Keep Sharing Despite Pandemic

Name: Keep Sharing Despite Pandemic
Uploaded: 2020-12-16T03:35:55Z
Duration: 20 min 32 s
Description: For almost a year, no parts of our life were spared from COVID-19. However, the pandemic did not erode some people’s faith in caring for others.

For almost a year, no parts of our life were spared from COVID-19. However, the pandemic did not erode some people’s faith in caring for others.

Abdullah Fikri Ashri/ Machradin W Ritonga

· 6 minutes read

For almost a year, no parts of our life were spared from COVID-19. However, the pandemic did not erode some people’s faith in caring for others.

On Friday morning (11/12/2020), lines of people were seen at Himas Coffee and Eatery and Cirebon Geprek in Cirebon, West Java. Low-income workers, parking attendants, rickshaw drivers and scavengers came to the cafe on Jl. Sisingamangaraja. They wanted to enjoy a total of 100 free servings of geprek (pounded) chicken. There were two conditions: they had to show coupons and comply with health protocols.

Also read: Togetherness in the Face of Covid-19

Before eating, visitors were asked to wash their hands with soap. The dining table and chairs were spaced apart and sprayed with an antiseptic solution. The waiter also gave face masks free of charge to those who came.

Some of them enjoyed the meal enthusiastically. There were also those who looked shy and looked down while eating the chicken, accompanied by noodles, potato fritters and sweet iced tea. This could be understood because they almost never ate at cafes.

Also read: Solidarity Keeps Thriving

"How could I eat a café when I can only have breakfast when I have money. At most, I eat rice and tempeh,” said Mandra, 41, a parking attendant. Mandra had turned his orange uniform inside out. "I am ashamed," he said.

For Mandra, the free breakfast was very helpful. Moreover, during the pandemic over the last nine months, his income has dropped. "Previously, he could earn Rp 50,000 a day. Now, at most he earns Rp 20,000. There are not as many cars coming as before the coronavirus,” said the parking attendant near the morning market.

The owner of Himas Coffee and Eatery Cirebon, Teddy Dharmadi Chandra, 29, said the free meal was offered every second and fourth Friday of the month. "We have organized this activity four times and it will certainly continue until the conditions improve," he said.

Also read: How Neighbors Can Help Each Other amid Outbreak

Teddy\'s business has also been affected by the pandemic. After just a month of operation, the cafe saw fewer customers. Conditions got even more difficult in April when large-scale social restrictions were put in place. "Our sales fell 90 percent," he said.The target of attracting customers from around the cafe, such as from hospitals, ports and schools, vanished. All those public facilities were quiet.

We thought, what will they do with the rats? Is life so hard now.

Instead of closing the business, he started providing 100 free meals for marginalized residents. It is not a profit-making marketing gimmick. He just wants to share in this difficult period. He believes there are still a lot of people who have a more difficult life out there.

“About three months ago, my father saw scavengers taking mice and putting them in carts instead of getting rid of them. We thought, what will they do with the rats? Is life so hard now?" he said. He then decided to start the free meal program.

In Bandung, a number of musicians also shared with others. The absence of performances during the pandemic drove them to try to keep busy cooking free packaged meals. Called Dapur Musafir, this service has been running since the end of May and is ongoing today. Dapur Musafir has offered 29 shared meals so far.

"Initially it was held during Ramadan. We started cooking at noon and finished before breaking fast,” said Yaya Risbaya, 30, who alongside four of his colleagues in the music group Syarikat Idola Remaja set aside their income to offer the food. Donations also came from close friends.

To make space, half of the living room of Risbaya\'s rented house was turned into a kitchen with a gas stove and a rice cooker. The other half of the room was vacated to make room for packaging the food.

Also read: Solidarity Strengthens amid Pandemic

"The average [number of distributions of food] is four times a month. Fortunately, there are friends who want to donate even though the amount is not fixed,” said Risbaya, whose nickname is Baya.

The number of food packages distributed has increased. At the beginning of Dapur Musafir, Baya and his colleagues distributed 25 packages of rice. After that, the number of packages increased to 40, and in the last few events they distributed about 70 packs.

"We got cooking utensils, borrowing them from a neighbor who sells fried rice. Now, other neighbors also like to help with cooking,” he said.

Not just for fellow artists, the food from Dapur Musafir is also enjoyed by the poor who live on the streets of Bandung. Beggars, buskers and street children get it. In fact, 30 packages were given to street children in Ciroyom Market.

"We mapped out the places, and we also looked for fellow street musicians. For example, from Cikapayang to Simpang Dago. They are good children, only less fortunate, especially during a pandemic like this," he said.

Baya hopes the packaged rice from Dapur Musafir will be distributed to other cities. He expected the food packages to be distributed in Jakarta at the end of December 2020. Packaged rice will be given to street children, street musicians and the homeless.

Also read: The Power of Solidarity

"We will do the cooking with one of the senior musicians. Fellow artists can also join in the cooking. However, all must have a rapid test first to ensure their health," he said.

Baya hopes that sharing through Dapur Musafir will continue. He is sure that more people need help during the pandemic.

Putting others first

It was approaching noon, and people were still coming to Himas Coffee and Eatery. Sumartono, 77, a scavenger, was one of them. He was not alone, but came with his wife and child.

"She had a stroke. She can\'t talk," he said, introducing his wife, who was wearing a light green shirt filled with pins.

They live near the dumpsite on the Pamitran bridge. "[We] sleep and eat there. The results of scavenging for four days are only Rp 50,000. This is the first time we have eaten in a café,” he said.

There is a Confucian adage that says, if you want to be upright, uphold others first. If you want to go forward, put other people first.

Sucipto Chandra, 64, Teddy\'s father, said that in the midst of difficult conditions, sharing was a solution for all. Differences in economic, religious and ethnic backgrounds should not be a barrier for sharing.

For this family of Chinese descent, humanity is not limited to ethnicity, race, religion or class. Nor is the pandemic. Only by sharing can difficulties and differences be faced together. "There is a Confucian adage that says, if you want to be upright, uphold others first. If you want to go forward, put other people first,” said the former deputy chairman of the Cirebon Indonesia Confucian Religion Council.

Indeed, the door of sharing should be wide open without partitions. There is no need to see differences to stay strong and survive together in this pandemic era.

Editor:

Syahnan Rangkuti

SOLIDARITY Food Assistance street children street musicians free meal program social assistance dapur musafir food packages homeless