Sakina, 40 years old woman, a mother of 2 children, a son, and a daughter. She and her husband have a physical disability. Sakina has had a motorcycle accident, and her husband suffered polio when he was a kid and caused permanent paralysis of the legs.
They have been living in Kaleke for more than ten years. Her husband worked as an electronic service technician with a monthly income of approximately IDR 500,000, while Sakina started a small business – selling food and as a dressmaker with a monthly earning of around IDR. 500,000.
Sakina said, “When the disaster happened, I was taking a bath and did not wear my prosthetic leg. Suddenly, there was a big shock, and I fell on the bathroom floor. My husband and children had run out with other villagers to the few meters from our house. I grabbed a cloth to wrap my body and crawled on the floor, trying to escape from the house and got gather with others. From that night until the next few days, we survived by relying on food and water that was minimal and sleeping without proper shelter until tarpaulins or shelter kits arrived a few weeks later. There was no electricity at all, made us have no lighting source and have difficulty getting clean water supplies because the water machine relies on electricity.”
The effects of the earthquake on our family were, however, much broader. Their houses were still standing though there were cracks in the walls. They had a fear of another earthquake and being scared to go back inside their homes. They were living in a tent and were uncomfortable. She explained, “The tents or tarpaulins were so hot during the day, and at night we found it difficult to sleep on the hard ground, gets cold, rain and mosquitoes.” After two months, they moved into an open space in their house and lived there for about one year while slowly organizing the business. However, they faced challenges due to a lack of customers, and income decreased drastically.
She said, “I was pleased when I saw my name as one of the potential beneficiaries of the ADRA program. I look at the criteria for the beneficiary, and I feel confident that I meet the criteria. Meeting by meeting, including training, I followed all diligently. I was impressed with the various training as important business skills, such as to promote the business, important to maintain the quality of food, market analysis, and standard covid-19 protocols on business. I always apply using masks when processing food and serving customers, regularly sterilized business place, providing hand-washing facilities, and ensure the capacity in the room is not too crowded.”
Through the intervention of the RILEAF project, funded by Swiss Solidarity and ADRA, Sakina and her husband improve the business to get profits that would change their lives in the future. Sakina uses unlimited cash assistance to buy food stall equipment and kitchen/eating utensils such as tables, chairs, frying pan, pan, etc.
Now, Sakina has turned her small business into a “Yua Nina Family Food Stall.” Every morning, she and her husband go to the market to buy fresh fish and vegetables as the ingredients for her food stall. The food stall opens from Monday to Saturday with IDR 200,000 of income from the previous IDR 100,000 per day. Sakina promotes her business through Facebook and Whatsapps by uploading her daily food menu. As a result, more customers were reached from her village and other villages as well.
Thank you, ADRA and Swiss Solidarity, for assisting us in the Sigi regency to improve our family’s economy. I improved managing my business step by step, and there is a simple record of my daily income and made my own receipt with a stamp; so that when there is an order in large quantities, I can give a stamped receipt if needed. I keep some of my income for family savings, children’s education, and family’s everyday expenses from my daily profits.
