Reed on the Greens December 8, 2019
by Jeffrey Reed, Editor, LondonOntarioGolf.com
This year, a number of stories stood out amongst the pack here at Reed on the Greens, but none more than Mery Tarigan’s philanthropy – our story of the year for 2019.
The game of golf is often used as a metaphor for life. The sport, as in the real world, is laden with obstacles and challenges – both mental and physical – but offers rewards to those who persevere.
It’s true, one can build character through golf. But when Fanshawe Falcons varsity golfer Mery Tarigan first took up the game at age 19 at home in Indonesia, she brought a wealth of character with her. Today, Tarigan, 27, uses golf to help rebuild the community in her home village of Kabanjahe which was devastated by a deadly volcano eruption in 2010.
Mery Tarigan. Photo: Jeffrey Reed/LondonOntarioGolf.com.
Through two years of fundraising, including her fundraising page, GoFundMe.com/merycristyna, and her second-annual golf tournament at Echo Valley Golf Club in October, the tiny but mighty Tarigan has surpassed her goal of raising $35,000 to help build a school in the rebuilding Kabanjahe.
“Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this incredible accomplishment for the people of Indonesia who were displaced by the volcano,” said Tarigan.
The Kasih Alpha Omega School is set to open in July. And thanks in part to a recent donation of $3,000 which helped Tarigan surpass her fundraising goal, there will be a little extra money for school supplies.
“Life is getting back to normal, but still some people who work as labourers on farms don’t have farms to go to. My dream is to build a school. All I want is to make a child’s life better than mine. I believe a school will do that – a safe and happy school,” Tarigan said.
If ever there were an inspirational story attached to golf, then Tarigan’s tale hits the mark like few others. The four-foot-five golfer from Indonesia turned down an academic scholarship in order to work after school every day with three siblings on a vegetable farm, in order to help pay for her brother to attend school.
Mery Tarigan. Photo: Jeffrey Reed/LondonOntarioGolf.com.
Tarigan later caddied in Malaysia, sent her $6 daily pay back home to her family and fell in love with golf.
“I was 19 when I first picked up a golf club,” Tarigan explained. “Golf was an expensive sport. But the caddy company I was working for let the caddies play for free. I love sports, and I fell in love with golf, teaching myself while watching others. I just fell in love with the game.”
Tarigan lived in a small house with four other caddies while working in Malaysia. The five loopers had no furniture except for bunkbeds. Tarigan said when she lived at home in Indonesia, “We slept on the floor, all together in one room.”
While caddying in Malaysia, Tarigan met Londoners Paul and Janet Tufts who spent two years as members of an advisory team leading the implementation of the Malaysian government’s blueprint for school transformation.
The Tufts worried about Tarigan’s future, so with their help she moved to London to live with them, studied in Fanshawe College’s English Language Studies program and is now a Fanshawe Falcons varsity golfer. This spring, she’ll graduate from Fanshawe’s Golf and Club Management Program.
“When Mery caddied for me, I saw how bright she was and also how good of a golfer she was. She was a smart young woman, and a nice young woman who could do a lot if she was given the opportunity,” Paul said.
This season, Tarigan greatly improved her play for the Falcons women’s golf squad, who finished second at the Ontario College Athletic Association (OCAA) and sixth at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) championships.
Falcons’ golf coach Colin Robertson said the squad is “very fortunate to have Mery as part of our team. She is a very smart athlete and an even better person, whose story reminds us to appreciate what we have.”
Golf is not the most important thing in Tarigan’s life, but it’s a vehicle for helping others.
Golf gives back more than any other sport, and the game is lucky to have Tarigan as a goodwill ambassador.
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Jeffrey Reed has covered sports in Southwestern Ontario since 1980. Reed on the Greens is a multiple award winner from the Golf Journalists Association of Canada. Reed is also publisher and editor of LondonOntarioSports.com. Reach him at jeff@londonontariosports.com.
