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JAKARTA (ANTARA) – A middle-aged woman hurried up the cliff in her almost worn-out flip-flops. Her face was gloomy and full of confusion.
She kept looking up at the sky instead of the road ahead. She seemed to have memorized the rough and wet path leading to her home.
Local residents call her Amma Mar, which means mother in the Manda language.
That afternoon, the 43-year-old resident of Battanga Village, Binuang Town, Polewali Mandar Regency, West Sulawesi Province had just visited the village chief’s office.
After walking for about twenty minutes, with sweat on her forehead, she came to a wooden house. The roof was made of dry leaves and had been repaired several times. The house was on the ridge with a slope of fifty degrees.
This hut, anchored in a coconut palm and surrounded by young cocoa trees, is where Amma Mar once lived.
“Yes, this is my house, it’s our sanctuary,” said the woman, whose full name is Mani.
After divorcing her husband two and a half years ago and becoming a single mother, she had no choice but to return to the village, but this meant she had to live in a shack near the forest, away from other villagers’ settlements.
Earlier, she lived with her husband in a small house in another village. After the divorce, she tried to make ends meet as a daily labourer in Baras, but her past experience haunted her.
In August 2021, Mani decided to return to Battanga with her three children – Abdul, Mira and Fadli. Due to lack of money, they had to take turns to travel to Binuang by car while lugging several cardboard boxes filled with clothes.
It took them 10 to 12 hours to cross the Majene-Mamuju road. They had to get on and off the bus several times, and to reach Battanga, they had to call a motorcycle taxi.
After arriving in the village, the lives of Mani’s children changed dramatically. Not to mention going to school, they didn’t even have the chance to play and sleep well in a comfortable house.
Mani’s eldest son, Abdul, 14, has to work in a chicken farm to supplement his family’s income. At the end of the month, he only earns 500,000 rupees (about 30 US dollars).
Meanwhile, her 12-year-old daughter Mira Wati has had to help her family with odd jobs, from selling leftover chilies to picking cocoa beans, for which she earns 200,000 to 300,000 rupiah a month.
After a hard day’s work, they can only relax in the 2×3 meter shed. When sleeping, they have to find a suitable position, making sure there is enough space between the bedding, kitchen furniture and piles of clothes.
Although they found a way to sleep, they could not avoid the cold nights. The roof of dead leaves and the cloth door could not withstand the heavy rain and strong wind.
Mani said this caused her youngest son, Fadli, to whimper almost every night, asking for a hug to warm his body. She often cried at night thinking about her children’s plight.
New Home
After activists reported on Mani’s life on social media, her story reached the ears of Social Affairs Minister Tri Rismaharini.
A short video of her shared on social media prompted Rishima Harini to visit them in the village.
Village officials in the area prepared for the minister’s visit on July 2.
That afternoon, just hours before Minister Rishi Mahalini arrived, several trucks arrived at the village, delivering household furniture, staple foods, children’s toys and tents for Mani.
More good news awaited her: the headman of Battanga village told her that there would be a new house for her, just 200 meters away from her shack.
The two-bedroom house, a brick structure with an area of 60 square meters and a land area of 320 square meters, was purchased by the Ministry of Social Affairs for 130 million rupiah (about 8,000 US dollars) in cash.
Marnie and her children moved directly into their new home, which is powered by a 100-watt solar panel. She also received farm tools, chickens, and catfish fry to raise.
The Ministry of Health’s assistance has eased Mani’s burden of living. However, Minister Rismaharini stressed that the local government needs to be more proactive in collecting data on those in need so that the Ministry of Health can reach them.
The government is working to ensure social justice for all Indonesians, as stipulated in the fifth principle of Pancasila.
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Translated by: M Prasetyo, Kenzu
Editor: Anton Santoso
Copyright © ANTARA 2024
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