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The story of Slamet Riyadi, also known as Didi, began in the slums of Manggarai, where many neighbors passed their time gambling and drinking. His background is typical among poor Indonesians. By the age of 25, Didi could easily have been a drug addict, a street kid or a beggar. He could have remained one of the tens of millions of Indonesians trapped by dire poverty.

But Didi’s life took him in a very different direction. He now holds a degree from a renowned university and a job in social work devoted to realizing a dream: to help Indonesia prosper by enabling the nation’s women.

“Because however great a man is, it is due to a woman,” he said. “So if a woman is educated, intelligent and has ethics, automatically her children will follow in her footsteps.”

Didi made a deliberate choice to rise above his impoverished background by placing education first and foremost in his life.

“I realized that even though I was living in the slums, I didn’t have to be dirty as well,” he said.

His father ran a small garage and could barely support his family, and throughout his academic life Didi was constantly faced with the dilemma of whether to help his family or focus on his education. He managed to juggle both, supporting his younger brother through school, while he himself also studied. In high school, he worked a stint as a door-to-door gas container salesman and also as a porter at the Le Meridien Hotel. He studied hard, earned good grades and landed a spot at the prestigious University of Indonesia, where he majored in US history.

This intrigued me. As cliched as it may sound, wouldn’t a boy from the slums prefer to study business or medicine? Or obtain a degree more likely to bring prosperity to his door, which a degree in history isn’t likely to do.

But Didi had his reasons.

“I wanted to learn how the US became so successful so I can replicate it and make Indonesia prosperous,” he said.

Didi had to work hard to put himself through school. His father’s monthly earnings at the garage only brought in Rp 1.5 million ($165) and the university charged Rp 1.3 million per semester.

Once again, he placed a priority on his education. Every hour of his day apart from study he chased the money he needed to continue his schooling. He worked as a night watchman, earning Rp 20,000 per night before finishing up at dawn in time for his morning classes. He taught history, geography and economics to schoolchildren for Rp 22,500 per hour, not to mention all the odd jobs, such as painting houses and mowing lawns. At times he resorted to borrowing from friends. All the while, he maintained a 3.28 grade point average in his studies.

In 2008, Didi met Titie Sadarini met through the Goodwill Foundation, which organizes scholarship programs for university students. Titie became Didi’s sponsor for his final year of college.

“I chose Slamet because he is different,” Titie said. “He thinks history is important even though he knew it might not be easy to get a sponsor or find a job.”

What convinced her to help Didi was the effort he put in to achieve his goals and change his life for the better.

“I find that struggle and readiness to face challenges are important for the young,” she said.

Didi now works at the National Humanitarian Foundation (PKPU), which aims to help communities by providing services, information, communication, education and empowerment. Working with the PKPU’s management training program is a stepping stone for Didi to achieve his goal of promoting self-sufficiency among the poor.

“What I learned from studying US history is that they don’t give people the fish but give them the hook. We have to give people independence, provide them with the ability to become self-sufficient. If we give a sewing machine and the people don’t know how to sew, then we teach them. Once they know how to do that, then we teach them how to enter the corporate world, how to obtain bank loans and from there, they can spread the knowledge to others,” he said.

As a journalist I’ve met many people who come from backgrounds far more privileged than Didi’s but who are pessimistic about Indonesia’s future. Didi came from the slums, yet he speaks with hope.

“I’m not going to be pessimistic. I’m going to be optimistic,” he said.

When he told me about his goal to improve educational opportunities for the poor women of this nation, he spoke with vigor and excitement. He is unlike those who simply bemoan their fate and become jaded. He is unlike his old neighbors in Manggarai who use the excuse of an imbalanced economic and social system to drink and gamble their lives away.

“His kind of spirit is what drives success: 1 percent luck and the rest is will and hard work,” Titie said.

Didi’s dream is for all Indonesian women to be literate by 2015 and to teach their children that education is a priority. He is seeking organizations and individuals to help him create a foundation to improve the literacy of women in Indonesia and to advise them on promoting children’s health and nutrition.

If you want to help, please e-mail Didi at s_riyadi24@yahoo.com.

Hidden voices is an interactive column that tells stories that can motivate others to act and raise awareness of important issue. Share your stories by contacting Titania Veda, a journalist for the Jakarta Globe.

Email: titania.veda@thejakartaglobe.com

Web : titaniaveda.wordpress.com

Twitter : twitter.com/titaniaveda

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