Reky Martha Groendal, Pocket money for poor children

Esther Lince Napitupulu

· 7 minutes read

Living in a number of other countries did not make Reky Martha Groendal, 34, forget her homeland. She still devotes her heart and mind to help children from poor families in Indonesia continue their education. Reky and a number of Indonesian students studying in Japan in 2006 started a small movement by setting aside their pocket money.

They wanted to help street children in Indonesia stay in school through the non-profit Hoshizora Foundation. Since becoming one of the co-founders of the Hoshizora Community in 2006, which was changed to become the Hoshizora Foundation in 2012, Reky has continued showing a commitment to fill the Indonesian sky with “stars” from the dreams of the Indonesian children. The name Hoshizora comes from the Japanese word that means the sky is full of stars.

Even though during that time Reky was studying and working in Japan, afterwards continuing her education with a scholarship in Canada and then working in the United States, she always made sure Hoshizora received donations from Indonesian students abroad that they called “big brother stars”. Reky, who has a permanent residency status in the United States, said she is not tired of promoting the Hoshizora Foundation’s activities overseas.

“I and the co-founder of Hoshizora continue to ensure that the poor children we support continue to go to school. When in Japan, Canada, or in the United States, I continue to introduce Hoshizora and look for ‘big brother stars’ among the Indonesian diaspora,” said Reky, who was interviewed during a big brother star gathering in Jakarta in February 2019.

From 2016 to 2018, Reky took a sabbatical to focus on helping the Hoshizora Foundation. “I stopped working in the United States so that I could focus 100 percent on Hoshizora, meaning going back to Indonesia,” said Reky.

When she returned to Indonesia, Reky served as president of the Hoshizora Foundation. She lived in Yogyakarta, her parents’ home town. Other founders who study or work abroad remain dedicated to helping. Reky mentioned a number of names, such as Wenda Gumulya, who is now in Australia, Megarini Puspasari and Ahmad Bukhori, who are in the United Kingdom, and William Widjadja, Andang Kirana and Ferry Irawan. She said all of them are dedicated to helping build the Hoshizora Foundation.

“I like participating in Hoshizora because it gives me personal happiness. I feel grateful that today’s life really feels great. It brings me happiness that I can feel this,” said Reky.

She said she was grateful that at a young age she already knew what made her wake up every morning excited. As she built a career in community development internationally, Reky kept Hoshizora in her heart.

Keep growing

According to Reky, Hoshizora initially involved 14 street children in Yogyakarta. Now, there are more than 2,500 children in many areas in Indonesia. In fact, the foundation already has partnerships with corporations to support the younger stars in college.

“Our vision is not just to expand the number of children we support. We still have to observe ‘the younger stars’ growing up, know their progress, with some of them willing to work for Hoshizora. Those who get help grow up to be individuals who are willing to give back to their communities,” Reky said.

In the course of her activities developing the institution, there were

many experiences that touched Reky’s heart. There was a high school student who had to walk to school. This student got a scholarship and finished computer studies to work for the foundation. There was also a student who continued his education overseas.

“We know all the little brothers/sisters. That makes me think, how happy we are to be so involved in the lives of these younger people. Not just making sure they graduate from elementary, middle and high school, but also well-informed when there is a problem or success in the family. We also know anything personal,” Reky said.

Hoshizora started with a small step – a joint effort by a number of individuals. Initially, a number of Indonesian students in Japan, such as Reky, Megarini and Wenda, regularly sent money to Indonesia to help their neighbors. Finally, the idea came to send money together for children at a shelter house in Yogyakarta. At that time, the number of street children was high in Yogyakarta.

“Actually, while studying in Japan, I and my friends were also in difficulties because we were not from rich families. I went to Japan for undergraduate studies on a scholarship. I had to work part time at a hotel at 4 a.m. and I had to attend class at 8 a.m. Then at 6 p.m. I worked at a florist and around midnight just went home to do college assignments,” Reky said.

Amidst her tight schedule, Reky could still send money to her family. “My mom always said that the neighbor didn’t have a school uniform or couldn\'t go to school. So my money was to help the neighbors,” Reky said.

She said she was determined to be able to help children who were not as fortunate as her. She said she believes education is one of the keys to change the future of Indonesian children.

The spirit of cooperation from Indonesian students in Japan at that time

was truly realized. Reky also learned about community development, using Hoshizora as a blueprint. Expanding the concept, she asked students at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) Japan to skip lunch once a month so that about 1,000 yen, the equivalent of Rp 100,000, could be donated to help a child stay at school.

Reky said she was eager to collect money from the students at APU. “My job was to knock on the dorm room doors to remind them about the lunch money, then record it and send to younger brothers [and sisters] in Indonesia,” Reky recalled.

After finishing her undergraduate studies in Japan and starting work in another city in that country, Reky continued raising money on weekends at the campus. Likewise, when in Canada, she said she reached out to Indonesian students in the US.

However, giving money alone did not solve the problem. In Hoshizora’s first year, when she returned to Indonesia, the founders discovered that the children who received the donations did not always go back to school. Some got married, worked in other areas, or stopped studying for other reasons.

“It occurred to me that there needs to be engagement or personal connections. Finally, I asked fellow Indonesians in Japan to write letters. It’s a simple letter. The important thing is to show personal attention and support from the big brothers,” Reky said.

The existence of a personal relationship between the big and younger brothers and sisters turned out to have an impact. This method is one of the unique features of the Hoshizora Foundation. Elementary school students are given Rp 100,000 per month, junior high school students Rp 150,000 per month and high school/vocational school students Rp 200,000 per month. However, the big brothers and sisters were asked to participate in monitoring the development of the younger brothers and sisters and encouraging them to remain optimistic about reaching their dreams.

Now, Reky said she is trying to make the foundation sustainable by paving the way to encourage cooperation with corporations. She introduced a corporate support program for more than 170 college students. They were to be financed until they graduate from college.

In addition, the foundation reaches out to children in rural areas, assisted by contract teachers who voluntarily monitor children who remain in school. She hopes that starting this year the contract teachers acting as regional coordinators can receive payments.

Reky Martha Groendal

Born: Bandar Lampung, Feb. 26, 1985

Parents: Sutirto and Yusnimar Education:

- Bachelor of Social Science in Asia Pacific Studies at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Jepang (2007)

- Master of Arts in Education Psychology at the University of British Columbia, Canada (2012)

Awards with the Hoshizora Foundation:

- Kick Andy Heroes 2018

- Mark Plus Under 40

- Nominee for Women of the Future Award Southeast Asia in the Social Entrepreneur 2019 category

Editor:

kompascetak