Farida Mahri, Raising Hopes of School Dropouts
Farida Mahri, 46, chose to leave her job at an international NGO to develop a village in Cirebon, West Java. Initially rejected by the residents, she now raises hopes of school dropouts.
In mid-May 2019, the mother of two children organized pesantren kilat (a brief Islamic learning activity) during Ramadan. It took place in Karangdawa kampung, Setupatok village, Mundu district. The participants were dozens of students from the Wangsakerta environment-oriented school, most of whom had dropped out of school.
Lessons such as sanitation, worship, social and environmental jurisprudence were delivered at the event. Lecturers from the Sheikh Nurjati State Islamic Institute in Cirebon, Abdul Muiz Ghazali and Wakhit Hasim (Farida\'s husband), served as instructors.
A portable ablution facility was constructed right next to Wangsakerta gazebo. The gazebo also serves as a classroom for students. Outside of Ramadan, they go to school without school fees, uniforms, shoes and pocket money. Their time is also more flexible, from midday to late afternoon. In the morning, the children are busy taking care of their younger siblings and transporting clean water.
On Monday, the schedule is reading any material that suits the needs of the community, such as o farming methods. Tuesday, they write short stories. Wednesday, it\'s time to farm, while Thursday is filled with artistic creations. On Friday, they sort out organic and plastic waste.
Usually, they go around carrying rotten chilies and garlic. Karangdawa is a center for spice. The majority of residents make money working as garlic and chili peelers. However, so far, the waste has only been dumped on the roadside.
The waste is then used as an organic fertilizer for the plantations they grow on vacant land around the gazebo. There is also a seeding area for various plantations, such as tomatoes, chilies, chives, bitter melon, leeks and eggplant.
The food crops are also planted by students in their home yard. In fact, some of them can be harvested and served at the dinner table. Some are sold even in small quantities.
Rejected by residents
Two years ago, the children only hung out and worked to help their families and did not attend school. Most of their parents who work as pedicab drivers and spice peelers saw schools as not a means to make money.
In contrast, going to school incurs costs. If you don\'t have a motorbike, students have to walk for up to one hour every day because there is no public transportation in the village, which is only 8 kilometers away from the Cirebon city administration center.
Hope slowly emerged when Farida and Wakhit and Muhammad Reza, 34, established the Wangsakerta environment-oriented school in September 2017. "We often discussed villages, education and agriculture, but what changed? We had to get involved directly," said Ida, Farida’s nickname.
Reza\'s parents, who own 7,000 square meters of land in Karangdawa, allow the three to use the land. In fact, the land is difficult to grow crops, such as rice, because of a lack of irrigation channels despite its close proximity to Lake Setupatok, which irrigates almost 2,000 hectares of rice fields. The land was transformed into housing.
Ida did not waste the opportunity. Grabbing millions of rupiah from her savings, she rented a house and built a gazebo in the village to be closer to the people. "Apparently, many children don\'t go to school. We go to every house offering schools and focus on agriculture. Farming is an asset to the village," he said.
However, encouraging the dropouts to attend school again is not easy. Village officials had suspected her. There are also residents who avoid meeting her. "Some parents reject the idea because if the children go to school, their children will not work. Many also raise the question: why do I take care of children that do not attend school? I keep quiet," said the former lecturer at a private campus in Cirebon.
Slowly, but surely, Ida was able to attract the children. All efforts were made, ranging from providing books, plant seeds, to making a business of local specialty rebon mixed with chili products. One by one the children come and study. Now, there are around 20 students. Ida was also assisted by Siska, 24, a student; Fatimah, 36, and chairperson of RT 006 Karangdawa, Tini.
Early-age marriage
Ida admitted, the struggle was still long. Sometimes, she was lethargic when a number of children no longer regularly studied in Wangsakerta. "This activity is like art, it must be done with pleasure," she said amusing herself.
Moreover, for girls there, not attending school means taking a road to early marriage. There, it is common to say, " Kawin bae ambiran dipangani wong la- nang [Just get married so that you [girls] are taken care by husband."
"Luckily there is a school [Wangsakerta]. My parents no longer ask me to get married. Emong [don\'t want to] get married. I bli weru [know nothing," said Aisyah, 16, a Wangsakerta student who did not go to high school due to costs. The pedicab driver’s daughter is now making poetry and reading novels.
Ida also invited students and residents to recognize the potential and problems in their villages. They map out residents’ possession of wells and their household spending, which were mostly spent on food expenditure. "So far, the mapping by the government only sees citizens as objects, they were not involved," she said.
The results are shocking. As many as 198 children aged 6-18 years did not go to school. That number is more than 30 percent of school-age children in the village. A total of 235 residents were also identified as illiterate, including 53 residents aged 11-35 years. The total population in the village is 2,695.
These various problems made Ida reluctant to stay away from the village.
Moreover, she aspires to build a village community that is independent in terms of food, energy and able to determine its own destiny. She got this view after discussing with writer and activist Roem Topatimasang and Ahmad Mahmudi from the Institute for Rural Technology Development.
This reason also caused her to leave his job at an international non-government organization with a salary of around Rp 8 million a month or almost four times the current Cirebon minimum wage.
Before founding the Wangsakerta, she was active in Institut Sofi, a non-governmental organization engaged in providing counseling among young people in Cirebon. However, Ida did not "run away" from her responsibilities as a wife and mother. Not infrequently she invited her two children to the village and shared stories when her child returned home after class.
Ida\'s social life has emerged since she was little. Her life is simple. Together with her seven siblings, the daughter of the timber trader lives near the railway line in Cikarang, Bekasi. After graduating from high school, she had become a doll factory worker a year. After saving, she went to college while working as an English translator.
During college, she was active in the university’s press, NGOs engaged in the field of women, and helped accompany displaced people. Unexpectedly, her family\'s house was also evicted because of the construction of a double railway line. "We were last evicted and looked for a house in another place," she recalled.
Now, Ida doesn\'t want to stop at Karangdawa. She wants the dropouts in other villages to regain hope and be self-sufficient.
Farida Mahri
Born: Bekasi, March 11, 1973
Husband: Wakhit Hasim
Children: Farah Khalidia, 13, and Zydan Djuza Education: State University of Yogyakarta
Email: faridamahri@gmail.com