Ballad of An App Developer

One day, Henry Jufri got “stranded” in cyberspace. Four years later, the former book hawker, migrant worker and porter had become a game and app developer, creating hundreds of applications.

KOMPAS/SAIFUL RIJAL YUNUS

Henry Jufri

One day, Henry Jufri got “stranded” in cyberspace. The new world quickly became his playground. Four years later, the former book hawker, migrant worker and porter had become a game and app developer, creating hundreds of applications.

Five people sat in a modest 3-by-3 meter room, each facing a laptop. Two sat on the right, two on the left and Henry Jufri, 35, in the middle. Once in a while, the father of three stood to the left, assisting a colleague who met with difficulty in developing a game. Then, he moved to the right to monitor the others who were working on a graphic for an app.

The cramped room is the production department for a game and app development business that Henry started. The room was part of the front guest room at his in-laws’ house, which he converted into a home office. It is on Jl. Sabutung Baru in Paotere, Makassar, South Sulawesi, about 700 meters from Paotere Port.

A total of nine young men are involved at the production house. Some of them are Henry’s close relatives. Henry is the team leader, founder, coach and the eldest among them. Four others are in their 20s. They do not have to wear business attire. Two of his developers are women who prefer to wear housedresses.

“All of them [working in this field] started from zero. Some had never touched a computer before and they are now smarter than me,” Henry, who has only completed formal schooling until the fourth grade, said on Friday (13/4/2018).

Hundreds of games

Over the past few years, Henry has been working as a game and app developer in that room. Several certificates of appreciation hang on the wall. Some of the games he created are Tebak Gambar, King Arthur, Unyil The Adventure and hundreds of others. He also created apps to help children learn to read, learn about animals and other learning apps.

“I cannot remember the exact number. Maybe it is around 400 apps, of which about 200 are active. After finishing one, I make another. This has made me known among the media and I am invited to different events,” said Henry.

Today, he is one of the most prolific game and app developers. It’s an amazing achievement, considering he only attended school until the fourth grade

Henry has the ability to tell stories clearly. This may be because he is used to developing apps using a strict order. He also frequently appears in the media. He is familiar with being interviewed. He also often speaks at university forums.

Bearing burden

His struggle to reach his current position began when he was in grade 4 at elementary school and he had to drop out for financial and family issues. The second child and eldest son in a family of four children bore the burden. He decided to earn money by helping his uncle sell books to government offices.

He went door to door from one division to another. He did that for five years, from 1994 to 1999. “At that time, I thought about how I could make money. Back then, I sold prayer books, books on general knowledge and others. While selling the books, I also read them to catch up,” said Henry.

Realizing that his life did not change much, Henry took an offer to work as a migrant worker in Malaysia. He entered to the country illegally and worked for three years as a laborer at an oil palm company in Sabah.

In 2002, he decided to return to Makassar. In his hometown, he had nothing he could use to make money except his physical strength. He then worked as a porter at Soekarno-Hatta Port in Makassar, near his house. He worked straight through from morning to night. His income was not certain, and ranged from Rp 20,000 to Rp 100,000 when the port was crowded.

Finally in 2012, when Internet shops were booming, Henry became curious as to why people, young and old, were stopping by an Internet shop close to his house. He visited the shop and became amazed by the advanced technology, particularly the Google search engine. Since then, he was a regular visitor. Every time he got home from work, he visited the Internet shop. He learned how to use the computer and the search engine.

“I was amazed because everything had an answer. The keywords I typed were ‘how to make money from the Internet’. I found out how to become a blogger, which I pursued,” said Henry.

He started to put his earnings aside to pay for the Internet, buy books on the Internet and learn how to create a blog. He also registered with an online training course to learn about search engine optimization (SEO). He learned about digital marketing.

In May 2014, he got his first US$100 from Google for his blog. “I was excited. I could prove that what I did could bring results,” said Henry, who was once considered delusional by those around him.

That same year, he began to learn about the gaming world through community groups and online tutorials. After that, he started making games using a simple laptop. The first game he created was a guessing game on Android to identify pictures of celebrities.

Because he did not know about copyright, this game was deleted. “That was my lowest point. The number of people who belittled me increased. But I thought, if I gave up, I would not be able to show them the results [of my efforts]. So, I had to keep going,” he said.

From one failed game, he then created hundreds of games and apps, finally earning money for his creations from Rp 2 million to Rp 16 million and to hundreds of million rupiah in a single month. Henry stayed focused and continued to learn. Currently, he is learning programming languages and other skills related to the digital world.

He shared the knowledge he gained with the younger generation. He dreams of creating a “digital kampung”, where all those living in his village would be digitally literate and could earn benefit from the skill.

KOMPAS/SAIFUL RIJAL YUNUS

Henry Jufri

Born: Sept. 20, 1982, Makassar

Wife: Arni Tata

Children: Ryan HR Afrizha, Aidhil HR Nurdaffa, Mirza HR Pranaja

Education: Grade 4, SD Pagandongan elementary school, Makassar, South Sulawesi

Activity: Android game and app developer