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The young girl on graduation day, and her good Samaritans
No matter how poor you are there are always good Samaritans in this country willing to help.
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Graduation day (Unsplash)
O
n May 4 in Medan, I thought about the good Samaritans who had helped a young girl reach her nearly impossible dream when attending the graduation ceremony at the University of North Sumatra (USU). Being one of 2,437 graduates the state university produced this year, she completed her studies in the Developmental Economics Program of the USU’s School of Economics with honors (cum laude).
The graduation ceremony was opened by rector Muryanto Amin at 2.30 p.m. sharp. My wife and I were seated in the front row, thanks to the help of vice rector Edy Ikhsan, because my wife is a wheelchair user. We received two invitations due to his generosity. We were there to act as the “parents” of the young girl.
I write this column as an expression of my deep gratitude to the generous people who assisted three orphans, including the young girl, to continue their studies at the prestigious state university. Their mother died in October 2015, followed by their father not long after.
The good Samaritans immediately contacted the poor children as soon as I wrote a “By the way” column in the Sunday edition of this newspaper on Oct. 11, 2015.
At that time the eldest, a girl, was just a third-year student in a state junior high school in Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra, while the second, also a girl, was in the second year of junior high school, and the youngest, a boy, was just a third-year elementary school student.
Now? The eldest has just obtained her bachelor’s degree and can officially be called an economist, and she hopes to follow in the footsteps of Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati. Her sister is currently finishing her studies at the same university, majoring in accountancy, and her youngest brother is in the first year of a Catholic senior high school in Medan.
Without the generosity of the good Samaritans, the three siblings would have ended up as street children. Now the eldest sister can see a bright future for herself and her siblings. She believes her mom is smiling broadly in heaven seeing her sweetheart’s achievement.
