Imas Masitoh Rusmiatin, A Mother to Orphans

KOMPAS/MACHRADIN WAHYUDI RITONGA

Imas Masitoh Rusmiatin

Who would have thought that behind her modest appearance, Imas Masitoh Rusmiatin, 44, could unite dozens of people to act? Imas has taken care of hundreds of orphans in her area, even through her own difficulties.

At nearly noon on Tuesday (4/6/2019), about 30 disadvantage children gathered at Cihampelas Walk, a popular shopping center in the city of Bandung. They were shopping for Lebaran with West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil and his family. The governor stood in front of them after shopping and asked the children to stand in a line. He then took them to watch a movie.

One of the children, 10-year-old Rio, was amazed at the spacious and luxurious interior of the cinema. Rio had never set foot in a cinema before. Like the children under her care, Imas had never imagined she would ever go watch a movie with the leader of West Java. She had never even submitted a proposal to the governor or asked for his assistance.

The surprise was not the first for Imas. Since she started taking care of the orphans at her house, she has received both moral and material support from many people she doesn\'t know. Imas’s concern for the orphans, even though she herself faces many difficulties, has attracted many donors to her door.

Imas began caring for orphans in 2012, when she lost her youngest child. Since then, she has been saddened to see small children who were neglected because they had no parents. So she began to help take care of several orphans.

The following year, her father\'s death devastated Imas. She had lost someone who gave meaning to life, particularly through sharing and caring. She felt a great loss at losing a wise parent. Not wanting to drown in grief, she decided to invite seven orphans to live with her family.

"The children\'s eyes reminded me of the eyes of my youngest child, who died. After my father died, I became convinced that these children would be happier if I took care of them. I want to be someone who cares and wants to help, like my late father," she said, with tears in her eyes.

Doubts

At first, both the local community and her family doubted Imas’s ability to look after the orphans, because she was not from a wealthy family. Her financial condition is weak. She makes a living from running a small stall next to SDN Cibungur elementary school in East Batujajar, West Bandung regency.

Although the community doubted her, Imas moved forward with her plan. In 2016, Imas founded the Roudotul Amanah Orphanage and Foundation for the Poor (duafa) so she could run social activities legally and obtain community assistance. Understandably, she would be unable to meet the daily needs of her foster children if she relied only on her inadequate income.

However, the amount of assistance she has received has been insufficient for the children’s needs, so Imas works extra hard. Aside from running her stall, she also collects plastic waste for recycling into saleable goods.

Her hard work led her to suffer a mild stroke, which has left her with impaired movement. However, in the midst of her own condition, she continued to help the orphans, who had grown in number. By 2017, Imas was caring for 30 orphans.

The turning point for Imas arrived in 2018. During Ramadhan that year, Imas bumped into Wildan Awaluddin, 27, an activist from the Cibungur Community Reading Park, and several media at an event in Lembang. After hearing Imas\'s story, they decided to visit her house and have a breaking-of-the-fast gathering there.

I was surprised [at] why Ibu Imas had insisted on taking care of the orphans when in fact, she also faced limitations

Wildan and a number of journalists saw how hard it was for Imas to take care of her foster children. "I was surprised [at] why Ibu Imas had insisted on taking care of the orphans when in fact, she also faced limitations," Wildan said on Wednesday (5/6/2019), during a visit to the orphanage for Lebaran.

After their 2018 visit, several media reported Imas’s story. Meanwhile, Wildan and his colleagues helped Imas seek assistance through social media and achieved good results. Through the donor site Kitabisa.com, the verified account of the Roudotul Amanah Foundation received hundreds of millions of rupiah in assistance.

Imas used the funds to build a house for the children under her care, something that she and her foster children had always dreamed of. They moved out of their old and narrow rented house and into their brand-new two-story house at the end of 2018.

Imas said that the donations were all made to support the children\'s needs. "That donation carries a mandate, so my family and I will not use it, unless the donors intentionally provided them for my family, or for all of us," she said.

Lingering doubts

Managing large funds requires administrative skills. Imas admitted that she had balked at managing the large amount of funds. She became unsure about continuing the foundation because she had only graduated senior high school and did not know about financial management.

Fortunately, Wildan and several of his colleagues who had administrative experience helped her. "Ibu Imas was able to leave the [financial] management to us, but we cannot replace her. Wherever she goes, the children will follow. Ibu Imas is a parent to them, she is irreplaceable," he said.

Imas became convinced that she would be able to manage the donated funds, and she is now determined to put her foster children through the highest level of education. "I plan to put the children through university. Hopefully, there will be scholarships or donors who can help. I cannot let them [the children] become like me," she said.

She also hopes to someday build a special school for orphans and poor children. She wants the children to become independent after gaining an education and be useful to their community.

Aside from formal schooling, Imas also teaches the children to be dutiful to their parents and to care for the environment. In order for an orphan to be accepted at Imas’s foundation, the family must produce a death certificate for the child\'s parents. The poor children who have living parents must provide their parents’ contact information so they can stay in touch.

"Even though I may be caring for them, I ask them to never forget their biological parents. Later, when these children become successful, they should go back and help their parents, even if they didn\'t get love when they were small," said Imas.

In addition to caring for her foster children, Imas is now gathering donations to assist the elderly in her neighborhood.

The number of children under Imas’s care had reached 130 by Ramadhan 2019. Thirty children live with her while the 100 other children are under the care of their families or Imas’s relatives. In addition to caring for her foster children, Imas is now gathering donations to assist the elderly in her neighborhood.

Imas is grateful that she is able to devote her life to orphans and the poor. She teaches us that we do not need to wait until we are rich to help others.

Imas Masitoh Rusmiatin

Born: Cimahi, 21 January 1975

Education: SMAN 1 Padalarang senior high school

Occupation: Chairperson, Roudotul Amanah Orphanage and Foundation for the Poor, Kampung Cibungur, East Batujajar village, West Bandung