Dedicated to the Poor

ARSIP PRIBADI

Benedikta Priscila Neonbeni

Every day, Benedikta Priscila Neonbeni has to find ways to provide food for the 294 children of poor families in Kefamenanu city, Northern Central Timor, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). When aid from philanthropists does not arrive yet, she and her staff are forced to “beg” from food stores.

Natural disasters have battered Northern Central Timor recently, from the drought that caused harvest failures to the tropical cyclone Seroja that ravaged houses and plantations. This is coupled with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has made the economic struggle for many families even harder.

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This triggered a deep concern with Benedikta Priscila Neonbeni, 53. Contacted in Kefamenanu, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), on Thursday (29/7/2021), she said she could not feel at ease because that day, the children she was taking care of had not yet eaten. A total of 294 children needed food.

“They are not only orphans and disabled children but also those who still have parents because nearly all of them come from poor families. Some of their parents are migrant workers and the children stay with their uncles, other relatives or grandmothers,” Neonbeni said.

The children are aged 3 to 10. Of the 294, 86 are disabled; about 80 percent are school students but the remainder are dropouts. They come from the districts around Kefamenanu to try their luck, follow their families or after being left by their migrant worker parents. They end up neglected and uncared for.

They routinely visit the children in their homes or meet those roaming around the bus terminal and traditional market of Kefamenanu to distribute face masks and lunch boxes.

In 2017, the children lived in a house rented by the Kuan Mnasi Foundation led by Neonbeni. However, in 2020 they returned to their respective homes to avoid COVID-19 transmission. Yet Neonbeni and foundation staff continued to look after them. They routinely visit the children in their homes or meet those roaming around the bus terminal and traditional market of Kefamenanu to distribute face masks and lunch boxes.

Neonbeni started caring for the children’s food consumption in 2017. It began when one morning, she saw a little girl, Tabita, 10, sitting and crying on the side of the road connecting Kefamenanu, Soe, Kupang and Atambua. She approached the girl and found the child was starving. Both parents of Tabita were in Malaysia as migrant workers and she was staying with her grandmother who lived alone.

“I couldn’t bear to see it. She had no food, let alone other needs. With this, I decided to help them [neglected children], at least by providing them with food and drinks,” said Neonbeni.

The number of children she took care of increased after the drought and harvest failures in Northern Central Timor. The misfortune caused many families to live in financial straits. Children suffered from malnutrition, lived in a poor sanitary environment without education, with some even experiencing violence, including sexual abuse.

From 2017 to 2020 alone, there were 432 cases of violence against children committed by people close to the victims. Some of them were raped and abandoned. Neonbeni also handled such cases, but many were settled in a traditional (peaceful) way between the perpetrators and victims’ families. Some cases were purposely concealed because they were considered disgraceful to the families.

Their poor quality of life has even been worsened by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and cyclone Seroja in early April, which rendered the greater part of agricultural land unproductive.

KOMPAS/KORNELIS KEWA AMA

Benedikta Priscila Neonbeni distributed aid packages to underprivileged children in Kefamenanu.

Neonbeni said thousands of neglected and undernourished children should be helped in Northern Central Timor. She can only afford to handle less than 300.

“I’m struggling to be able to give them food and drinks out of my own efforts and contributors’ support,” Neonbeni added.

Begging

Neonbeni said the aid for the children she fostered was contributed by philanthropists from several cities in Indonesia who delivered decent clothes, instant food, stationery, drugs and liquid milk. On its arrival, the aid is directly distributed to children. They receive the aid in turns, even though the aid that arrives can be different from one week to another.

If the aid doesn’t come, Neonbeni and several members of the Kuan Mnasi Foundation are forced to “beg” from traditional markets and stores. They ask every trader or shop owner to contribute milk, rice, a handful of red onions, a handful of garlic or tofu and tempeh.

Most traders and shop owners know Neonbeni. They voluntarily and wholeheartedly give what they can.

“We always explain to them the benefits of the foodstuffs they donate. They agree and support our activities,” said Neonbeni, who from 1998 to 2017 was actively engaged in traditional community empowerment.

For this purpose, she always cooperates with the parents or family members looking after the children.

Along with four foundation staff members, she cooks the ingredients and distributes the meals to children, particularly for lunch and sometimes for dinner. At least the children get the food twice to three days a week. On the other days, they are given whatever food is offered by their parents or relatives. For this purpose, she always cooperates with the parents or family members looking after the children.

She encourages parents to give their children vegetables, informing them of the nutritional contents of local foodstuffs like bose (crushed) corn, ketemak corn (mixed with nuts), tubers, fruits, meat, chicken, eggs and cattle-sourced food.

Neonbeni said she would be very proud if the children she helped grew and developed to build a better future for themselves.

“They are the future of NTT,” she pointed out.

Benedikta Priscila Neonbeni

Born: Kefamenanu, 20 June, 1968

Children: five

Education: Bachelor’s degree in communication science, Warmadewa University

Activity: Director, Kuan Mnasi Foundation

(This article was translated by Aris Prawira)