Fega (31) is one of many residents of Lembang, West Java, who has a child with a disability. Their second child, RD*, has been diagnosed with polio since birth, resulting in physical disability and mobility impairments. RD needs periodic care to monitor his growth and development progress.
Fega’s main income comes from running a small seblak** stall in their house, while her husband works as a parking attendant at a minimarket. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Indonesia since 2020, the level of sales of fega seblak decreased because very few people bought food outside the home. Fega and her family had difficulty to fulfill household needs.
Save the Children Indonesia through the COVID-19 Response Program, in collaboration with Community-Based Rehabilitation (Rehabilitasi Berbasis Masyarakat) and several Small Micro Medium Entreprises (SMME) provided business development support to Fega’s family and other families with children with disabilities who faced similar problems during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fega received training related to her business, both in forming business designs and marketing strategies for her business. She also received venture capital assistance of IDR 2,000,000.00 to develop alternative businesses in other products.
Fega said that she used her funding to open a business selling fresh vegetables, gas canisters for cooking, and cell phone credit. From the business, Fega’s net income, which was originally around IDR 20,000 per day, increased to around IDR 50,000 per day.
Fega is very grateful for ther funding assistance. The income from her new business can improve the quality of life for her family, including her children. She uses her income to meet shealth needs, schools, and housing.
“(My daughter) got third rank in her class. Even though she is just like that (disabled), many of her friends like to tease her, but in the end, she proved it. (She won the class’s ranking) recently, when there was support from us. Thank God, the school need of children is also finally covered. I think when a child is sort of different than her peers, she tends to feel more inferior, different stuffs like shoes and so on could impact her mental,” she explained.
” In the past (we) thought, ‘Ah, later when we have money (we will change her school stuffs)’ But now, if she asked to replace for the new one, I can replace it. So, maybe she is more confident and able to show her intelligence too. Turns out, it has an impact,”
In the past, Fega lived in a small-rented room with her husband and three children. Now, she can rent another more spacious rented room so that the children are more comfortable and have more unimpeded space to have activity. She also no longer delays going to the doctor when her child is sick. The child’s school fees can be met without having to borrow money elsewhere.
Moreover, the increase in the economic capacity of Fega’s family has a positive impact on improving RD’s achievement at school. Fega said that now RD is more confident and recently got third place in the class.
Ther funding assistance from the COVID-19 Response Program has shelped the Fega family and many other families to improve their quality of life. Now Fega, her husband and their children can live a better life.
*) Pseudonym
**) Seblak is a Sundanese dish made from boiled crackers and several sources of protein, such as chicken eggs and claws, with a spicy and savory sauce.