Love and Perseverance do Make a Difference

I live in Jakarta, a bustling metropolitan city of Indonesia. A city where massive buildings and sumptuous mansions are almost everywhere on sight. I had never known that among all these luxuries of Jakarta, there are people living in such destitution and indigence; and while everyone else is having their large feast, there are people who just scarcely have scraps of food to eat. I had never realized that behind all these towering skyscrapers, there are slums which are utterly deplorable.

I was walking some meters away from my residential area when I got promptly startled by the sight in front of me – a sight that I had never realized it has always been there. Behind the old walls at the roadside, there lies a residence which consisted of houses that can hardly be called as “houses.” I walked through the sloppy path as I looked around. Half-naked children were running around; some adults were getting water from old pipes; the others were sitting down at the porch. Squalid, cramped, and unkempt, these houses stood in shocking contrast to the wholesomeness of country living. I stifled my tears. What a poignant, heart-rending sight!

I stopped and gazed towards the walls enclosing that place. From that spot, I could vividly see the luxurious houses across the road. Houses that are ten times more spacious and splendid than these people's. Tears began to keep streaming down my face. They do always see us – our lavish life, while for them, to live just one more day is something they have to arduously be grappling with. No wonder we have a high number of crimes in this city. The social gap is too large.

Who would ever love poverty or crimes? These kids who were born in this kind of neighborhood, did they ever choose? Lots of them finally just chose to succumb to their wretched condition and despair. They do not know how to rise up from their dismal life, catch a glimpse of hope, and transform their and their descendent's life!

Just giving them money will not help their life. A Chinese proverb says, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” The first step to get out of poverty is to get rid of poverty mentality. We need to educate them, change their mindset, and build their character!

With this fervent desire to see changes in our society, I and my family decided to step out and reach these helpless people. We cannot wait for the government or anybody else to do it. We, as the Indonesians, must take the initiative for the sake of our own nation. We opened a free school for poor people to teach them how to read, write, and count. We also opened a free school for poor children with special needs to train and cultivate their talents. We instill in their minds the idea of perseverance, diligence, determination, and obedience. We also give out healthy foods and drinks for our students after every class and for their relatives occasionally. As a result, many children's lives were transformed, and their parents could once again see hopes in their children's lives.

People can disparage the work we are doing. Maybe it seems like nothing much is changed yet. However, will watering seeds everyday be futile just because it does not grow immediately? Will little works done faithfully and with great love be vain?

Our desire, as the seed, is to bring hope to the dejected, bind up the brokenhearted, and once again revive the spark of light within every soul. We yearn to see our city – and nation eventually – freed from this bondage of poverty and crime. And as a seed must be planted into the fertile soil, dreams must be planted into hearts that are filled with love that never dies.

Planted seed will not grow without consistent care. It must be fertilized and watered continually. Even when the seeds seem to not grow immediately, we have to keep doing it unrelentingly and indefatigably until it sprouts and gives out fruits. We must maintain a vibrant faith and let the love that burns within our heart keep us doing what we know is right.

This is how we will be able to create the future we want – the future of our life, family, country, and even the whole world. If only each of us has that passion to do what we can, initiatively and faithfully, seeds will begin to sprout and grow. At last, a huge, immense forest of dreams will become a reality.

“Love never fails; Character never quits; and with patience and perseverance, dreams do come true!” -The Pistol (Movie)