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Izak Timisela: Nurse fights to educate disabled
JP/Multa Fidrus Children are full of wonder
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JP/Multa Fidrus
Children are full of wonder. The sound of their laughter and cheerful chatter fills the air every day at a new school building for children with disabilities in Pinang district, Tangerang.
The SLB Yanaiz school was inaugurated by Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Kojiro Shiojiri last week. The Japanese government financed the construction of the building, at a cost of more than US$85,000, to provide a proper school for students with special needs.
Most of the school's 123 students are disabled and are not required to pay school fees if their parents cannot afford to do so. Some students pay between Rp 5,000 and Rp 10,000 each month.
SLB Yanaiz is managed by Erihatu Samasuru Lesuri Tapirone (ESLT), a humanitarian foundation established by Izak Timisela, a former nurse who cares for children with disabilities.
"We started the school in a small rented house in 2003 and now we have a three-story building with 12 classrooms, a health clinic, a kitchen, a teacher's office and a meeting hall, thanks to the Japanese government for it's consideration for the future of Indonesian children with disabilities," Izak told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview at the school.
In 2000, Izak started collecting data on children with disabilities by conducting a direct survey that targeted 13 districts in the municipality.
He found 36 children with various disabilities in Cileduk, Cipondoh, Pinang, Karang Tengah and Neglasari districts.
"I could only conduct the survey at the five districts because I had no financial support to continue it," he said, adding that he sold many personal items, including his clothes, to finance the survey.
His wife Nani Istiati, 42, an employee at the Educational Foundation for Children with Disabilities (YPAC) provided strong support during his struggle.
"Every morning before she went to work, my wife would bring garlic wrapped in small plastic bags to be sold to those she met on street and in the office. The money she collected was to support me," he said.
Izak established ESLT and formed the UPPC, a learning center to empower children with disabilities, in March 2003.
He rented a rumah petak (small studio) with the donations he collected from close friends and relatives, including money from a coconut harvests sent by his mother from Maluku. He recruited several locals as volunteers to help him teach children with disabilities.
"At the time, I dreamed of getting a wheelchair for a student who could not walk," he said.
"And the dream came true in 2004, thanks to an official from the Riau Education Agency after he saw our other students perform a traditional dance on stage through in an event held by the Ministry of Education in Jakarta," he said.
In 2005, ESLT joined a national competition held by the Indonesia Daya Masyarakat for foundations with a vision to empower the poor. The competition was sponsored by the World Bank and Canada Funds.
"Thank God, we managed to win the first prize of Rp 230 million," he said.
Izak used the money to expand the learning center by renting more rumah petak and equipping them with much-needed facilities.
With the money, he also assisted poor parents in running productive businesses, sent two volunteers to study at the Jakarta State University (UNJ) and opened an empowerment school (PLS) for adults with disabilities in Cipondoh.
He spent the rest of the money on the purchase of a 300-square-meter plot of land, on which the school's new campus proudly stands.
After securing the plot of land, Irzak filed a proposal to the Japanese embassy, which was at first turned down. He tried again in 2007, and the Japanese government granted it in 2008.
Born in February in 1963 in Waisamu village, Seram Island, Maluku, Izak spent much of his childhood planting coconut trees. He dropped out of senior high school after his father passed away.
"The coconut trees that I planted in the village helped me with my struggle to establish the school," he said.
After saving some money from hard work, he took on studies in nursing at Ambon General Hospital. In 1984, he moved to Jakarta and worked at the YPAC, where he met his wife. He continued his studies at the Nursery School for Health in Bogor. After completing his studies in 1987, he began working as a nurse at the Darma Wangsa Hospital in South Jakarta.
Izak could not hold back his tears when asked why and how he initiated the school for children with disabilities. He had sacrificed his job as a nurse at a private hospital and even sold the small house where he lived with his wife and daughter to finance his struggle.
"It's a long story and sorrowful struggle because we did not have any money to support this idea ... It's not easy to convince parents of children with disabilities that their children need education," Irzak said.
He said he was inspired to struggle for children with disabilities while working as a nurse in hospitals, where he frequently witnessed hospitals refuse to admit poor, disabled children because their parents could not afford to pay for treatment.
He thought this situation very contradictory. Weren't hospitals suppose to help people first and foremost?
Disheartened, he quit his job as a hospital nurse.
"Children are gifts from God ... they do not ask to be born with disabilities and to poor families.
"The government passed a law on the national education system, which does not address the needs of disabled children," he said.
