What do you do when family and society expect you to forgo an education to marry and bear children? One girl broke that tradition.
What do you do when family and society expect you to forgo an education to marry and bear children? One girl broke that tradition.
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Five years ago, Asian Aid began a partnership with Adventist Indonesian Initiatives to run the Health and Education Lifestyle Project (HELP). The project is driven by the belief that a knowledge of, and right choices about, health, education and lifestyle can transform a life. Since then, skilled HELP staff and volunteers have brought health education, English language classes and lifestyle programs to hundreds of people in some of the most under-resourced schools and communities on the Indonesian islands of Lombok and Sulawesi. The HELP project has provided opportunities for children, young people and those struggling with addictions to enjoy a better life through good health, education and community-based programs.
Because Islam is the predominant religion in Indonesia, programs are run by local and international staff and volunteers who are trained to work in Islamic schools and communities in culturally sensitive ways. These programs have helped young adults find employment thanks to their proficiency in English and they have coached local community members on health principles and practices. The program is proving to be effective and 22-year-old Huswatun’s story is a testament to the impact HELP is having on lives.
Growing up in a community with limited access to health and education services and where young women often marry before finishing high school, Huswatun expected that would be her lot in life. Her dream of becoming an English teacher seemed distant, buried as it was under societal expectations and barriers.
Following the death of her father, life looked bleak for her family. Like many of their community members, Huswatun’s four older brothers worked as subsistence rice farmers, since they had not had the opportunity to complete high school. Eventually, Huswatun’s mother remarried. Her husband worked as a volunteer teacher at the local school Huswatun attended. The school had been built in the community to give disadvantaged students a chance to receive a better education.
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