Lembeh Resort staff in the spotlight – Helen Pananggung

At Lembeh Resort we pride ourselves on our amazing staff, both in the resort and in the diving center. Many of our staff stay with us for years on end, we believe that one major reason for this is the family-like bond that has been created over the years and of course because our staffs’ development is of paramount importance to us as well as to themselves.

Helen has been a member of our team at Lembeh Resort since 2003 when she started working as a cooks-assistant in the kitchen. After one year Helen, who is from the nearby village of Pintu Kota, worked her way up to becoming a cook and then later, as her English improved, went on to become one of the servers in the restaurant. Today Helen has gained the title of Restaurant Captain and she continues to impress us all not only with her bubbly smiles and great sense of humour but also with her keen sense for details and her great organisational skills.

Helen’s progression through the resort is still continuing today and she is now also a tour guide for guests taking the local village tour, which takes our guests to visit Helen’s own village. Helen says “I like to introduce my village to guests and I especially like to show them the church and the garden, I am proud of my village, it is our home and it is a pleasure to share this with friends from all over the world”.

Selfie-time on one of our popular Lembeh Hikes, exploring the culture, flora and fauna of Lembeh Island.

Helens knows Lembeh Island better than most, this view point is one of many beautiful places visited on the hike

Hiking with friends from all over the World 🙂

Helen’s job now is completely different to what she did before 2003 when she worked for an insurance company. Helen is passionate about “getting to know people from around the world and learning their languages”.

Over the years Helen has been a driving force behind the Lembeh Resort School Donation projects

Helen is also very active in her village community and teaches bible studies in the Church’s Sunday School. “I like teaching and I tell bible stories to the kids – I love to share my knowledge with them and see their faces light up when I tell them about things like Noah’s Ark. When we have BBQ nights at Lembeh Resort the Sunday School choir also come with me and sing for the guests”.

Maybe some of you have already met Helen in the restaurant or taken a tour with her, but did you know that this year Helen started diving and in July she passed her Open Water Course? Helen says that she loves diving, “The coral, fish and underwater life is amazing – it feels like I am working and on holiday at the same time! I am looking forward to doing more diving but it wasn’t as easy as I thought. One day on my Open Water Course I was going to dive with Morten but I took Petra’s BCD by mistake instead of the one I was usually using. I managed to dive for 1 hour but it felt like I was on a roller coaster – I was laughing so much that I think I almost ran out of air!! It’s amazing though that I have learned to dive here and seen some of the most amazing and unusual marine life in the world and visited some of the best muck diving sites in Indonesia”.

Next time you see Helen in resort why not take time to ask her about her experiences or take the village tour with her? She is a great guide and full of local knowledge which she loves to share.

For more information about our local village tour and other excursions, click here