A Father for Children with HIV/AIDS

KOMPAS/ERWIN EDHI PRASETYA

Yunus Prasetyo

An event six years ago changed the life of Yunus Prasetyo, 50. At that time he got information from a hospital in Solo, Central Java, there was a child with HIV/AIDS. The child\'s mother had died in the hospital and none of her relatives wanted to take care of the child. Yunus decided to take care of him.

"This child, MJ, was in an uncertain situation in the hospital. After his mother died, his extended family were unwilling to take him because they knew he was a child with HIV/AIDS. Maybe they were not ready or afraid [of the disease]. The government was also not ready at the time," said Yunus, chairperson of the Solo Lentera Foundation in Solo.

At that time, MJ was not even two years old. He was in a poor condition. His body was very thin. "We brought him to the Mitra Alam office," Yunus said. Mitra Alam Foundation is a nongovernmental organization engaged in HIV/AIDS and drug rehabilitation issues in Solo, where Yunus works.

Yunus decided to accept MJ driven by humanitarian reasons. In fact, at that time, Mitra Alam office in Gentan, Baki, Sukoharjo, Central Java, was totally unprepared to support and treat children with HIV/AIDS (ADHA) even though it was actively engaged in assisting people with HIV/AIDS. Finally, Yunus together with other Mitra Alam staff members, including Puger Mulyono, took turns bringing MJ to their homes and taking care of him.

"My wife initially protested when I took her home. She was afraid. Although I have long been engaged in the issue of HIV/AIDS, my wife was still worried. I told my wife and children [about HIV/AIDS]," he said.

Yunus\' wife could then understand and even help with caring. Yunus provided his wife and child with standard operating procedures for treating ADHA. However, because it was not possible to take care for MJ in rotation continuously, Yunus then sought a rented house and caretaker for MJ.

He even sold his Yamaha Byson motorcycle to rent a house in Songgorugi, Bumi subdistrict, Laweyan, Solo. The motorcycle that he had just used for several months was sold for Rp 18 million to pay off the rent for two years.

"My friend bought the motorcycle so I could still occasionally nyawang [see] it," he said, laughing in memory of the event.

Yunus said MJ seemed to open the door for other ADHA. One by one, other ADHA came and were taken care of at the rented house in Songgorugi. The news that there was a special house for ADHA in Solo spread by word of mouth so that it became the first place to visit. By 2015, there were tens of children with HIV/AIDS accommodated and cared for at the house. This encouraged Yunus, along with his fellow HIV/AIDS activists, Puger Mulyono and Kefas Jibrael Lumatefa, to formally establish the Lentera Foundation to have a legal entity.

After two years of renting a house to accommodate and care for ADHA in Songgorugi, the Lentera Foundation was forced to find a new place because the owner did not want to extend the rent contract. The plan to move to a house in Kedung Lumbu subdistrict, Pasar Kliwon district, Solo, had been rejected by local residents and finally they rented a house in Kampung Tegalrejo, Sondakan subdistrict, Laweyan, Solo, in 2015.

Halfway house

Two years later, the Lentera Foundation moved to occupy a halfway house built through a CSR program of a private company in collaboration with the Social Affairs Ministry and the Solo city administration in 2017. This ADHA shelter occupies a plot of land owned by the Solo city administration in Jurug, Jebres district. "There are now 32 children with HIV/AIDS and nine caregivers," he said.

Of the children, 16 are now in elementary school, three are in junior high school and one is in kindergarten. The rest are still toddlers. They come from a number of regions, including Central Java, East Java and Papua.

They were sent to the halfway house, managed by the Lentera Foundation, following a recommendation from the social affairs office in the city they are from or from information from the hospital that had treated their parents and other parties. Generally, the mother and father of those children have died.

"Actually this is an iceberg phenomenon, the same as adult people with HIV/AIDS. Sometimes their status is hidden by their families and they have not received medical treatment," he said.

The ADHA shelter, also commonly called the halfway house, is equipped with a number of play facilities for children, including swings, a rotating bowl and slide in the front yard. There are also a number of bikes. The facility encourages children to play freely.

"The children have their basic rights. We strive to fulfill the basic rights of the children, the right to protection from the stigma of discrimination, the right to protection from violence, the right to health care, the right to education and play. This is our endeavor, at the Lentera Foundation, to uphold their rights regardless of their health condition," he said.

In order for the children to feel the warmth of a family -- like being in their own home -- a family system is built in a halfway house. The relationship between the child and the caregiver is made as is the relationship between the child and the parents, uncle and grandmother. The caregivers are usually called ayah or pak\'e (father), uncle, mamak\'e or mak\'e (mother), to uti (grandma).

"I am called father in my family. At the halfway house, I was also called father. It motivated me to continue to accompany and care for them," he said.

The Lentera Foundation is also assisted by volunteers. They include students from Sebelas Maret University (UNS), Solo; Surakarta Muhammadiyah University (UMS); and the Surakarta Institute of Indonesian Art (ISI). They come routinely on certain days to the halfway house and invite the children to play around. The presence of these students is always welcomed enthusiastically by the children.

Yunus is grateful that many people care and extend assistance, including donors who have been providing regular funding. "Why does Lentera still last? It is because of the helping hand of donors and individuals who care," he said.

For Yunus, children with HIV/AIDS and caregivers at the Lentera shelter are a large family. He hopes the children will one day be able to realize their respective ideals.

Yunus Prasetyo

Born: Pati, Central Java, 4 March 1969

Education: Faculty of Agriculture, Slamet Riyadi University (Unisri), Solo, graduated in 1994.

Wife: Septiana Edwining W (46)

Children:

- Yuan Angger Prasetya (19)

- Canatya Lestri Sekarningtyas (18)

- Ken Ayu Lintang Natyasmara (14)

- Kidung Ayu Natansa (2)