COVID-19 SPECIAL: Stepping up in times of need
Indonesians band in community spirit to fight coronavirus
The worst of the coronavirus crisis has brought out the best in humanity. In its battle against the spread of Covid-19, Indonesia is seeing many kind souls within and outside of the country banding together to help its people weather the storm.
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Street foodstall group leader Mukroni (who goes by one name) handing over a free meal to a motorbike-taxi driver in Jakarta recently. Up to 1,000 such stalls in and around Jakarta have rallied to cook and distribute 100 packs of rice meals daily to informal workers and labourers who have recently lost their jobs.
PHOTO: MUKRONI
Linda Yulisman Indonesia Correspondent In Jakarta, Linda Yulisman
Several residents in the Cipageran Asri housing complex in West Java gather every day to whip up tasty meals for their neighbour afflicted with the coronavirus.
When the man sought treatment at a nearby hospital, some neighbours gave him N95 face masks and sent encouraging text messages: "We all support you. Hopefully, you are in a good shape."
But this has not always been the case, the neighbourhood's community leader, Mr Yuli Setyo Indartono, told The Straits Times.
"Previously, many of them were anxious and had panicked. The man was the first and only infection case here. But after getting proper information from community leaders, the residents have calmed down and some even offered their help," he added. "Now the patient and his family are happy because they are no longer ostracised."
As the virus spreads rapidly across South-east Asia's largest nation of 270 million people and the death toll climbs to more than 580, Indonesians in Cipageran Asri are banding together in a community spirit known as "gotong royong" to help their neighbour in need.
The neighbourhood has been hailed as exemplary by President Joko Widodo, who called for empathy and solidarity last Monday, as reports of families of Covid-19 patients being stigmatised and bodies being rejected for burial continue to hog the spotlight.
Mr Joko in an address to the nation on Saturday urged Indonesians to demonstrate the spirit of "gotong royong" during the health crisis.
"We must highlight acts of helpfulness not to brag, but rather to raise hopes, inspire and to be followed by others in a massive way so as to benefit everyone."
Similar initiatives to help the country's most vulnerable groups are also in full swing.
Humanitarian organisation Aksi Cepat Tanggap has rallied up to 1,000 street foodstalls, known as warteg, in and around Jakarta to cook and distribute 100 packs of rice meals daily to informal workers and labourers who have recently lost their jobs.
Warteg group leader Mukroni (who goes by one name) said stall owners like him can help others in need while maintaining their businesses during the pandemic, which he felt was worse than the 1997-1998 financial crisis.
In East Jakarta, foodstall owner Khumayah (who goes by one name) has turned good Samaritan several days a week, cooking rice, fried noodles, scrambled eggs and vegetables for motorcycle-taxi drivers and street vendors.
Although her business has nosedived after Jakartans were ordered to stay home to curb the virus' spread, she felt compelled to help those who were worse off.
"I was about to give up," said Ms Khumayah, 29. "But now, I can help others in need whose income plunged even more drastically."
In the healthcare sector saddled with shortage of equipment and overworked doctors and nurses, an extra helping hand has come in the form of student volunteers to disseminate credible information on the virus to the public.
Medical graduate Aditya Putra, one of the coordinators of 15,000 volunteers organised by the Ministry of Education and Culture, has helped to produce an educational audio clip on the virus which is translated into local dialects, such as Javanese, Sundanese and Bataknese.
He said: "Each one of us listens to the content at home with our families, so we begin disseminating the information from home."
Third-year medical undergraduate Kenly Chandra and his friends have formed "Jejak Kebaikan", or Traces of Kindness, a community of student volunteers who help to collect donations online to buy personal protective equipment (PPE) for hospitals across the country, including remote Papua and East Nusa Tenggara provinces.
"My team members drive on their own to the seaport to deliver the PPE sets. Sometimes, we bring packages for 27 hospitals at once," he said.
