‘Bridge’ for Farmers\' Children

Stefanus Osa Triyatna

· 7 minutes read

Heni Sri Sundani, 31, has traveled a long and winding road in pursuit of her dreams to obtain a bachelor’s degree. She has been a migrant worker in Hong Kong and studied in her spare time outside her busy working hours. Today, she helps many children of farming families in the villages to pursue their dreams.

While she was still a child living in a village in Ciamis, West Java, every time a plane flew overhead, Heni and the other village children used to should: "The plane will drop money!" Seeing the children’s behavior, Heni’s mother just smiled. She advised her, rather than hoping for the plane to drop money, it would be better to hope to meet the president one day.

For the people in the village, meeting the president might be a wish as impossible as hoping for the planes passing overhead to drop money. However, Heni had always believed that the universe would someday answer everyone’s dreams.

In 2017 as an adult, Heni had the opportunity to meet President Joko Widodo along with 300 other young achievers. Heni not only met him face to face, but also spoke to the President. This was a blessing.

"I was born of a family that could not give hope. My grandmother married at the age of 9, never went to school and was illiterate. She could not read or write. My mother married at 10 or 11. She went to school, but did not finish," Heni said on Wednesday (19/9/2018), sharing her experience at the 2018 Sustainability Festival in Serpong, South Tangerang.

Heni thought that she was unlucky. She and her family had to work hard for meals of rice with a little salt. She wanted to escape the poverty cycle and she knew that this could be only done through getting a higher education. After graduating high school, she was therefore determined to go to Hong Kong as a migrant worker, even with all the risks that entailed. She had only one goal: To bring back money and a bachelor\'s degree when she returned. "I told myself, ‘No one can help me realize my dreams, except myself.’"

Steep road

Heni arrived in Hong Kong without much money. She worked as a nanny for a family that spoke English and Mandarin. When shopping at the market, she met people who spoke Cantonese. The situation prompted her to learn the language and adapt to the local environment.

As she worked, Heni began to move towards realizing her dreams. She attended Saint Mary’s University, Hong Kong, and first obtained an informatics diploma, and then a degree in entrepreneurship management. In short, after an exhausting struggle, she finally graduated cum laude in 2011.

After her graduation, Heni called her grandmother. "Alhamdullilah [thank God], today I graduated with a bachelor’s degree," she said. Heni hoped the news would make her grandmother happy. But what happened? Her grandmother replied, "What is a bachelor’s degree?"

From this experience, Heni realized that she had to return to her village to share the knowledge she had worked so hard to gain. There, she found her childhood friends had already had children. Heni wondered, "Why is it that I am the only university graduate in the village? Maybe God wants me to help people change their destinies."

Heni then began her mission to share knowledge, bringing 3,000 books to her village in Ciamis. She founded a library at her house and taught the neighborhood children.

‘Smart’ movement

After she married, Heni moved to Sasak village in Bogor regency. In her new home, she established the Smart Farmers\' Children Movement, through which she wanted to act as a bridge for children of farmers to realize their big dreams.

She started by sharing knowledge in the yard of her rental home in 2013. With Rp 100,000 of her own money, she bought stationery, biscuits and milk. At that time, the newlyweds’ finances were far from adequate. However, even though she faced difficulties meeting her family’s needs and the educational movement at the same time, she did not give up. Besides, she saw that the learning movement she started with her husband, Aditia Ginantaka, was received well.

It started with only 15 children, but the number gradually increased. The children came not just from Sasak village, but other villages as well. "As the space in the rented house was no longer enough to accommodate the children, the bed was removed to give them room," said Heni.

Heni provided a different learning experience. When teaching English, she encouraged children to speak and not just take notes. When teaching singing, she provided inspiring lyrics such as through the song "Patuk Baca" (learning game): Ayo kita membaca (Come on, let’s read) / Ayo kita membaca, agar bertambah pintar. Banyak, banyak membaca, bisa keliling dunia (Let\'s read and grow smarter. More and more, reading lots, can take you around the world).

The farmers’ children who attended her classes continued to increase in number day by day. She was confused as to how to accommodate them. However, she believed that nature would answer human needs, and she received an answer. She was allowed to use an unused mushala (prayer room/house) as a learning space. After moving to the mushala, she was able to accommodate up to 200 children who wanted to learn. Since she had limited learning materials, Heni used social media to publicize the educational movement. Thanks to social media, a variety of teaching materials and equipment started to come in through donations, from blackboards to books and to newspapers. Volunteers also began to come.

"However, as [they were] volunteers, they came only occasionally. Millennials came and took selfies and then were not seen on following days, " said Heni. For the program to continue, Heni sought scholarships so the children could continue their education to junior high and high school, even university. These children were expected to continue the learning movement.

In 2017, Heni transformed the Smart Farmers\' Children Movement into the Empowering Indonesia Foundation. The foundation was established on the encouragement of donors, about 80 percent of who lived abroad. Through the foundation, the smart movement can be expanded to other regions in the country.

"If I look [back] at the early days of running the movement, I had doubts. However, along the way, there were miracles. I thought I should take these miracles," she added.

Born: Ciamis, May 2, 1987

Husband: Aditia Ginantaka

Education: Master of Management, Bumi Putera Business School (2016); Bachelor of Science (cum laude), Entrepreneurial Management, Saint Mary\'s University, Hong Kong (2011); Professional Diploma, E-business Computer Informatics, Hong Kong (2009); Certificate, Computer Informatics, Hong Kong (2008); SMKN 1 Banjar vocational high school, West Java (2005)

Experiences: Founder, Smart Farmers\' Children Movement; Founder, Empowering Indonesia Foundation

Awards: Youth Award, Her Times Women Empowerment Awards 2018, Singapore; Indonesian Inspirational Youth, invited to meet President Joko Widodo (2017); Member, Indonesia delegation, India-ASEAN Youth Summit, Bhopal, India (2017); Top 30 Asian Social Entrepreneurs (Forbes International 2016); Top 300 Asian Young Leaders (Forbes 2016); Former Indonesian Migrant Workers of West Java Award (2012); Best student, St Mary’s University, Hong Kong (2011); Inter-Asia Champion of Letter Writing to Mr President (2010); Ambassador, Literature of Hong Kong Migrant Workers, Ubud Writers and Readers Festival, Bali (2010)

Editor:

farmers heni sri sundani