Network of Noble Hands

KOMPAS/DWI BAYU RADIUS

The Serang coordinator of the Indonesia Food Bank (IFB), Firza Muhammad Firdaus (right), speaks with Santi Susanti, who is holding daughter Melani, on Tuesday (16/1) in Cemplang village, Jawilan district, Serang regency, Banten. The young adults grouped in the IFB collects assistance for poor people.

A group of young adults are working together to help those suffering from poverty, malnutrition and hunger. They help others in need, even though they use their own money. What was originally a group of less than 20 people has now transformed into a community with hundreds of members.

Melani, 4, played with her doll as she clung to her mother, Santi Susanti, 38. The girl was thin and her ribs protruded. The rash on her chest and back was visible, although she was recovering.

Her crew-cut hair added to her haggard appearance. Santi had recently shaved her daughter’s head. “She has dermatitis. I shaved off her hair to make it easier to apply the medication. If she scratches her skin, pus comes out,” Santi said on Tuesday (16/1).

Santi and her daughter live in a 54-square-meter house in Cemplang village, Jawilan district, Serang regency, Banten. The house is only partially painted. The front windows are broken and the terrace is cemented only in parts. The house has no ceiling and the roof beams are visible from inside.

There is no television, chairs or a table in the living room. The kitchen walls are bare and it has a dirt floor. The small road leading to the house is only partially asphalted and cars cannot pass on it. Cemplang village is located around 50 kilometers from Banten’s capital of Serang.

Santi’s face brightened as nine youths led by Firza Muhammad Firdaus, 23, called to her from outside. They had brought packages. Santi let them in.

A moment later, they were all chatting comfortably. Firza and his friends entertained Melani. The packages, comprising 5 kilograms of rice, a 800-gram can of powdered milk, Rp 500,000 (US$37.5) and 1.5 kilograms of biscuits, were placed beside Santi.

“[Melani’s dad] left us and never returned. Melani was only one month old at the time. I needed to work and Melani was given formula milk or evaporated milk,” Santi said.

Melani’s health started declining in November 2017. She got the flu, had a persistent cough and seizures. Her body grew weaker. Melani was allergic to the medicines from the Jawilan Puskesmas (community health center). The girl’s body became red, swollen and inflamed and was taken to the Dradjat Prawiranegara Regional General Hospital (RSUD) in Serang. Melani was hospitalized for 16 days. Her diagnosis showed that she had tuberculosis and anemia.

Melani’s health has begun to improve and her appetite has returned. “She eats twice a day and I give her milk. I usually get the milk from the Jawilan Puskesmas,” Santi said.

Melani weighs only 9 kilograms, far lower than the ideal weight of 15 kilograms for girls her age. Santi does not make enough money to buy milk. She works odd jobs, including washing and ironing clothes and cooking for her neighbors. She only brings home Rp 80,000 a week.

Relieving burden

Santi would not know what she would do if the Healthcare and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) did not cover the costs of Melani’s treatment. Once in a while, Santi’s three younger siblings help her out with rice and money. Santi said that she was grateful her new friends wanted to relieve her and Melani’s burden.

“We were told about Melani by the RSUD. One of our colleagues works there as a nutritionist,” Firza said.

The student of Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin State Islamic University said that he and his friends raised Rp 1.05 million for Santi and Melani.

They are members of the Indonesia Food Bank (IFB), a community of youths that aims to tackle malnutrition, hunger and poverty. The IFB has 60 volunteers in Serang alone. In Banten, the IFB also has branches in Cilegon, Pandeglang, Lebak and Tangerang.

“We have distributed food for the poor and people suffering malnutrition since Feb. 21, 2016,” said Firza, who serves as the IFB’s Serang coordinator. The group’s volunteers venture down narrow alleyways to provide help for people of all ages.

They also visit orphanages and Islamic boarding schools, as well as regions hit by floods, fires or landslides. The IFB also holds social service events and health checks, as well as provide counseling on nutrition and free treatments. They coordinate with local youth organizations, companies and regional governments.

IFB founder and chairman Idho Meilano Kurniawan Putra said that the community was established because of its members’ concern for the fate of the poor.

“I see people going through garbage just to find food, even in cities,” he said.

Idho wished to distribute food to those in need, but the noble dream was hindered by the lack of funding. “What could I use to buy food? I was still a university student. I had a plan to ask my fellow students, but I couldn’t do it,” he said.

Once he got a job, the finance officer at a steel factory in Cilegon, West Java, asked his close friends to help him run a program to help the elderly. Upon its foundindg, the IFB distributed rice, cooking oil, sugar, milk and tea to 20 people in Kalitimbang subdistrict, Cibeber district, Cilegon.

“At the time, there were only 15 people in the IFB. I am glad that the IFB continues to grow. Today, it has over 500 members,” he said.

Other than in Banten, the IFB also has programs in West Nusa Tenggara, Southeast Sulawesi, West Java, Central Java and Jakarta. “Our members are all youths. A majority of them are college students. Around 95 percent of our members in Banten are below 30 years old,” Idho said.

Other members are teachers, civil servants, businesspeople and private employees. “None are paid. They only receive money if the IFB collaborates with companies, but it is only Rp 25,000 for one event,” Idho said.

The members use their own vehicles to transport aid packages, as the community owns neither cars nor motorbikes.

IFB members communicate with one another on social media. They announce plans and those with free time may be asked to participate. Idho said that he could not say for certain how many people the IFB had helped, other than that it was likely thousands of people.

At every event, the IFB distributes aid packages to an average 150 people. The IFB members make random visits to people suffering from malnutrition to provide packages of nutritional foods. Donors include individuals and companies. Agriculture, steel and food and beverage companies are among some of the group’s partners.

Idho said that maintaining their trust was important. Aid packages were distributed to those suffering malnutrition, and the recipients’ health was monitored until they recovered. “Apart from companies, hundreds of individuals have also donated. We hope other donors will help us tackle malnutrition,” he said.