The national water availability in Indonesia can be considered relatively safe, but the accessibility, continuity, and quality of the available water are still not up to standard. Furthermore, consuming poor-quality water can negatively impact our health and result in death. In addition, those three main criteria, along with other elements, are crucial because they are one of the requirements within every process of national development planning and sustainability.

Indonesia is committed to fulfilling the target of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 6, namely ensuring the availability and management of safe drinking water and sanitation sustainably. The country hopes to 100% fulfill clean water and sanitation access by 2030.

However, there are still several areas in Indonesia that do not possess accessibility to clean water; one of them is Karawang, which is included in the list of 100 priority areas for stunting prevention in Indonesia. Stunting in Karawang is mainly caused by the consumption of dirty water and inadequate sanitation facility. Most of the residents still defecate in open water bodies. Some people there still need to buy clean water to fulfill their daily needs.

Availability of access, distribution channels, and installation of clean water should be a shared responsibility within our community. Diverse partnerships are needed to solve the water problems in Indonesia. To make this happen, Habitat for Humanity Indonesia and Akuberbagi (https://akuberbagi.com/purchase/Donasi/habitat-for-humanity-indonesia-yayasan-habitat-kehumanian-indonesia/step-1/-) invite you to support the accessibility of clean water for underprivileged communities by providing the water pipe to supply clean water from its source through donating IDR 50,000,-.

With your IDR 50,000, – you have provided two water pipes. Moreover, you have minimized the health costs because, according to WHO, every dollar invested in clean water and sanitation can save 4.3 dollars in health costs.

Let’s create a healthier and more prosperous life for Indonesian people by supporting Habitat Indonesia through Crew Registration (jotform.com) or https://supporthabitat.org/id.

“Thank God, Habitat came to our house to build us a toilet. I am very grateful to be able to get the assistance. Especially since I still have a toddler, often it’s a hassle if I wanted to go to the toilet, I had to use the one in my parents-in-law’s house.” – Nia, Jaenuddin’s Wife.

Jaenuddin, Nia, and their toddler are part of a little family who lives in Kedung Dalem Village, Mauk District, Tangerang Subdistrict, Banten Province. It was unthinkable how they lived in a house where the absence of a decent toilet was an urgent concern. As a laundry keeper, Nia and her husband found it difficult to build a toilet for their house since they only make enough income to fulfill their daily needs. Unpreventably, Jaenuddin and Nia had to use their parent’s bathroom.

A condition where the lack of decent toilets or water access affects families like Jaenuddin’s is one of the leading concerns that Habitat aims to solve. Collaborating with other parties who shared the same vision, Habitat welcomed the support of PT Omega Hotel Management (OHM) on a joint program to provide a decent toilet for Jaenuddin and his family.

Celebrating its 9th birthday, OHM, a hotel operator under the auspices of the Alfaland Group, organized a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program with Habitat for Humanity Indonesia to build nine toilets for nine low-income families in Kedung Dalem Village, Mauk, Tangerang. One of them was Jaenuddin’s family.

“I want to thank Habitat and OHM who have provided us with toilet assistance”, said Nia gratefully.

By providing the toilet for Jaenuddin and the other eight families in Kedung Dalem Village, Habitat hopes that this program can improve the welfare and health of the community.

Ms. Tisha is a single parent of four children who works as a member of the village’s Family Welfare movement in Mauk, Tangerang. One of her duties is to record the number of families who need decent houses. However, Ms. Tisha also lived in a non-decent house, yet she had to put other families first to help those in a far more concerning condition.

The condition of Ms. Tisha’s house was far from safe and comfortable. The roof had many holes. Its foundation was also fragile. Her house was constantly flooded. She and her children could not sleep. When it rained, they could only sit patiently in a place where they could avoid the piercing raindrops inside their house until it stopped. 

Rain was not the only problem. Ms. Tisha also faced several difficulties in her economic condition. Three of her four children still need financial support for their education. The situation made Ms. Tisha continuously work hard for the sake of her children. She had to give each of her children IDR 10.000 to cover the cost of their travel to school and meals. However, it only happened when Ms. Tisha had enough money. If she did not have enough money, she could only give IDR 5.000 to each child.

Everything is beautiful in its time. Finally, Ms. Tisha was registered to receive housing assistance from Habitat. Her children were joyful after receiving the news that they always asked, “Mom, when will it be built?”. Ms. Tisha couldn’t describe her happiness after receiving a decent house. “I feel like I can fly; I am pleased,” she said. Now, Ms. Tisha and her children can peacefully live a safe life. “The main thing is I don’t have to worry about leaving my children at night in our house,” she said.

Ms. Tisha had saved her money for a long time to build her dream house. When Habitat built her home, she used her money to decorate dan renovate her kitchen to be more beautiful. Now, Ms. Tisha can prepare meals for her family in a clean kitchen. She hopes her children can grow well in their new home. 

“If God gave me two lives, then with those two lives, I should bestow them to our Motherland and Nation.” – Ir Soekarno.

The quote above illustrates the expression of love for Indonesia by the first Indonesia’s president, Ir. Soekarno. Now that we mention the word “love”, last February is known by many people as the month of love. In tune with the phrase of love by Ir. Soekarno, I was reminded of Habitat’s mission which echoes the spirit of love to our nation through building decent houses for the needs. I am grateful that in its 25th year of existence hundreds of thousands of families have felt the manifestation of love through Habitat’s mission.

Recently, I was touched by Ms. Tisha’s story, one of our home partners whom we met last November 2022 in Kedung Dalem Village, Mauk, Tangerang. Ms. Tisha is a single parent with four children who works as a member of the village’s Family Welfare Movement. One of her duties is to record the number of families who need decent houses. However, Ms. Tisha was also living in a non-decent house, but she had to put other families first to help those who lived in a far worse conditions. Ms. Tisha and her children could only be patient and hope there would be help because when the rain came, her house was always flooded, and with her children, she couldn’t sleep. They had to seek a safe place within her house to wait until the rain stopped. 

Everything is beautiful in its time. Finally, Ms. Tisha was registered as the one who received a house from Habitat. Her children were joyful after receiving the news that they always asked, “Mom, when will it be built?”. Ms. Tisha couldn’t describe her happiness after receiving a decent house. “I feel like I can fly; I am pleased,” she said. Now, Ms. Tisha and her children can peacefully live a safe life. “The main thing is I don’t have to worry about leaving my children at night in our house,” she said.

In the near future, Habitat will share the love of the low-income families in Babakan Madang, Sentul, Bogor, on March 18, 2023, through the Financial Institutional Build program. To carry on with love for our nation, as echoed by Bung Karno, I invite every leader from various financial institutions to share the love by supporting Habitat Indonesia in providing decent houses through this program. Let us walk hand in hand, together roll up our sleeves to build a better hope for our nation’s future. 

Regards, 

Susanto

Amazon Web Services cooperated with Habitat for Humanity Indonesia to hold a Business Literature and Financial Management Training for Entrepreneurs from Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Karawang.

The training went on for two days, from 24th to 25th January 2023. On 24th January 2023, it started with welcoming speeches by the leader of KPKS, Seia Piantara, SE, MM, and the Local Economic Union and SME Secretary, Amid Mulyana, SE., MM. The training’s first session was filled with the provision of production management literacy training by Dr. Endang Mahpudin, M.M. The following session was carried out by Ms. Fonny Arisandy Jacob, SE, MSi., who shared a lecture about financial management.

The participants followed each session enthusiastically. The spirit was visible in their learning progress during the training and the Q&A session. They had a chance to discuss, train, and apply their obtained knowledge directly at the trainings. Those practices will help the participants to grow their 33 businesses.

Hani Siti Nuraini, a participant from Mulya Sejati Village, said, “I already have a SME called “The Rujakan”. However, I have been operating the business heedlessly. For example, I didn’t mind little profit, but through the training, I learned how to estimate profits, prepare production, and manage finances.”

Hopefully, the training provided by AWS and Habitat Indonesia will create SME actors who can manage their finances properly and possess a broad business knowledge. Moreover, those SME actors are expected to acquire a strong entrepreneurship mentality that will help them to grow their businesses through various circumstances and challenges.

To have a physical disability was not a choice that Mr. Harman would like to make. He uses a wheelchair for daily activities. Despite the circumstance, his physical disability is not a barrier to his creative pursuit. He carried out several ventures previously, including selling prepaid credits for handphone and making household crafts. He ought to support his daily needs through them.

However, his concern came from a fundamental necessity; he had to survive in an unsafe and uncomfortable house.

Due to the poor housing condition, Mr. Harman, a resident of Karampuang 1 village, Mamuju, South Sulawesi, told us that it was difficult for him to use the toilet. “It’s hard to use the toilet. The floor was made of wood, and it’s a squat toilet, so I could only use it from the wheelchair.”

The home that was supposed to be his safe shelter caused a vital concern in Mr. Harman’s life.

Furthermore, his condition worsened in 2019 due to the earthquake that shook Sulawesi’s land. Mamuju Regency, where Mr. Harman lives, was heavily affected by the quake. His house was one of the victims of the incident.

Mr. Harman felt helpless as he couldn’t leave and flee farther from his place despite the crumbling roof and walls. He was forced to stay in his damaged house even though he feared the aftershocks would follow the quake.

But everything is beautiful in its time; Habitat Indonesia arrived at Mamuju to provide several earthquake survivors with proper housing assistance. Mr. Harman was one of the selected residents to receive the aid. The house built for him was an earthquake-resistant house with disabled-friendly toilets.

Gratitude was visibly conveyed through his expression as he said, “After Habitat came and renovated my house, alhamdulillah, I feel peaceful, comfortable, and I can sleep well since Habitat gave my house’s foundation earthquake protection.”

The difficulty in using the toilet that he used to experience has become easier because of a wheelchair ramp that helps him to move from the wheelchair to the seated toilet built by Habitat. Now, Mr. Harman feels at peace in his home.

“Thank you, Habitat and donors, for building an earthquake-resistant house for me. I am very happy. May God reward you all for your kindness.” Said Mr. Harman. Now, he can focus on continuing his business as a woven carpet craftsman, which he has been doing for the past few years.

To celebrate the mall’s 2nd anniversary (November 2022), ASHTA District 8 collaborated with Habitat for Humanity Indonesia, Rebricks, and Jangjo to initiate two sustainable social programs, namely #MinumKopiJadiSeni and #PilahSampahJadiRumah.

The #PilahSampahJadiRumah program is carried out by selling art sculptures created from used coffee grounds. The statues have a high artistic value since they are the creations of eight talented artists with each of their unique style and characteristics, such as Alphabad, Arnis Muhammad, Harishazka, Heartlab Bali, Mahaputra Vito, Popomangun, Ratu Tanggela, and Tragicoo.

Subsequently, the earnings from all the artworks sold in the auction will be donated to Habitat for Humanity Indonesia to build five decent houses in Mauk District, Tangerang Regency. The houses will use environmentally friendly building materials, namely multi-layer plastic concrete bricks (a mixture of cement and chopped plastic) created by the Rebricks company.

Habitat Indonesia invites the readers of Habitat Update to actively participate in bidding and collecting unique and extraordinary art sculptures. #SahabatHabitat can join the bidding by registering and clicking on the link in the catalog: #PilahSampahJadiRumah.

May the highest bidder win their most desirable artwork.

Most of us acknowledge the island of Bali as a popular tourist destination for travelers across the globe.

In an interview with CNBC Indonesia, Sandiaga Salahudin Uno, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, mentioned that Bali is still the second largest contributor to Indonesia’s foreign exchange earnings, second only to the oil and gas industry.

Do we, however, reckon the several regions of Bali where a large number of people continue to live in poverty?

According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the poverty rate in Bali has increased sharply due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The island went from maintaining the nation’s lowest poverty percentage at 3.61% to scoring high at 4.72%. As the result, Bali was ranked as the fourth poorest region in Indonesia. One of the five poorest regions in Bali is Karangasem Regency, located in the northeastern part of Bali Island.

Starting in 2023, as a humanitarian institution that focuses on providing decent housing for the underprivileged society, Habitat for Humanity Indonesia started a project of decent housing cluster for the residents of Purwakerti Village, one of the villages in Karangasem Regency.

Sunday, 15th January 2023, marked the beginning of the project, Habitat Indonesia held a build event. The event was attended by 21 volunteers from Jakarta, Bali, and even Singapore.

Accompanied by the other volunteers, 11 students from a well-known university in Singapore established the foundations for two of the ten houses to be built within the early stages of the project in Purwakerti Village.

The build event began with the opening speech by the National Director of Habitat for Humanity Indonesia, Susanto, and the Head of Purwakerti Village, I Nengah Suanda.

Following the short briefing on safety rules and warm-up exercises, the volunteers worked hand-in-hand to carry out build activities, establishing the foundations and relocating building materials. Although the activities went on for almost three hours, the volunteers cooperated with great enthusiasm.

After the home owners shared their testimonies, the event was closed by selecting “Volunteers of The Day” as a part of Habitat tradition in every build event.

Hopefully, the good deeds contributed by the volunteers will generate unforgettable memories and bring blessings to every family of the Bali Build 2023.

Building Homes – Building Lives – Building Communities.

Happy New Year 2023, 

Our wish for this new year is that Habitat will continue to transform towards a positive direction in poverty reduction through decent housing.

Two weeks ago, Mr. Jens Reisch, Ms. Wan Tien, one of the board of trustees, the Habitat teams, several volunteers from INSEAD University in Singapore, Thunderbird alumni, USA, and I travelled to Bali to build decent housing in Karangasem. Although Bali is famous as one of the most beautiful tourist destinations which has many unique Balinese houses, hidden away there is Karangasem that apparently has many poorly structured houses and difficulty to obtain clean water because of their high contour location. Currently they are using a pumping machine to get water from the well located next to the seashore around 2-3 kilometres away. 

On January 15, 2023, Bali Build was held. I participated in building 1 out of 2 houses. I felt so happy to be involved directly in Bali. I saw the happiness and enthusiasm on the volunteer’s face. They were willing to give out their time, energy, and even money to support the low-income families in Karangasem to get decent housing.

This Bali build was a pilot project. We plan to do another build with more number of houses this coming April or May 2023. Before the Bali Build activity, we will be holding a Habitat Charity Golf Tournament next February. With open arms, I invite everyone to join our mission. Please contact Endah by email [email protected] or Cila at (0821)2592-0054 for further information . 

Through this opportunity, I also would like to wish Happy Lunar New Year to those who celebrate it. May we celebrate the beginning of lunar year with joy and new hope. Habitat does this by providing decent houses to people in needs as well as giving ‘new hope’ to families so that they can grow healthier and with dignity.  

Best Regards,

Susanto