Sumompo is a small village located 10km north of Manado city. In the centre of the community is a rubbish dump, providing work for around 100 people who scavenge for paper and plastic. Families, who have moved to Sumompo in search of work from nearby provinces, live in makeshift houses near or on the dump.

Every day dozens of trucks, both Government and private, drop off all sorts of rubbish from the city. People of all ages and gender participate in the work, scavenging alongside dogs. In hot weather thongs are worn, in wet weather gumboots are used, if they can be afforded. The key tool is a ‘gonjol’, a half metre steel hooked rod to help sort and pick paper and plastic. Even though each individual is responsible for how much paper and plastic they collect, there is a strong sense of team-work, camaraderie and family on the dump.

In January 2008 Christian Surfers Australia organised the inaugural Paddle Against Poverty, a 10km paddle from Collaroy to Manly that raised over $10,000 towards helping families on the rubbish dump. The money was used by Bridge of Hope to build a community education resource centre, buy books, guitars, arts and crafts, a tv and sports equipment, as well as employ Meldi, a full time administrator and teacher. The centre was named Sengkanaung, meaning ‘one in heart’, by a Meylan, a 15yr old local girl. Sengkanaung offers a variety of services focusing on education and health, opening the door of opportunity to the children who work on the rubbish dump, providing them with choices for their future.

Meldi has devoted 6 days a week, 11 hrs a day, over the last 6 months, working alongside myself, Will Wrathall from Manly, as I was given the opportunity to work in Manado through the AusAID Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development (AYAD) Program.

Some 40-60 children attend Sengkanaung daily after school. They read books, play sport and games, get involved in music and art and learn English. Monthly quizzes always attract a great crowd of children to the centre, which is now a central meeting place outside the rubbish dump. Meldi also gives classes to 16 children every day from 5-6.30pm, AFTER they finish working for 5-8 hours at the rubbish dump, collecting 10kg of plastic, sold for as little as $3 a day. Two of these children are Lia and Diana.

It took several months for Meldi and I to gain Lia and Diana’s trust when they first started attending Sengkanaung, but slowly we began to receive smiles each time we met them. Both Lia and Diana are resourceful and industrious in their work, which in Indonesian culture brings great honour to their families. After working on the dump each day they come straight to the resource centre. Sengkanaung has now become a place of refuge, fun and education for them.

Lia (12) has a warm and loving family environment, living with her grandma and aunty and uncle. They live in a simple home with two rooms accommodating seven. As the eldest child, and for financial reasons Lia’s parents had to withdraw her from school several years ago to work on the rubbish tip with her grandma. Each day they walk to the rubbish tip together and share the workload. Her skin is darker than the rest of her family because of daily outdoor work, which is undesirable in Indonesian culture. To be fair skinned is to be beautiful.

Lia is a smart girl. Since she has been attending the classes at Sengkanaung, she has shown incredible discipline and motivation to pass her primary school exams. Amazingly this will provide her with the opportunity to go to a Government high school and allow her to stop working on the rubbish dump come July this year.

Diana has spent her life scavenging for paper and plastic on the dump. She lives with her extended relatives who are inconsistent in their support and care of her. Now that her extended aunt, her primary carer is getting old, Diana has to provide for her and her sick husband. Diana doesn’t know how old she is, but her aunt says she thinks Diana is 13. Her leathery hands, feet and rugged face suggest she has lived well beyond her age. Her new friendship with Lia provides a constant source of joy in her life.

Diana has never been to school and was overwhelmed with fear, shame and excitement at her first lesson. She now attends classes at Sengkanaung run by Meldi six days a week after working on the dump. Understandably, she is often restless and finds it difficult to concentrate. Diana hopes to pass her exams and continue her education through the informal system as she will need to continue working to support her family.

Sharing the transformational journey of the hearts and hopes of these two girls has truly been an incredible privilege that has transformed my life in the process. We will never be the same again because we joined together in relationship, supported by the generosity of others, through this wonderful enduring community partnership. God Bless you all.

By Will Wrathall

Twenty-two kms north of Manado’s centre is a fishing village of around 100 families called Bahowo Tongkeina.  Unfortunately there is not enough fish to support the community, so incomes are low and irregular. In addition, the agricultural land nearby is unproductive, making it difficult to establish a successful business.  So, some of the men do carpentry work to help make a living, whilst other people grow bananas or vegetables and sell their produce in the local village and at the markets in Manado.

Within this community is a group of 14 women who belong to one of the Bridge of Hope’s micro enterprise loan groups.  They are called the Silo Group and are already on their second loan cycle of Rph 750,000.     They have used the loans to invest in different businesses, including a kiosk and selling bananas, fish and jewellery. They meet every week in a small hut near the sea to discuss their businesses, encourage each other and pray for each other.

The group leader, Rensi, explained proudly that the businesses generate small profits: “I use my income to support my daughter in her accounting and economics studies at college in Manado. Most children leave the village during the week to receive education at university or college in Manado and they come back to their families at the weekend,” she said.

Overall the loan group supports 15 children. Some children are still small and their mothers are glad that they are still in primary school as they are afraid they can not afford high school. Some of the children are needed to help in their parents’ businesses, whilst others are at home and have to forego going to school.

Magdalena, another group member, is married and has one five year old son. Before receiving a loan from Bridge of Hope, she was selling iced syrup and the fish her husband caught every night.

Since receiving the first loan, she started selling some additional products, such as the jewellery and other souvenirs that her sister Uto makes. She travels with her father’s cousin in a boat to the close-by Bunaken Island twice a week to sell these items and some food.    
                                                                         .  
“The income from the business has allowed my family and I to move out of my parents’ house into a house of our own,” said Magdalena. With the help of the second loan, she managed to considerably increase the margins in her business. Next to further investments into the business, she used the profits to improve the house. “With the third loan I plan to expand the merchandise I am selling.  I am happy and hopeful of the future,” she added, recognising the amazing changes to her family’s income and their lifestyle since the start of the project.

Magda is another member of the Silo Group and is selling fish. She is married and has a four year old daughter. Her husband is a fisherman but also has to work as a carpenter when fish are scarce. Before the loan, she could only afford to pay for the fish she bought off the fishermen after she had sold them on. Since receiving the first loan, she stopped buying on credit. She can also afford to buy more fish from other places, such as in Manado itself, where more fish are available. With the second loan, she started to sell other items such as vegetables and other produce. “The income from my business has allowed me to support my family’s needs.  And I can now send my daughter to school when she turns five,” she said excitedly. “And I’m really happy that I’m still able to save after meeting all of my commitments.”

The loan group ladies’ husbands received government loans for their fishery businesses. The difference between these loans and the Bridge of Hope loans, however, is that the government loan is just paid out and then the recipients are left to their own devices. Bridge of Hope, on the other hand, accompanies the loan group through the different loan cycles by sending a project officer to the weekly meetings to support the group in establishing and expanding their businesses. The goal is holistic transformation, rather than simply providing financial aid. The different dimensions of transformation, such as economic, community and spiritual transformation, are addressed through the initial training and ongoing support the group receives.

The high repayment rates and the numerous success stories of increasingly independent, self-confident and hopeful people are a clear testimony to Bridge of Hope’s success in developing this transformation.

The ladies of this loan group have gained hope, having seen small steps of success since receiving their first loan and developing their businesses.   The Silo Group of women is considering expanding into the village and inviting new members to their loan group to share their success. They have understood that their responsible use of funds by investing, paying back and saving their loans, can now be used to help others and spread hope in their area.

Sefina Masihor (42) lives in a rural outer suburb of Manado and belongs to a loan group from Bridge of Hope, consisting of 17 local women. She is married to husband David Takapaha (49) and has three sons: Novel (24), Marcelling (22) and Einstein (14).

Her husband David is a motorbike taxi driver whilst Novel works locally as a labourer and Marcelling is a petrol pump attendant.  Her youngest son Einstein is still at school.

Sefina joined Bridge of Hope’s micro loan program in March 2006 and together with her other women team members is already on her third loan of Rph 1,000,000 (AU$130).  “I had never borrowed money before,” said Sefina. “But I really like the Bridge or Hope program as it has given me an opportunity to expand the local kiosk I run in my village.”  The first loan Sefina received over a year ago was Rph 500,000 (AU70).

Before receiving her first loan from Bridge of Hope, Sefina was limited on how many products she could sell at the kiosk in her local village.  She started by selling fried bananas and only working two or three days a week.  Through the loan system she has been able to expand the kiosk to include fish, rice, vegetables and other consumables.

“I used to earn about Rph 40,000 per day (AU$5),” said Sefina.  “But now 12 months later I have been able to more than triple that to Rph 150,000 per day (AU$20),” she announced proudly.   And the other women in her group confirmed that, while clapping their hands excitedly and shouted “Yes it’s true – she really does earn that much money”.  They all encouraged their friend to tell more about her successful business.

Sefina is a hard working woman.  Her thriving kiosk, located alongside a narrow, bumpy road in the village is now open seven days a week.  She is a highly motivated lady who is very clear about how the money from the loans is helping her.   More expansion plans are definitely on the horizon.

“I want to build a bigger business,” she said confidently.  “I’m very busy and whilst I get busier as the business expands, it feels good to be busy.  I like it and I’m happy,” she said with a broad smile.  

Sefina’s loan group is a close knit group of women. They are all enjoying being together and supporting each other with any business problems they have.  “It is a lot of fun to do the training together, such as jam making and baking,” said Sefina. “ The training program binds us together.”

Sefina thanks God for looking after her and giving her the opportunity to join the program.  All of the women go to the same church and use some of their money to donate to the church to help the widows there.  Sefina also helps out in her community by assisting with the catering for funeral services.

When asked what she plans to do with her next loan she says: “I can keep expanding the business of course.”  She paused briefly and then added proudly: “And it will help me to keep my son Einstein in high school.   In fact, we want to be able to send him to university.

“The loans I have received from Bridge of Hope have given me that hope,” she concluded.   

Katrina (42) is married to Elvianus (41) and lives in a small house on her uncle’s land with her son Doddy (11) and her elderly mother Anna.  She is part of the Winetin Village community, where the majority of the people are farmers living under the flight path of Manado’s international airport.

Her daughter, Leiske (24) and eldest son Donny (20) have both left the small two-room family home to try to find work on the neighbouring island of Sumatra.  Both Leiske and Donny had to leave school in grade six (age 12) as the family could not afford to send them to high school.

Katrina’s husband, Elvianus, is a rice farmer but with limited work available his income is irregular.    “Sometimes there is no work for up to a month for my husband,” said Katrina sadly.  So, for many years Katrina has helped to support her family by picking fruit and vegetables from the local farm and then traveling one hour each way by local bus to sell the goods in the busy market in Manado.   But sometimes there was no fruit available for her to pick and buy locally so there were many days when Katrina was not able to earn any money.  An average day’s income for the family was around Rph 25,000 – that’s  AU $3 a day !

With these three dollars Katrina needed to support her family of four and then with any left over money buy local fruit to sell at the market.  So, because of her lack of available capital, it was very limiting how much she was able to invest in food to buy and sell and there was no spare cash for any medical emergencies.  

In the past Katrina had to borrow money from a loan shark if her children were sick.  This happened last year when Doddy had to spend two weeks in hospital with suspected typhoid.   “That was our only choice,” said Katrina “We couldn’t afford to pay the medical costs and I had to continue to try and work whilst Doddy was in hospital. I was charged 20 per cent interest per month and had to make daily repayments to the loan shark.”

Katrina and her family were trapped in the poverty cycle. The family’s financial position was very shaky.

“Of course I worried, but what else could I do?” said Katrina with a frown.  “But then last year I heard about Bridge of Hope and its micro lending program from a friend in the village.   I heard that it was a very good loan system for people like us who are weak economically,” she said.  She decided to join the 18-member loan group who meet once a week to share their business problems and to pray with and encourage each other.

“My first loan from the Bridge of Hope helped me to repay Doddy’s medical bills and use the extra capital to buy more fruit to sell,” she said.  Since joining the loan system with Bridge of Hope, Katrina has been able to double her daily income to an average of Rph 50,000 per day – around AU$6.50 per day !

When asked how she feels about this, she looks up and gives a broad grin “I used to always worry about money. I still worry sometimes, but life is much more enjoyable now.” “I can now also save as well, so if we have any medical difficulties I have savings I can use. Since joining Bridge of Hope I have been able to save Rph 175,000 (AU$25.00),” she said proudly.

Katrina is also enjoying the training she is getting with her Bridge of Hope loan group in her village.  “I’m learning lots of new things such as how to make noodles and cookies.”   Now with the help of the loans Katrina has diversified her business, selling fish, which she buys and sells in her village.

Katrina can now afford to send Doddy to high school which requires an admission fee of  Rph 200,000 (AU$28). The loan has given Katrina a new found hope and she can see a future for her and her family.  “Yes,” she sighs with relief. “The loan has given me freedom.” 

The inspiring story of hope below is of a couple, Harry and Agnes, who have received a micro-loan because of the partnership between Manly and Manado through Action Against Poverty. Our hope is that it will touch your heart to realise that your action has been life changing.

Harry (55) and Agnes (47) live in a basic two-room dwelling with their youngest daughter, Ria (15), and her grandmother, Calista.  They live next to the main rubbish tip inManado, along with many other families whose livelihood is dependant on scavenging for recyclable rubbish.

Harry and Agnes work together collecting plastic, steel remnants and aluminium cans for up to 12 hours per day, every day. Harry and Agnes are a softly spoken couple with sincerity in their eyes but without the necessary skills to make themselves employable. They have no choice but to do what they are doing.

The area in which Harry and Agnes live has free schooling throughout the primary years.  However, once a child reaches high school, there is a Rph 1,000,000  (AU$133) registration fee and Rph 50,000 (AU$6.70) per month tuition fee.  This is not affordable to most families in the rubbish tip area, where many families focus solely on surviving.  Ria’s family is no exception.  Instead of going to school, Ria helps her mum and dad with their collection efforts on the rubbish tip.  Health care is also out of range for most in this community, where a check-up costs Rph 50,000 (AU$7), so infections are self remedied and the common treatment for illness is rest.

Harry and Agnes are on their second loan cycle within the Bridge of Hope loan program, one of Action Against Poverty’s development partners. They are part of a group of 20 members who support each other and hold each other accountable for the repayment of their loans and accumulation of savings. While the group is materially poor, there is a rich community spirit between them.

Harry estimates they collect up to 700 kilos of plastic per week, which he can sell for approximately Rph 1,100 per kilo (15 cents). Harry used to sell his findings daily, which meant he would receive a lower price, forcing the family to live day by day off the proceeds. “With the loans I’ve obtained through Bridge of Hope I can now accumulate my collections over a week as well as buy plastic from other collectors.” Harry explained more: “This means I can sell the plastic in bulk at higher prices to a buyer in Manado city. As this enables me to make a margin on the material we acquire from others we no longer have to rely solely on own labour for making ends meet.”

“Before the loans, we earned about Rph 30,000 (AU$4) per day and saved nothing.   We were living day by day.  I have never been able to plan for and think about the future,” he said sadly.

Since receiving the loans, which began in 2006, Harry and Agnes now earn between Rph 40,000 to Rph 50,000 (AU$6-8) per day.  This enables them to save approximately Rph 5,000 rupiah (75 cents) per day.  A far cry from where they were before they received the loans.

Harry has plans to set up a stall next to their home where he will sell soap to his local ‘rubbish tip’ community.  “I know that I’ll need about Rph 4,000,000 (AU $500) to do this,” he said “And whilst I cannot currently do this, the loans through Bridge of Hope have enabled me to increase my income, put away some savings and begin thinking about the future.”

If they manage to repay the second loan cycle and have sufficient plans to continue increasing their net income, they could be eligible for a third and higher loan of Rph 1,000,000 (AU$130) in the hear future.  With this higher loan and their already accumulated savings, they are hopeful to have enough for their investment in a soap business. The nearest kiosk for buying these necessities is not convenient and Harry and Agnes believe they could sell the soap in the neighbourhood to provide additional income. They will start with soap and see where it leads them.

Although they have been scavenging for rubbish for years and living hand to mouth with no hope of doing anything else, the loan program has enabled them to start saving and start thinking of the future.

Harry concluded: “I don’t think sending Ria to school is possible at this stage, but the loan program has provided us with hope.  Before this we had always felt completely hopeless.”

Selvia starts her day at 4.30 am so she can buy spices such as chilli and onion in order to sell them at Girian traditional market. Her husband has long since passed away and all of her children are married.

Selvia is a member of the Karya Sejati loan group that has been specially set up to offer smaller loans than normal to those in extreme poverty situations.  She was a refugee from nearby Maluku, due to the Islamic Jihad in 2000.

Before she joined the loan group her life was severely limited by her inability to grow her very small business. In fact, she could only buy the spices she needed each day due to lack of capital and then borrow someone else's table in order to sell them. Her daily net income, when she worked, was around 20,000 Rupiah (A$ 3).

Not long after joining with the Bridge of Hope loan program, her condition has dramatically changed. Instead of borrowing the table, she can afford to pay the rent of 150.000 Rupiah per month for a market stall and sell a much greater quantity of spices and farm produce to her customers. If she is not able to sell everything in the market, she brings her merchandise back to refugees camp and sell them there. Her net income has nearly tripled in the last 3 months to approximately 55.000 Rupiah per day (A$ 8).

She is now able to make a small amount of savings to provide for herself as she gets older and to pay for medical bills. She now has a small safety net under her, from the pressure of poverty, for the first time since her husband died.

Selvia is one example of the over 800 family business units that have received small loans, business training and support due to Manly's active action in their partnership with Manado.

Thank you for your continued partnership.

The Sindulang Berkarya Loan Group are located near the seashore, north of Manado's centre in a fisherman's shanty town called Sindulang. There are 24 members, all women and the group is currently on its 4th loan cycle. After the second cycle the group disbanded because of weak leadership.

As beneficiaries of new loan capital raised by the Manly-Manado Community Partnership the group re-started under new leadership.

Now they are a very strong group under the leadership of their new chairwoman Mareyke Mekel. She sells medicines by motor bike to local shops. Yohana Adrian is the vice- chairwoman and Ariantji Howan is the treasurer. The ladies in the group have businesses as cake makers, kiosk owners, fish sellers and canteen owners. Local Manadonese porridge and yellow rice are the main foods produced in the canteens.

When we asked the group what the main benefits of being part of the micro enterprise program were, they said "easing the financial burdens by having available capital at low interest rates, being able to release ourselves from loan sharks, continuity in sending their children to school with increased income, healthcare and shared fellowship”.

The desires of the group are to "save for our futures so that we can have some income when we are older, look after the widows in the group and keep educating our families”.

One of the members of the group, Sarah lives in a wooden house built by her husband right on the beach. Once before the house was washed away by the waves of a storm. The beach acts as the sewer, rubbish tip, latrine and the place they wash while pigs and dogs roam the beach.

The Abbus family : Coconut Charcoal Makers

Meidy (34) is married to Agus (31) and they have a 10 yr old son Arvando. The family lives under the flight path of Manado’s international airport and they also support Agus’ mother and sister Selvi, who was crippled at birth.

Meidy and Agus have traditionally been subsistence farmers. They are fortunate enough to live in a small run down house they inherited from Agus’ parents and to have borrowed a small piece of land from a family member, which is able to produce a crop of maize every 3 months. They also grow bananas and beans.  In the past they have relied upon this for their family income, which has amounted to an average of 250,000 Rph (A$40) per month. Not only was this totally insufficient for their needs, but also very irregular.

In 2004 Meidy learnt how to make Arang Terpurung or charcoal out of coconut shells from Agus’ father before he died. She decided to start a small business with Agus’ help. In January 2006 they took out a loan from a loan shark to help them expand their business, buy some tools and look after their cows. Within a few months of starting, with mounting daily interest payments and the realisation that they were trapped in a cycle of daily repayment, they heard about the Bridge of Hope micro enterprise program. A new loan group of 18 small business owners called Esagenang, meaning ‘United as One’, was starting in their village. This new loan group had been made possible from the funds raised in Manly through Action Against Poverty.

After seven training meetings, informing them on the responsibilities of shared loan group ownership and accountability, Meidy and Agustook up the offer to join the group and were quickly able to pay off the loan shark, free themselves from mounting debt and start to invest into their business to increase the family income.

Coconut shells are a daily waste product of people living in the area whose staple diet includes coconut. Most days, after a 5am start for Agus, when he tends to his cows named Batik & Manis, both he and Meidy collect these shells with their cow pulled cart, paying a small price for each one.  They take anything from a few hours to the whole day to collect and transport these shells to their charcoal-burning pit, along with kerosene and a plentiful of water to extinguish the fire when the charcoal is ready. If the weather is fine they try to burn one pit-full per day over a 4hr attentive process, being very careful not to over burn the shells, resulting in nothing but ash. The charcoal is then bagged, ready to be sold.

Each bag of charcoal requires 500 coconut shells, weighs 35kg and is sold for just 31,500 Rph (A$ 4.70). It is sold for use as cooking charcoal or to help produce inks, toners and batteries. When the weather is fair they can produce up to 20 bags a week if they can get enough raw material. But often it is raining, especially this year and their average production is only 7 bags per week. Their joint resulting income averages A$4/day for all their hard work, but nowat least it is regular and sufficient to meet their daily minimum needs, along with their farming income.

Some days Meidy works the business alone, while Agus works in the field tending to their corn. But mostly they like to work together. “It is not fair for my husband to work hard alone” said Meidy, “in the good times and the bad times, we are together, we are always together.”

When we asked them what were the main benefits of being part of the new loan group, they answered “Low interest, the chance to share with others in the same position, make savings and being able to support our son’s education. All we needed was the opportunity to help ourselves."

Meidy and Agus’ relationship demonstrates an untold love and joy for each other, which carries them through everything. They take great pride in their work and in providing Arvando with an education. Arvando is an intelligent boy, in 5th grade, a year ahead for his age. He is a great sportsman and his dream is to be in the police force. His Dad’s dream as a boy was the same, but his family wasn’t able to afford to send him to the Police Training Academy. Agus’ dream now is to be able to send his son to the Academy.

With the opportunity for increased income, business training and making savings, there is now some glimmer of hope that he may be able to do this one day.

When we asked Meidy and Agus about whether we could use their picture and inspiring story, they shyly smiled and said “we are very happy for you to use it, because we want others like us to have the same opportunity to help themselves”.

As we left, we gave them a spade, a mattock and a saw to help them with their business. They were beaming with delight!

This update we meet two amazing ladies who have recently received their first micro-loans through Bridge of Hope, Action Against Poverty's partner in Manado, giving them the opportunity to turn their lives around.

Hana is the name of a new loan group, consisting of 9 ladies who all run small family businesses in a poor area of Manado.

Mrs. Deity was expecting her 2nd child, when 3 years ago her house, where she also ran a beauty salon and kiosk, was burnt down because of a short circuit. Tragically the fire also consumed her 3-year-old niece. Slowly, with her husband's irregular income as a construction labourer, the family started all over again and worked on rebuilding their home.

Mrs. Deity is using her first A$45 loan to help rebuild her beauty salon business so that she can contribute to the family's income to improve their life and better care for her now 3 and 6 year old children.
 
Mrs. Yuliana is the eldest member of the Hana loan group. This energetic 64-year-old grandma still keeps herself up-to-date with current affairs for she never misses reading the local daily newspaper. Having been a widow for 26 years, she now lives with her eldest son.

In the past, she used to be a teacher but the government closed down where she worked. In order to survive, she started to sell vegetables, and for the past 40 years, she has been a vegetable vendor, working laboriously from 5am to 2pm each day. She is optimistic that her first micro-loan of A$45 will enable her to stock up with a greater variety of produce, giving her the opportunity to help pay for her grandchildren's education.

These ladies are just 2 examples of the now 469 family businesses that you, the community of Manly, are supporting by providing an opportunity for them to help themselves out of poverty and gain self-respect and dignity.

What a privilege it is, for us to provide a future of hope to such amazing people through our partnership.