SHU Envelopes and Smiles of "Bocil" in Kupang

The smiles of the "kids" holding SHU envelopes are the hope of parents. Continue to maintain family ties and mutual cooperation.

KOMPAS/FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN

A group photo session with the extended family of UBSP Gerbang Rezeki was held during the Annual General Meeting in Kupang City, East Nusa Tenggara, on Sunday (28/4/2024).

Axelia Emeralda Wolo (13) received a white envelope from her father, Vitalis Wolo (52). She opened the envelope, peeked at the bills, then counted them in a flash. "Happy, got money to buy books," she said while putting the envelope into her pants pocket.

Money in an envelope is the distribution of the newly received business earnings surplus (SHU) that Vitalis received as a member in the Annual Members Meeting (RAT) of the Gerbang Rezeki Savings and Loans Cooperative in Kupang City, East Nusa Tenggara on Sunday afternoon (28/4/2024).

By seeing this, children learn to save from a young age amidst high consumer behavior in the current era.

Vitalis deliberately invited Axelia to attend the RAT event. He intended to introduce the business group to his daughter so that she could start learning about how to live cooperatively from an early age. The spirit of cooperation relevant to social values should be emulated, such as family togetherness and mutual cooperation. "Those are the values ​​that I want to instill in my child," he said.

The family spirit is demonstrated by the involvement of its members in moving UBSP Gate of Rezeki. With only 30 members, they share roles. There are those who become administrators, supervisors and members with various additional duties. Once a month they gather at members' homes on a rotating basis.

KOMPAS/FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN

A child peeks at the amount of remaining earnings received by their father as a member of UBSP Gerbang Rezeki. The child is participating in the Annual Member Meeting in Kupang City, East Nusa Tenggara, on Sunday (4/28/2024).

Every RAT meeting, such as last Sunday's, they bring food from their respective homes, so there is no cost for consumption borne by the organization. For the venue, this time they utilized the yard of Kristo Blasin's house, one of the UBSP members who is trusted as a mentor. This tradition has been maintained since UBSP was established in November 2019.

For financial management, they store money in the form of principal savings, compulsory savings, and voluntary savings. The amount is not significant, with a maximum of Rp 500,000 per member per year. These savings become the group's capital that can be loaned to members in need.

"By seeing that, children learn to save money from a young age amidst the high consumer behavior in today's era. They are also taught to help each other in times of hardship, a value that is increasingly being drowned out by the strong individualism," said Vitalis.

According to Vitalis, he has borrowed money four times from UBSP Gerbang Rezeki, including for educational expenses. He always talks to Axelia about this in order for his child to understand the importance of joint savings and loans efforts.

Children are showing envelopes containing the remnants of their parents' earnings as members of UBSP Gerbang Rezeki, during the Annual General Meeting in Kupang City, East Nusa Tenggara, on Sunday (04/28/2024).

Not only Axelia, around 10 children her age were also invited by their parents to attend the relaxed RAT. They were happy when their parents gave them SHU envelopes, the average amount of which was under IDR 100,000. While holding the SHU envelope, they jumped up and down.

The head of UBSP Gerbang Rezeki, Apolonia M Dhiu, stated that in the future, the management will register children to join their parents as UBSP members. The amount of obligation, such as savings, will be adjusted accordingly. This will provide more experience for the children. "In the upcoming RAT, children will receive SHU in their own names," she said.

Also read: Five Million Millennial Children Targeted by Cooperative Movement

Support each other

Apart from savings and loans, UBSP Gerbang Rezeki also has a business unit for selling basic necessities. At the beginning of each month, each member submits a list of their monthly shopping needs to the committee. The committee procures the items and the members come to purchase them. The profit difference becomes the group's income.

Procurement of necessary goods can be done from third-party wholesalers or from members themselves. There are members who have businesses in horticulture, rice cultivation, catfish breeding, and various types of fruits. "So, here we really support and strengthen each other. There is a sense of family," said Apolonia.

KOMPAS/FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN

The sale and purchase of basic necessities at UBSP Gerbang Rezeki after the Annual Members Meeting in Kupang City, East Nusa Tenggara, on Sunday (28/4/2024).

Tuti Lawalu, a lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Business, Widya Mandira Kup Catholic University, is of the view that the strength of cooperatives lies in the spirit of family and mutual cooperation. In many large cooperatives, that value has begun to erode. "Just look at the dynamics of selecting administrators in several large cooperatives. The dynamics are hot," he said.

In East Nusa Tenggara, cooperatives have been flourishing for the past 20 years or so. Quoting data from the Provincial Cooperative, Manpower, and Transmigration Office of NTT, the total number of cooperatives in the area in 2020 was 4,202 units. Of that number, 91.52 percent were active. The total number of members in all cooperatives reached 2.1 million or nearly half of the population of NTT.

Tuti also agreed that the spirit of cooperatives began to be fostered from an early age in the younger generation. Not only the spirit of family and mutual cooperation, children learn about financial management. As a lecturer, he admits that he is concerned about the many students today who are so consumptive that they are trapped in online loans.

The issue of air pollution is not new. The community has long been threatened by air pollution, and research evidence indicating the potential impacts of air pollution is abundant. However, despite this, significant efforts to control air pollution have yet to be made. This leaves residents increasingly suffering as they live in the midst of air pollution. UBSP Gerbang Rezeki has already started instilling cooperative spirit and financial management skills in children. Axelia's smile and that of several other "little ones" holding profit-sharing envelops on that Sunday afternoon seemed to raise hopes that they would succeed in managing finances in the future.

Also read: Cooperative Governance Completed in 2024