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"I am grateful to
God, because with these dairy cattle, I am better off than before.
Once I had nothing, but now I have two clever children,
agricultural land, motorcycles, and a house".
Mr. Sarjono (46) understands
the difficulties and challenges faced by his children to achieve
their hopes and desires. Dairy cattle have provided the family a
way out of their difficulties. The village of Bengking, Jatinom is
located at the foot of the dangerous and active volcano Mount
Merapi in Central Java. The main road is far away, and it is 10 km
to the market and schooling that are located in the subdistrict
town. Klaten, the district capital, is 20 km away.
Mr. Sarjono and his wife,
Suwarni (40), only completed primary school, because their parents
were poor. Mr. Sarjono feels that he is not
smart, but he desires that his two daughters have a better life
than he has and that they get a good education. He wants his
children to go to university, something only one other child from
his village has done.
They struggled for income by
selling small snacks and by riding a motorcycle taxi. In 1994, the
life of the Sarjono family started down a new road. They received
two dairy cattle on credit from the Puspetasari-HPI project. By
1997, the welfare of their family improved. Mrs. Suwarni did not
have to sell snacks anymore, and had more time for the family. Mr.
Sarjono did not have to go out anymore at night to ride a
motorcycle taxi.
They used the income from
selling milk and the agricultural harvest (which was fertilized by
manure from the cattle) to purchase their daily needs. Long-term
needs were addressed by selling the calves and older cattle. For
example, they purchased 1/5 hectare (1/2 of an acre) of land to
purchase land in densely-populated Java is rare and expensive),
rented agricultural fields, bought two motorcycles to market the
milk and send their children to school, and they were also able to
improve their house.
Mr. Sarjono and his wife
know that God has provided them with these precious girls to care
for and to develop their qualities. Education is the key to this.
The girls are hardworking, determined, clever, and receive good
grades in school. Wahyu Setianingsih (11) is in middle
school, and her older sister Sri Yuliani (17) is the top high
school student in the town of Klaten. This is a rare opportunity
for a girl from a village like hers.
The girls routinely went to
school at 5.30 a.m., in the cold and damp air at the foot of the
volcano. They walked or rode a bike for 5 km, where they then rode
a public vehicle to the subdistrict town. Sri had to take another
bus to go to her school in the district town of Klaten. This
routine made them very tired even before they reached school. Sri
took four hours each day to travel to and from school. By riding
the motorcycle bought by her parents, however, her time is now
used more efficiently and effectively.
There is no greater pleasure
for Mr. Sarjono than to see his children do so well in school and
in their personal development; something that he never had the
opportunity to experience himself.
Story and Photo by Sam Mahyudin, Heifer Indonesia
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