto, they founded the Volunteer School. This school exists as an educational forum for volunteers who want to go to the field to help disaster victims, whether in evacuation, distributing aid, to empowering affected communities so that they can rise up and live a normal life again.

Thanks to his dedication, Ahmad Bayu Gawtama received an award for the category of volunteer contribution in the humanitarian field at the Humanity Awards 2021 which took place last December 15 at the Millennium Sirih Hotel, Jakarta.