V

inolia Wakidjo, 59, popularly called Mami Vin, is a central figure in Rumah Singgah Kebaya (Kebaya Halfway House), a shelter for transgender people that she set up in her rented house.

Formerly a sex worker for almost 15 years, Mami Vin experienced a turning point in her life and became an HIV/AIDS activist after watching her friends die, one after the other, from AIDS-related complications.

Kebaya, an acronym for Keluarga Besar Waria Yogyakarta (the Extended Family of Yogyakarta Transgenders), provides medical check-ups and therapy sessions every Wednesday for residents of the house.

Medical treatment at Kebaya is part of a complementary service provided by partnering hospitals to ensure that people who have HIV/AIDS — especially in the transgender community — receive proper care.

“Before the cooperation [with the hospitals], we weren’t immediately served when we rushed HIV/AIDS patients to the hospital, despite their critical condition,” Mami Vin said.

Discrimination, she added, can’t be easily disassociated from the transgender community, whose members have experiences abusive behavior ranging from stoning and being spot at by strangers, to being verbally assaulted on the street. A transgender living with HIV/AIDS faces double the stigma.

“We’ve experienced enough harsh treatment and discrimination, but we’re just like other people; we’re humans,” said Mami Vin, who prior to establishing Kebaya in December 2006, worked for 13 years as an activist at a non-government organization focusing on HIV/AIDS.

As of today, Kebaya has cared for 169 AIDS patients who were in the advanced stages of the disease suffering from various complications. Currently, it is also home to a toddler named Nira, who had been abandoned by her HIV-positive mother.

From 2008 to 2010, Kebaya remained open with the help of funds from donors, but today, Mami Vin bears all the costs. Her experience in helping HIV/AIDS patients and marginalized residents has given her the opportunity to speak at various workshops and seminars, and as a guest lecturer at the Gajah Mada University’s (UGM) school of socio-political sciences, psychology and medicine.

Her work as a lecturer led to her first encounter in 2014 with Sandeep Tarman Nanwani, a medical student who would later join Kebaya as a volunteer. Now, he is an integral part of the house and its medical treatment.

An Indonesian citizen of Indian descent, Sandeep is currently a master’s degree candidate at Harvard Medical School under a Fullbright scholarship.

“[Kebaya] is the only place with the most concrete handling of people with HIV/AIDS, who need motivation,” said Sandeep, who is involved in defending and caring for marginalized people, such as waria (transvestites), street children and AIDS patients.

He also helps Kebaya residents obtain their KTP (identity card). Out of around 350 waria living in Yogyakarta, only about 150 have the necessary documents to register at the Healthcare and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan).

“Many of them don’t have any documents, because their names have been deleted from family cards, making it very difficult for them to [join BPJS Kesehatan],” he said.

One of them is Sarinah Wakidjo, affectionately called Mak Onah. She arrived at Kebaya in critical condition due to AIDS and has had to be rushed to the hospital twice to save her life.

After the treatment, she realized that she might not have survived without her Kebaya peers. Today, Mak Onah is tasked with managing the needs of the house’s patients, including looking after Nira.

“At Kebaya, we don’t just receive medical treatment, we get motivation and support. Here, we have the will to live,” she said.