Helping Others, Raising Hopes in New Year

ARSIP SIBAT KELURAHAN JOYOSURAN

Some food was placed on clothespins in front of residents\' houses in Joyosuran Village, Pasar Kliwon District, Solo City, Central Java, some time ago. The food is freely taken by residents in need.

In Solo, people’s solidarity has relieved the burden of others amid the pandemic. In 2021, such spirit will be heightened to create a greater impact.

Sometime after the Covid-19 pandemic hit Solo, Central Java, Kusyani (33) saw a number of her neighbors lose some of their income while some others lost their jobs. "In my neighborhood, many people became unemployed," said the resident of Joyosuran subdistrict, Pasar Kliwon, Solo.

Kusyani then initiated Joyosuran’s Community-based Disaster Preparedness (Sibat) volunteers to create the Jemuran Berbagi program. Sibat Joyosuran volunteers encourage economically able people to hang ingredients, such as vegetables, eggs, tofu, tempeh and instant noodles, on poles or on clotheslines hangers in front of their homes. People in need were free to take home those foodstuffs to meet their daily needs.

"We started Jemuran Berbagi on 31 March 2020," said Kusyani, chairman of Sibat Joyosuran on Thursday (31/12/2020).

Also read: Year of Hope

Sibat is a volunteer group at the subdistrict level in Solo that was formed by the Indonesian Red Cross to help with disaster management. Apart from Joyosuran, Sibat was also established in many other subdistricts in Solo.

Starting in July 2020, Sibat Joyosuran has switched to organizing Berbagi Gizi (Nutrition Sharing) targeting children under five years old and the elderly.

The Jemuran Berbagi program was terminated in June 2020 because at that time the economy was starting to grow and many residents could return to work. Starting in July 2020, Sibat Joyosuran has switched to organizing Berbagi Gizi (Nutrition Sharing) targeting children under five years old and the elderly. "We distribute rice porridge, green beans porridge, milk and others," said the vocational school SMK teacher.

Visiting residents

Social activities have also been carried out by a businessman from Solo, Habib Hasan Mulachela (66). From March to June 2020, every day Hasan visited the homes of the underprivileged residents in kampungs in Solo to handover 5 kilograms of rice and Rp 100,000 in cash. "Every day I go door to door to them. I don\'t know them, but I know they are God\'s most glorious creatures,” he said.

One of the things he donated to the people were probiotic drinks to improve the body\'s immunity.

Starting July 2020, Hasan also traveled, among others, to East Java, West Java, Riau, Central Sulawesi and South Sulawesi to provide assistance to a number of people. One of the things he donated to the people were probiotic drinks to improve the body\'s immunity.

Also read: Being Grateful for Surviving 2020

The day before Christmas, Hasan distributed aid to a number of Christian residents. "As a fellow creature of God, I want to share with my brothers who are celebrating Christmas," he said.

ARSIP GETAPAK SOLO

The launch event for the Solo City Family Food Resilience Movement (Getapak) program at the Solo Post Office, Solo City, Central Java, Monday (14/12/2020).

Meanwhile, mass organizations like Muhammadiyah help others by initiating the Family Food Security Movement (Getapak) in a number of regions, including Solo. Coordinator of Getapak Solo, Taufiq Nugroho, said that the assistance was designed for people to develop urban farming and to provide capital for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

"Urban farming is, for example, helping people to make ponds for catfish or planting vegetables on the sparse land in urban areas. The outcome can be used to meet the food needs of the people," he said.

Also read: Relieving Anxiety with Luxury

For the development of urban farming, Getapak provides Rp 1.5 million to each beneficiary. For MSMEs, there is a capital of Rp 2 million for each recipient. The total recipients of urban farming and MSMEs assistance in Solo are 296 people.

Solidarity

"From a long time ago, many activities have been in the form of tetulung [helping], based on compassion, to grow the sense of kamanungsan [humanity]. It has been a characteristic of the Javanese society for a long time,” said historian Heri Priyatmoko.

ARSIP SIBAT JOYOSURAN

Residents take food items that are hung in front of residents\' houses in Joyosuran Village, Pasar Kliwon District, Solo City, Central Java, some time ago.

In the Javanese society in the past, the social capital of solidarity grew very strong. This is because the community has a highly communal nature. "That\'s why, when experiencing a disaster, people used to recover quickly and stand up again. This is because they are mutually supportive,” said the history lecturer at Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta.

The same solidarity capital should continue in this new year to make it stronger and more impactful.

This article was translated by Kurniawan H. Siswoko.