How funny is it to meet a guy, who is famous and adored by millions and you have no clues who he is? That’s what happened to us when we met Kaka Slank. Who? Yes the famous Indonesian singer, for more than 35 years. Kaka Slank is, let’s say the Indonesian Marco Borsato / Mick Jagger. He is very concerned about the health of the ocean, so he is the ambassador of Suara Pulau foundation.
Suara Pulau educates local communities about the importance of coral reefs and restores coral reefs around Bangka Island. They organised a fundraising event to raise money for the Marine Protected Area on Bangka Island, and Kaka was present for three days to generate more awareness.
The first evening there was a meet and greet diner with Kaka Slank at the Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Center in Bitung. The whole fundraising dinner was vegan and really delicious. Afterwards Kaka gave an intimate acoustic performance.
The city of Bitung wants to build an artificial reef together to attract more divers. Kaka Slank and the Suara Pulau team went diving to the place where they think a new reef can be build. There was a lot of Indonesian press with us on this trip. We found the dive a lot more quiet.
The same evening there was a talkshow about the importance of a healthy ocean and what action Suara Pulau and Bitung’s government are taking. Kaka gave a concert and here we noticed how popular he is in Indonesia. Everyone wants to make a selfie with him!
the wife of the mayor of Bitung. Her goal is to make the city of Bitung plastic free.
The next morning we had breakfast at the house of the mayor of Bitung, to talk more about the artificial reef. Afterwards some fans were allowed to go diving with Kaka Slank on the house reef of Mimpi Indah on Bangka Island.
The fundraising event was a great success. Thank you Ulva, Owen and Kaka that we could be part of this event. For those who want to know, Kaka is a very humble and friendly person. And a question to the real Marco Borsato: do you want to be the ambassador of CoralGardening?