A Life Transformed: Meet Ibu Tur
Ibu Tur is an inspiration to us all, because she shows us that with enough grit and perseverance you can slowly, patiently master a skill you previously had not acquired before. Her journey started as a seamstress at a local factory, and eventually she found her way into batik when she was referred to our craftschool, Rumah SukkhaCitta. Ever since then, her life has changed.
Bu Tur’s body was close to giving up
It’s the reality of life for countless women in Indonesia’s villages: As economic opportunities in her hometown are scarce, Ibu Tur would leave her house every morning at 5.30 a.m., taking her family’s motorcycle to get to sweater factory in a larger city, far away from her home and children. What little she made was cut by her travel cost – and the factory often required her to stay late so she would only return home close to midnight.
Despite her long hours, Ibu Tur was still expected to run the household, which meant cooking and cleaning every morning before she left for work. Ibu Tur persisted for as long as she could, knowing she had to put food on the table. Yet, the lack of sleep and exhaustion slowly took their toll. “My body just couldn’t take it anymore,” she told us.
For many women in Indonesia’s villages, the only way to find work is to spend hours traveling to far-away factories. There, they often have to work long hours for little pay – in addition to caring for their children and running the household, all by themselves.
One of Rumah SukkhaCitta’s First Students
It was a friend who referred her to Rumah SukkhaCitta. Ibu Tur had never made batik in her life, but was eager to learn a new skill that would allow her to work in her hometown. She’d spent months learning how to draw long, even lines with hot wax. How to hold the tjanting, how to avoid the wax from dripping onto her fabric – which could ruin a piece of fabric she had worked on for weeks.
It was a real challenge but, again, Ibu Tur persisted. Today, she says that’s the time when she learned true patience. It was difficult but she knew that she could get there.
Ibu Tur (third from the left) was one of the very first women joining our batik program at Rumah SukkhaCitta Wetan – learning the skills to thrive on her own terms.
The Transformative Power of Education
Today, Ibu Tur is one of the most senior teachers at Rumah SukkhaCitta Wetan, teaching young women the craft of batik and the art of patience. With her higher income, she’s now putting her first-born through university – while being able to care for her 11 year-old because she can always be home in time for lunch and dinner.
It took Ibu Tur many years of patience and persistence to master the craft of batik. Thanks to her higher income, she now puts her firstborn through university. Today, she’s one of the most senior teachers at Rumah SukkhaCitta Wetan, teaching other young women to do the same.
Ibu Tur is one of hundreds of women whose lives have been transformed with your support. Through Rumah SukkhaCitta Foundation and our social enterprise, SukkhaCitta, they get access to education and a fair market. Allowing them to thrive in their own right – as the result of their own hard work and persistence.
It is not aid, but giving women like Ibu Tur a fair chance to change her own life and that of her family.
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