Budi Laksono: The Happy Tale of a Bringer of Joy

KOMPAS/CORNELIUS HELMY HERLAMBANG

Budi Laksono

Budi Laksono devotes his life and skills to bringing joyful smiles to those around him. His eyes silently gazed at the Jateng Gayeng (Joyful Central Java) temporary housing at the Petobo shelter in Palu, Central Sulawesi, on Friday (19/10/2018).

The temporary housing complex is called Jateng Gayeng (Joyful Central Java) as it was established with help and donations from people in Central Java, with Budi serving as construction manager. “We named the model AB6. These houses can stand for years,” Budi said.

The AB in AB6 is an acronym of Ansyari and Budi, with Ansyari being the name of a carpenter that Budi first met when he was involved in Aceh’s post-tsunami reconstruction. The number six represents the speed, ease and affordability of the houses’ construction. “One unit can be finished in under six hours, with less than Rp 6 million [US$394.93] and by only six builders. For Palu, we can even reduce the budget to Rp 4 million per unit,” Budi explained.

Budi said that he had built 104 temporary houses in Petobo without involving any contractors. Each house is 12 square meters in area, 3 meters tall in the front and 2 meters tall in the back. One house can fit up to four people.

Light steel is used for the frame, while the wall is plywood. Windows ensure proper air ventilation. Electrical wiring, water pipes and a toilet are also provided. The construction involved volunteers from Central Java and Banggai Islands as well as police and military personnel and members of the students\' regiment.

Budi said that, despite the name Jateng Gayeng, the houses were not built exclusively for Central Javanese migrants. All locals with damaged homes can live there. Pregnant women, widows, the elderly, the sick and those with toddlers are prioritized.

Inspiration

The idea for AB6 first emerged during the post-tsunami reconstruction period in Aceh in 2004. At the time, Budi came to the province as a medical volunteer with his colleagues from the Central Java Red Cross. He volunteered to join the team that reestablished routes into isolated regions. “Together with a nurse, I brought medicine and logistics in my backpack,” he said.

One day, Budi arrived in Blang Bintang, Aceh Besar. Apart from establishing a medic post, he traveled around to check the conditions of refugees. One time, he saw a 2-week-old baby shivering from the cold

in an emergency shelter. Budi offered the baby’s parents the chance to live with him at the medic post. Ansyari is the baby’s father.

Ansyari and Budi bonded quickly. They found that they could talk to each other about various things, including their plan to create temporary houses. Emergency tents would never be an ideal place to help refugees improve their physical and mental health. As it turned out, Ansyari was a carpenter. He proposed building houses similar to huts on Aceh’s plantations. They are generally box-shaped and can be completed in only three or four days. Budi was interested with the idea but he wished for a faster construction time.

“We agreed to try to assemble the frame on the ground before putting it up. As it turned out, we could do it a lot faster. We made it from wood in six hours and with only two people,” he said.

The project was first launched in Leupung, Aceh Besar, and, over time, it gained traction. In 45 days in Aceh, Budi helped build 36 AB6 homes, which housed disaster refugees before they could obtain new, permanent homes.

Afterward, the AB6 projects were promoted in many disaster-affected regions. Through donations, 200 AB6 homes were built for earthquake survivors in East Lombok and North Lombok.

Budi said that many had doubted him when he first introduced the AB6 houses. It was understandable considering that he was a doctor, not a carpenter or an architect. However, he faced it all with smiles. “We must not forget that the father of modern medicine, Aristotle, was also a carpenter. He had promotive, curative, preventive and rehabilitative roles,” he said.

Inspiration

Aristotle was not his only inspiration. Another one is his late father, Bits Soetrisno. For a moment, Budi stopped talking and wiped his tears away.

“I’m sorry,” he said, before continuing.

He said that he did not come from a well-to-do family. His father was a veteran of the war for independence. However, he never took his veteran allowance. He used to say that he fought for his country not for money.

“I try to use that as my inspiration,” Budi said.

Apart from in post-disaster periods, Budi also works in peacetime. Since 2015, he has been involved in promoting the WC4ALL “1 million toilets” program with people from various backgrounds, including military personnel. The movement was also used in a joint study between Griffith University and Australia National University. The program Budi is involved in started in 2009 and is planned for completion later this year.

“After Palu, I will go to Wonosobo in Central Java to install 1,000 toilets,” he said.

Through his Budi Husada Clinic in Kaligawe, Semarang, Budi fostered a spirit of communal solidarity. Budi set a fee of Rp 5,000 per patient for all of his services. Every day, he receives between 50 and 100 patients, most of whom are poor.

Of the Rp 5,000, he set aside Rp 1,000 for buying medicine and medical equipment for post-disaster medical care projects. “So, every time I go to a disaster-affected region, I bring a mandate from my patients at home,” said Budi, who received the 1997 Central Java Exemplary Doctor Award.

He now plans to resign as a civil servant, a status he has held for the past 20 years. Most recently, he was placed at the Semarang health agency.

“My family fully supports my decision. My wife often visits disaster-affected regions. In Lombok, she provides trauma healing sessions for children,” said the disaster management lecturer at Diponegoro University’s postgraduate school.

The day was getting hotter in Petobo, but Budi remained focused. Amid monitoring the temporary housing construction project, he still devotes his time to tending to locals. He was wearing his white doctor’s coat, which was dulled by the dust in Petobo. Budi had been in Petobo for 17 days by then.

One of his patients was Petobo local Asmarini, 36, who was having her blood pressure checked. The earthquake had traumatized her and living in an emergency tent had reduced her stamina. “It’s OK. You’re perfectly fine,” Budi said after tending to her. Asmarini smiled heartily.

Budi’s words were not the only thing that made her happy that day. Soon, she would live in one of Budi’s temporary houses. It would surely give her respite from the crowded emergency tent and a better chance at rebuilding her life.

Asmarini’s smile, in turn, made Budy happy. At least, through his two deeds, he has spread joy to those around him.