Education Indonesia Project #24907

Empowering disadvantaged young people in Indonesia

by Yayasan Cipta Mandiri, The Foundation to create Independency for underprivileged teenagers Indonesia

Empowering disadvantaged young people in Indonesia

Project Report | May 13, 2020
Situation during Covid-19 pandemic at YCM

By Putu Ariany | Project Leader

Sewing the fabric maskers

As the effect of Covid-19 pandemic, Yayasan Cipta Mandiri (YCM) has to be closed until further notice from the government. The uncertain condition requires us to keep creative yet meaningful to others. YCM’s team tries to keep the service to our students via online basis lesson that the youth of YCM can access via smartphone for the one who own it. While the most challenging situation for our youth are not only about the limited tools but also the internet connection to access the lesson itself. Even for those who have a smartphone, it does not mean that they can smoothly access the lesson as most of them cannot afford to buy the internet’s data. Most of our youths’ parents are working as daily casual workers or low-income labours. Their necessities’ cost solely depend on the income they earn daily from their work as “angkot” (minibus taxi for about 11 people that we use as public transport) driver, motorcycle taxi online driver and some other casual works that nowadays hardly to get any income as most people stay at home.

Our team is making fabric masker for the community in order to be able to earn a little income to help themselves and their families as they sell some of the maskers while they also share them for free to the one who cannot afford to buy. By the support of another organization and individual supporters, YCM has shared some foods’ material and cooked foods to the families of YCM’s member and the people who live nearby our site and hardly to get any food.

This situation is affecting most of our youths' condition, not to mention to Puja. A youth of YCM whom I know since he came to YCM for the first time about five years ago.

I noticed that among others, he was always diligently attending the classes of YCM after he return from his formal school. He always concentrates to learn and shows his enthusiasm to study. When I moved to another country for about one and a half year, and then I returned to YCM again, I was so happy to meet Puja again! Well, he is so much taller now, and still as bright and diligent as before. Puja's father was a street vendor, he sold chicken porridge for breakfast not far from our site. Unfortunately, he often had no return capital to sell the porridge for the next day, so he changed his profession to an online “ojek” driver (ojek is a motorcycle taxi). Puja’s family, who depends on daily income, badly impacted from this pandemic. His father could no longer take passengers and hardly to earn money for the family. Puja who will finish his study from Junior High School this mid-year, perhaps has to postpone his study in his dream’s High School if his father cannot afford to let him study. Yet every day his family has to worry about their daily necessity. Puja, a smart and diligent boy from an underprivileged family who most probably has to postpone or cancel his dream because of the pandemic. This difficult situation is not only faced by Puja but also other youths of YCM and their families. We hope we are still able to support and assist our youths, run the project smoothly without feeling worried about tomorrow's condition. We hope we can get through this difficult situation together.

We are not alone, yet many people in the world face difficulties also. Thank you for your support to us in this difficult situation. Stay healthy and safe everyone!

Sharing foods' material

Puja received foods' material for his family

Puja keeps studying in limitation

Puja always eagerly participate in our events

Puja won the English spelling competition

Permalink

Jan 16, 2020
We are no one without your assistance!

By Putri Permatasari | Youth Empowerment Assistant

My name is Putri, a 25 years old female from Surabaya, East Java. I decided to come to Bogor and left my hometown Surabaya about 5 years ago as after I finished my high school in 2012 my parents could not afford to support my study to university. I am the second child in my family; my older brother at that time was already studying in university. The financial burden of my father was already too big as he worked as a labor in a jewelry factory and when the company collapsed he had to look for another job. Thus he worked as a carpenter, painter, gemstone crafter or another crafting job from scrap wood. It did not last long, and then he works as an online taxi driver until now. While my mum was trying to help my father to earn some income by opening a veggie stall which not last long as she is getting ill and cannot work hard anymore.

I consider that my older brother was luckier than me, as he is a male and the first in our family. He can continue his education to university earlier than me. As female and the second one, I have to wait and see until the financial condition of our family getting better. Or I have to wait until my brother has finished his study. I cannot wait any longer, so I took the offer from my uncle to move to Bogor. I thought perhaps there will be a hope for me to be able to continue my study as I have a big dream.

I moved to Bogor on August 2014 and started to help my uncle (he is a newspaper agent in Bogor) and was becoming one of his newspaper sellers in gas stations and or on events. From my new network I get to know about YCM and its activities. Then I decided to join and learn a lot at YCM.

For me, YCM is my big family that inspires me to have a big dream and live missions. YCM rebuild my passion to study, learn a lot of things, open my minds, develop my social empathy, many more and until influence me to make my master plan for my future (unconsciously).

I really like to come anytime to YCM as long as i have free time, although my uncle didn’t support me. Istarted my debut as a student at the beginning and after 2 weeks, Ijoined Tourism and Guiding Internship Program as freelancer tour guide and the team appointed me as a Project Coordinator after developing“Bogor Tours”.

Beginning of 2015, courageously I decided to register to a university nearby for Urban and Regional Planning study, I passed the selection test! I was so happy and I also informed by Gesine the founder of YCM that she found a sponsor for my study. Finally I can continue my study after 3 years waiting! My parents were so delighted of course.

While studying at university, I keep my contribution to YCM by volunteering in various subjects for the little ones and also the programs at YCM. I moved from my uncle’s house and rent a small room nearby and now I live with a generous host family for free.

I am in my last university year now; and I have a goal that later I can continue my master degree in western country like Germany, so that is why I also learn German now. I am a woman but I have a big dream. I want to become a mayor like Ibu Risma the mayor of my hometown Surabaya. I want to have a better society and help my people. Big thanks for YCM and the donators. The youth like me will be no one without your assistance!

Links:

Permalink

Oct 14, 2019
YCM teaches me not to give up and to fight to have a better future!

By Siti Nurjanah | Youth Project Administration of YCM

Hi, I am Nur and instead of calling me Nur, many youth call me Bunda at YCM (means mother, as the little one used to call me Bunda since when I started sharing at YCM and I was only a high schooler at that time). I come from a big family. I have 3 older sisters, 2 older brothers, 1 younger sister and 1 younger brother. My mother worked as a housemaid and my father worked in a factory as a labor when I was still very young. But for so many years, my father unemployed and stays at home. When my mum still healthy, she works as a babysitter, but now she is diagnosed with cancer stadium 3 and spend much of her time for post-surgery treatment in a central hospital in Jakarta, while we live in Bogor, about 60 km away. We must travel for about 4 hours or even more (the traffic is so bad) when she had to get the radiation and the check-ups. The upcoming treatment is chemotherapy. I cannot imagine how can she can overcome it. It is so tiring indeed, especially for the patient and overwhelming for her and our whole family member.

Back to myself now, life was tough. My parents had to pay debts in order to fulfill our family's needs. I was scared when I had to go to school in certain days because my family didn't have money to pay for books and school fee. The condition challenged me a lot. I became a very shy person. I didn't have a courage to even talk to a friend.

In 2002, YCM rented a small house in front of my house. I was wondering what was happening there. I decided to join YCM on the second day. My life since then was different. I loved to learn a lot about English and Global knowledge. I remember that Gesine and Putu celebrated my birthday at YCM for the first time in my life. They served some delicious food and pizza with a candle on it. I felt people loved me and appreciated me that time.

YCM has been becoming my second home. My other brothers and sister joined after me. All my brothers and sister are married. Two of them got opportunities to continue their education to learn at a garment training center through YCM. They have nice jobs with good income and can help our family for a better financial condition.

YCM is a place where I found a big support for my dreams, for young people's dreams. I started to build my confidence. Putu and other tutors helped me gained skills during my participation at YCM. I could, meet many new people, talk to friends, built my character and other things I couldn't mention here. One of the biggest things was I could continue my study to college. I studied English Education and graduated 5 years ago. Once they asked me what my biggest dream was. I said, I would love to have a place like YCM in other part of Indonesia. I think it becomes real now. After I finished my study, I come back. I don't have my own place like this, but now I have YCM and be part of the core team to run daily activities at this beautiful place. I am a married woman now; my husband and my 3 years old daughter supports me for everything I do at YCM. Together with my 4 other friends in core team, it's our turn now to do best to provide the way, to be the bridge for our beloved brothers and sisters a YCM to achieve their dreams.

Thank you for being our biggest supporters.

Thank you for taking part to make our dreams come true.

Permalink

‹ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can recieve an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.