Newbie diary - by Jeannie Foo

I was told to condense my 1-week trip to Yogyakarta into a blog post for the newly-born FON blog. But being the eager newbie and a long-winded person by nature, this has become a mini novella of sorts. So please bear with me as I take you to re-visit Yogyakarta and our wonderful partners.

Now most people I know don’t get to brag that they travel within the first month of a new job. But the nature of FON is such that it wasn’t long before I found myself being told 2 days before that, “We’re going to Yogyakarta!” and, after the daze of booking and packing that followed, suddenly I found myself in Adi Suchip to airport. (But who am I to complain? Elaine got back from Aceh just those 2 days before – so she effectively worked through 2 weeks)
What did I expect? We’re going to rough it out – mattresses on office floors, walking through acres of cassava plots, grilling our partners on the ground for those nitty gritty details that they just don’t want to give up.
Well, something like that.

In reality, we checked into a hotel called Ministry of Coffee (nothing at all like mattresses on floors) and met some of the friendliest, most passionate people I have ever known.

The trip kicked off with us attending our partner IDEA’s budget advocacy training, which was a real eye-opener. Not only were people from 5 different communities discussing budget issues rather civilly (that doesn’t happen everyday) but they were doing it in a hotel in the middle of a huge cabe (chilli) and herb field.

And that is also where we made plans to take a motorcycle ride into a village to attend a community meeting…

Alright, being completely honest, I was just a little concerned about the motorcycle ride. Living in the heart of KL and, unfortunately, being part of its hoard of aggressive drivers, a motorcycle ride to me spells D-E-A-T-H, and in no painless way. How relieved I was when my dear driver, Mas Hari, took it extremely easy on me by going at a granny’s pace of 40 kph and, I have to say, I enjoyed the cool night breeze and the gorgeous starry night as we drove past busy night markets and quiet paddy fields. The meeting itself was in a little pondok in the middle of a cattle farm (therefore the jingling of cow bells and the smell of fermenting grass) where the three girls - Elaine, IDEA’s Mbak Suci and myself – sat encircled by about 20 men from the village.

Can I just say how excellent their proposal-writing skills are and how much we take the little things - like good roads and walkways – for granted. The villagers have to request for grants just to keep them in good shape. Shame on us cosmopolitan dwellers!

The ride back was also notable for our pit stop at a stall by the roadside that sold the worryingly-named teh sampah. Perhaps you are aware (or not) that sampah translates to rubbish? Unwarranted fears though as it only looked like rubbish (that’s still not a good thing, right?) because of the ginger, cinnamon, rock sugar and mint leaves (amongst other things) that were floating in the tea. A great tummy-warmer for the mild winter night and the beginning of my love affair with Jawa tea.

Sunday was a more relaxed affair as it was time for catching up on sleep (yay!). Lie-ins on Sunday also mean that you can discover that they show Dragon Ball on Indonesian TV. And dubbed in Bahasa Indon for extra entertainment value. Needless to say we went shopping in our free time, just to get a feel for the Jogja lifestyle of course. It was field work, I tell you. Field work!

Later that night Mbak Suci and Mas Hari were kind enough to show us a little bit more of the Jogja life by taking us out for some nasi kucing. Cat rice you say? Nothing of the sort. In reality, nasi kucing is a staple of Jogja students looking for a cheap meal (Rp 1000 - that’s 10 US cents!) of rice and sambal (cat-sized portions), best enjoyed in a mamak-like environment – sitting on a straw mat under the open sky with good company and buskers providing dining entertainment.

We were also subjected to a local Jogja custom of walking blindfolded between two large trees (and I believe it really is a custom because we weren’t the only ones doing it) which, if done successfully would lead to your greatest wish coming true. I have to point out though, a) it’s not as easy as it sounds and b) later on we were told we did not walk nearly quite as far enough so only half of my dream will come true. :( Boo.

Back to work on Monday as we met more contacts in the Ministry of Coffee and I finally was able to put some faces to names. Tuesday saw Elaine and I bundled into a car to go to Seri Hardono in Klisat where we met with cassava producers in the village.

**Educational note: Cassava is a tuber-like plant better known as tapioca that, surprisingly, contains cyanide before it is processed. Therefore, it is not a good idea to eat raw cassava.**

Once again we were recipients of the villagers’ hospitality as they fed us with noodles made of tapioca, kueh made of tapioca and more of that insanely sweet but addictive tea. I also found out more about how tapioca flour is made and it really isn’t an easy process. In short, think cutting, rolling, adding water, stirring, straining, drying, grinding. Never ever take food for granted again!

What struck me was the fact that this was fairly close to the epicentre of the quake of 2006 and there was absolutely no sign of it as the whole village was completely built up. No broken foundations or cracks in the road – either I have an over-active imagination or it just goes to show how resilient people can be.

Final day of work in Yogyakarta was spent with partner organisation LBH that is working to legally protect earthquake victims from the financial effects of disaster. To help with their proposal, they organised a forum between government officials, bank representatives, local NGOs, academics and other stakeholders to discuss how to go about doing this. I’m afraid I can’t go into details about it because for one, I already struggle with terminology regarding taxation, legal jargon and government policy. Comprehending this becomes near impossible when it is in another language and referring to an unfamiliar country.

What did translate across the language barrier was the passion that the LBH staff had for their work. Especially when we had a further chat after the forum, they were really in touch with who they were working for and what they wanted to achieve. They seemed almost selfless in their work and that was just a very refreshing experience. Of course you could put it down to their capacity to take out stress on the table tennis table right outside the office. Perhaps that is a good office investment…

And so, a week later I find myself back in the old office, sitting behind the screen reminiscing about my first FON trip. It hardly seemed like work, getting to know our partners and seeing what work they were doing. The real pain? Writing the reports after. It was a great way to truly understand the work FON is doing (important for a newbie, may I suggest more trips to deepen my understanding?) and good bonding time for Elaine and I (over dubbed Chinese movies and more Jawa tea). And many thanks for the lovely people who took us for meals, and sightseeing and who just came to meet us! You made this a very painless first trip indeed!

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Success Stories from Aceh - FBA’s Beneficiaries

A piece by Elaine Wong, our senior grants officer who has just returned from her trip to Aceh...

During my trip to Aceh, I met with these few enterprising women, who not only have gotten back to the feet after the tsunami but moving forward to expand their businesses. Out of the 96 women who received micro-credit loans from Forum Bangun Aceh (funded by FON), these 8 women showed excellent resilience and creativity.

1. Siti Rafidah – traditional medicine home industry (Kuta Alam, Banda Aceh) Loan : USD662.98 (IDR6 million)

Siti learnt how to make traditional medicine from her grandmother. She worked in Malaysia for a number of years and returned to Aceh just before the tsunami. Having lost everything during the tsunami and with the loan from FBA, she was able to purchase a grinding machine and raw materials such as roots and turmeric to start making traditional medicine again. She gives traditional massages for women afterbirth and her medicine caters to women after delivery, as well as to women who are hoping to conceive. She receives a net profit of about IDR 1 million (USD107) per month and her monthly repayments of IDR 280,000 (USD30) is not a problem at all. “I would like to expand my business by packaging and branding my product. Perhaps one day, I may even be able to sell my medicine in Malaysia!” Siti enthuses.

2. Zuraidah – convection (Jaya Baru, Banda Aceh)
Loan : USD3,448.28 (IDR30 million)

Having lost her small catering business in the tsunami and with 4 children in tow, Zuraidah got right back to work in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami by cooking for the clean-up team. Then, with IDR25,000, she bought cloth to sew pillow cases as there seemed to be a demand for it. Moving on from there, and with FBA’s loan, she has now expanded her business, bought raw material, 8 sewing machines and is hiring 15 staff to produce cushion covers, tiffin covers, curtains and clothes. Her products are sold en masse to shops and households. She makes IDR15 million (USD1,619) a month, with a net profit of IDR4 million (USD432) on normal months and IDR10 million (USD1,079) during the Lebaran Festival. Out of her 15 staff, 10 of them are school dropouts. “ I believe in offering school dropouts an opportunity to learn a skill whilst they continue to pursue their dreams. This will continue to be my purpose as I eye expansion of my business,” says Zuraidah. One of her employees has saved enough money after working with her for a year to now start attending computer classes part-time. Zuraidah hopes to expand her business further by renovating and extending her house, and purchasing a computer-generated commercial sewing machine. Zuraidah’s initiative, acute business sense and perseverance was a real inspiration to me, and to those around her.

3. Mikrad – wedding organiser (Ingin Jaya, Aceh Besar)
Loan : USD1,292.82 (IDR11.7 million)

Before the tsunami, Mikrad was working as a tailor. With the loan from FBA after the tsunami, she was able to buy materials to sew wedding clothes, purchase 5 sets of matching wedding outfits, 3 sets of wedding dais in different colours, and all types of wedding accessories. With 3 staff working for her, she caters to about 3-4 weddings monthly at IDR1.5 million (USD162) per wedding, earning a monthly net profit of IDR 3 million (USD324). She has attended the FBA book-keeping trainings and was thankful for them as the trainings added to her management skills and provided her with an opportunity to network with other entrepreneurs. Currently, Mikrad’s business is the first of its kind in her village but there are 5 others in her sub-district. “I hope to expand my business by providing tents and adding catering into my wedding packages. I am also saving up to purchase three more sets of dais in different colours by the end of 2008.” “I hope to expand my business to the whole of Aceh Jaya,” Mikrad adds enthusiastically.
For me, it was awesome to see beneficiaries utilizing the networking platform provided by FBA, to not only get back on their feet, but to start businesses with sustainability and longevity in mind.

4. Juariah Umar – rattan handicraft (Lhok Nga, Aceh Besar)
Loan : USD1,149.43 (IDR10 million)

Juariah started her handicraft business in the 90’s but the tsunami destroyed everything. FBA’s loan enabled her to buy rattan at IDR8,000 (USD0.80) per kg and restart her business. Besides weaving rattan herself, she also trains students and provides them with rattan to work with. She currently has a pool of 33 workers who are on call if large orders come in from shops or Non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Another 7-10 men help her deliver the products to the 3 shops that buy from her. She also markets her products to Medan and Bali, earning her a net profit of IDR 5 million (USD540) a month. In spite of the scale of her business, Juariah does not believe in keeping written accounts. “All the calculations are done in my head and I have been doing it for over 20 years now,” she explains. With a thriving business, more than 30 staff and a heart to see the skill of rattan weaving passed down to the next generation, I doubt a lack of book-keeping skills will stop this tenacious character from expanding her business beyond the shores of Aceh.

5. Aminah – rattan handicraft (Lhok Nga, Aceh Besar)
Loan : USD1,149.43 (IDR10 million)

Aminah is Juariah’s daughter. Having learnt the rattan weaving trade from her mother, Aminah has rented a shop in Banda Aceh to sell her work. A sizable laundry basket cost IDR50,000 (USD5) to make but is sold at IDR150,000 (USD16), raking in a net profit of IDR100,000 (USD11). Rattan is bought as raw material at IDR8,000 (USD0.50) per kg. Then, it is dried before weaving but during the rainy season, they will not be able to dry the rattan, hence no production. Aminah is applying the skills she has learnt from FBA to her business and is keeping good accounts of inputs and outputs.

6. Dharwani – clothes seller (Jaya Baru, Banda Aceh)
Loan : USD552.49 (IDR5 million)

Dharwani is in her 60s and she lost her husband in the tsunami. With FBA’s loan, she buys clothes from the wholesaler at the Meru market three to four times a month, and sells them from door-to-door on foot in her village. She carries the clothes in two big plastic bags and does her rounds in the evenings. When neighbours see her approaching, they will invite her in to look at the clothes. Dharwani allows her clients to buy the clothes on credit, accepting payments by installment for up to 4 months at times. The prices of the clothing vary but if she buys a piece at IDR32,000 (USD3.50), she will sell it at IDR60,000 (USD6.50), earning her twice the purchase price. If she is unable to sell the clothes, she brings it back to the wholesaler and exchanges them for new pieces. On a monthly average, she earns a net profit of between IDR1 – IDR3 million (USD108 – USD323). “My dream is to go on a pilgrimage visit to Mecca and that is what I am saving up for at the moment,” said Dharwani. This plucky lady showed me that age is no barrier when it comes to achieving your dreams if you possess perseverance and a willingness to work hard.

7. Mariani – peddler (Jaya Baru, Banda Aceh)
Loan : First loan USD618.78 (IDR5.6 million), Second loan USD2,696 (IDR25 million)

Mariani and her husband ran a little store in Jaya Baru before the tsunami. Right after the tsunami, they set up their store again and with a loan from FBA, they were able to purchase materials to sell in their store. After repaying the first loan, she took out a second loan to purchase a more comprehensive and complete range of stocks. She also runs a small eatery beside their convenient store. 8 women from the neighbourhood supply their cakes and crackers to be sold at the store daily. Mariana earns a daily income of about IDR1.3 million (USD140). “My husband and I decide on how to utilize the profits we make together. We are pleased to have a much bigger and well-stocked store now than before the tsunami.”

8. Nurhayati – pangki-maker (Lhok Nga, Aceh Besar)
Loan : USD114.94 (IDR1 million)

Nurhayati makes and supplies ‘pangki’ to building material shops as her main source of income prior to the tsunami. Pangki-making is a dying trade in Aceh. FBA’s loan enabled her to purchase rattan to restart her livelihood activity. Nurhayati makes an average of 5 pangki’s a day, out of which she can sell about four to five. The cost of making one pangki is IDR10,000 (USD1) and Nurhayati sells them at IDR25,000 (USD2.50), earning her a net income of IDR 1.8 million (USD195) a month.


It does not matter whether the loan is big or small, whether the home industries are large of tiny, the most important thing to take to heart is that these women, and all the rest of the other beneficiaries, have found a renewed sense of hope and a means of rebuilding their lives after everything had been so hastily taken from them by the tsunami. Although we cannot eradicate the pain and loss caused by the tsunami, it is nevertheless an overwhelming joy to see the survivors’ self-esteem and sense of integrity restored.
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We are the Force of Nature

“Force of Nature? Oh yeah, they are the one who did the concert for tsunami. Great concert, I get to see Black Eye Peas & Backstreet Boys.”

“You are working with Force of Nature? Yeah I know about the concert. Wow, it must be cool working with an event management company, huh?”

Those are the kind of reactions we get every time we mentioned Force of Nature (or more fondly known as FON). People remember the concert and unfortunately mistaken us as concert organisers. Well we are not, and this is why we turn to blogging, to get the message across loud and clear. We are FON, a Malaysian non-profit grant making agency dedicated to rebuild the lives of natural disaster survivors.



FON is arguably the only grant maker in the developing world that concentrates on long-term disaster management and risk reduction. That means we don’t do relief work, we fund projects that will benefit the disaster affected people in the long run. We build something stronger than bricks, we build hope.

Our projects are people centred, we aim to help individuals and local communities to achieve a standard of living higher than before the disaster hit. We do that by giving them loans to start business and teaching them how to run their business. We hope to reduce the impact of disaster by learning & research, bringing together countries affected by disasters in workshops & conferences to share their experiences and knowledge.

In short, what we can say about our projects is, we don’t construct buildings, we ‘construct’ what’s going on in the building.


“When are you guys going to Myanmar? The victims need all the help they can get. The sooner you go the better.”

“I can’t remember FON doing anything for the Pakistan earthquake but I remembered reading about X organization that went there to set up temporary shelters.”

Those are the general views of the public towards us. It’s understandable given the nature of our work. We only start telling the public about our work after the media attention on a disaster has subsided. In contrast, relief work (setting up temporary shelters, supplying food & clean water, etc2) gets a lot of attention because of the timing. It starts immediately after a disaster has happened when the world is full of interest and gives full attention.

It is after the relief work has finished (normally 6-12 months) that we start to go in the affected area. For example, the Indian Asian Tsunami that hit the world in 2004, we waited until the relief phase has ended before going in and we have since disbursed RM6 million for our tsunami projects. Overall, our projects has supported more than 100,000 people in Pakistan, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia and Malaysia to rebuild lives, restore livelihoods, empower communities and rehabilitate & protect the environment.

Relief work is very important, but so does long-term disaster management. Everyone has a part to play, and ours is long-term post recovery initiatives. We have different roles with different purposes but in the end we are all aiming for the same goal, which is to lend a hand for the survivors of natural disasters.


WE ARE THE FORCE OF NATURE…

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