Fighting the Stigma of Disabled People
Budi Hariyanto
Disabled people are often seen as weak and powerless. Budi Hariyanto, however,defies such stigmas. Even with his limited mobility, Budi is at the front line on empowering disabled persons and other citizens.
Television sets of different brands and sizes fill the veranda at the home of Budi Hariyanto, 48, in Wedoro Klurak village, Candi district, Sidoarjo regency, East Java. In order to reach the front of the 60-square-meter house, you need to step extra carefully to avoid knocking over the TVs.
Budi was sitting on the floor that day, busy repairing a broken TV. Once in a while, he gave directions to Ikmanul Huda, who was sitting in front of him and observing him.
Huda is an eleventh-grader at the Electronics Department of SMKN 1 Sidoarjo vocational high school. He was completing his practical training at Budi’s place.
Every year, SMKN 1 Sidoarjo sends its students to Budi’s house for practical trainingduring the four months between May and August. At least five students participate in the program annually. The roster of students working at Budi’s place changes every year in accordance with the assignment from the school.
Since 2002, Budi has been a trusted partner of SMKN 1 Sidoarjo practical training program. Budi must assess all the students he trains. His assessment counts academically.
Budi had served before as anElectronics practical examiner at SMKN 1 Sidoarjo for six years. However, since the 2013 National Education Law required examiners to have at least a bachelor’s degree, he could no longer be an examiner.
“I have never gone to school in my life, let alone to college. I don’t have any graduation certificates,” said Budi in an interview in his home in late May.
Paralyzed
Budi was born fit and healthy. However, when he was a small child, he became very ill, and became paralyzed and suffered a speech impediment from his illness. After physical therapy, he could sit up but still could not walk, as his legs had stunted. With his condition, Budi was unable to go to school.
His parents were busy making money for the family and could not drive him to school. During his childhood, he spent most of his time at home helping his parents to craft gold and silver jewelry. In his spare time, he learned to read and write on his own.
When he became a teenager, Budi started looking for training programs for disabled people. He then registered for electronics courses in 1984 at the Technical Training Unit (UPT) of the Social Rehabilitation for the Disabled district office in Bangil, Pasuruan regency. However, due to limited acceptance, he did not get a callback for over two years.
Refusing to give up, Budi tried to find training programs in privately run education centers. He asked a friend to take him to the center on a motorbike every day. Limited mobility and access are among the major hurdles faced by people with disabilities. Public transportation and pedestrian walkways are often not accessible to the disabled.
As time went by, Budi finally completed the electronics training programs. He then worked at an electronics repair shop in Jember regency, saving his earnings to open his own electronics repair shop in Bangil.
Around 1987, Budi left Jember when he got a call to attend the Bangil UPT electronics course. However, at the course entrance exam, he was deemed as “skilled”. In the end, he was instead asked to be an instructor to other disabled persons, many of whom came from East Javanese cities, including Surabaya, Mojokerto, Jombang, Madiun and Banyuwangi.
Aside from teaching at the Bangil social rehabilitation office, Budi also teaches students from schools near his repair shop. He always encourages his students not to give up and not to depend on others. As a result, many of his students have opened their own electronics repair shops in their hometowns.
Noticing Budi’s hard work, undying spirit and devotion, the East Java administration named him the Best Pioneering Youth I in social welfare development in 2000.
His electronics skills have also led him to win first prize at the 2007 National Abilympics IV in electronic circuitry.
No discrimination
Apart from running his own electronics repair shop and teaching vocational high school students, Budi chairs the Sidoarjo Regency Association of Independent Disabled Persons. Together with around 100 other disabled persons, Budi strives to create a positive public image for the community.
“The public should not pity people with disabilities. Instead, the public should trust them and give them wide access in various fields so that they can be empowered and independent. People with disabilities can contribute to national development and create jobs, as long as they are given the opportunity to do so,” he said.
These are not empty words. Budi said that a majority of disabled persons were entrepreneurs. Some open their own electronics repairs shops, some are metal craftspeople, and others open home industries such as tailor shops, bakeries and coffee shops.
They rely on their own money, as they often face difficulties in accessing government-supported funding facilities. Budi, for instance, had to submit his house deed as collateral to a bank in order to secure a loan to open his repair shop. He had to submit the deed, worth Rp 130 million, to the bank to get a loan of just Rp 5 million (US$375.43).
Budi said he hoped people with disabilities would be provided equal access. An example is access for three-wheeled disabled motorcycles to public service facilities such as hospitals, government offices and shopping centers. “We are banned from going through the entranceway for cars and we clearly cannot use the entrance for motorbikes, as it is too narrow,” he said.
Budi said that people with disabilities want to work just like any other citizen. For this reason alone, they should not be discriminated. Give them equal access to facilities so that they can enjoy making a living by the sweat of their own brow, live a happy life from their own efforts and achieve progress from their own experiences.
