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Ida Yani has been in a wheelchair for almost two decades. At the age of 18, while working in her family’s acrobatics troupe, she swung on the trapeze, only to miss the hands of her partner and plummet to the ground. In an instant, she became a paraplegic.

But the Kalimantan-born, Jakarta-raised woman hasn’t allowed her physical disability to hold her back. She worked for two years as a library attendant for a company in Bogor and has also worked sporadic odd jobs to earn a living.

In 2002, Ida heard from a friend about Wisma Cheshire, or Cheshire House, an organization for the empowerment of paraplegics in Jakarta. She soon found her way to its door.

There, she received training in handicrafts, sewing items such as oven gloves and table mats.

She was also exposed to the world of wheelchair tennis, which was at first a recreational activity. Recognizing Ida’s mastery of the tennis racket, the Cheshire House committee, which is run entirely by volunteers, pushed Ida to join national-level competitions.

In 2008, she won the gold medal at the National Disability Sports Week, and in the same year she became one of three Indonesian athletes to compete at the Beijing Paralympics.

“We never know what path our life will take, all I can do is to go through with it,” the 37-year-old champion said. “I’m glad I found Cheshire House. Here, I can do something that’s valuable in my life.”

Nestled away in the Cilandak area of South Jakarta, Cheshire House currently hosts 27 residents with paraplegia, a condition where the motor and sensory functions of the lower limbs of the body are impaired.

All of the residents have their own unique stories of how they came to be disabled.

Laeli Yuntari was 18 years old when she became a paraplegic. The oldest child in her family, she immigrated to Saudi Arabia as a foreign domestic helper, hoping to finance her younger siblings’ education.

After receiving unfair treatment by her employer, Laeli wanted to leave but was forbidden by her employer, who cited a contractual obligation.

Wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with Cheshire House’s red feather symbol, the now 43-year-old Laeli said, “I was young and unstable. I wanted to run away.

“So I jumped off the balcony on the second floor and paralyzed my legs.”

Dimas Ardianto’s tragedy came at a much younger age. Born in Kediri, East Java, the youngest resident in the house was infected with polio when he was just 4 months old and has spent his whole life in a wheelchair.

Whether they acquired their disability through accident, illness or birth defect, Cheshire House has one mission for its residents: To empower them and prepare them to integrate into the wider society.

“A lot of the time, society perceives paraplegics as people who can’t work and are unproductive, and they are therefore marginalized,” said Mahmudi Yusbi, the manager of Cheshire House.

“We want to break these barriers and get rid of the stigma [surrounding disability].”

The paraplegics’ residency, established in 1974, provides its residents with in-house training in crafts and woodwork. The house does not employ many staff members, relying instead on a mentor system, where senior residents pass on their knowledge and skills to newer residents.

Mahmudi said the ultimate goal was for the residents to develop work skills so that they could eventually find a job elsewhere, and live their own lives, independent of the house. He added that some of the residents had departed the house on a positive note, moving onto their own jobs and families.

For 20-year-old Dimas, this is exactly the reason why he moved from Malang, Central Java, about three months ago. After receiving nine years of formal education in a school for disabled children, he attained his high school degree from a regular school in Malang.

“I was told by my parents to go [to Cheshire House] to get some work experience,” said the softly-spoken Dimas. He said he’s currently learning how to paint woodwork, but hopes that he’ll eventually learn more skills in the future.

“The plan is that I don’t want to be here forever,” he said. “If there’s a working opportunity outside the house, I’ll take it.”

Dimas said his hope is to bring home the skills he masters in Jakarta. Shyly, he said, “I want to open my own business when I go back to my village.”

If Dimas is lucky, he may undertake other programs beyond what the house offers. Although the basic in-house programs offer skills training and a short English course, some residents have been able to join outside programs.

“Here, we try to facilitate them, but we urge them to develop interests on their own,” Mahmudi said.

Aside from Ida, who’s been building a career in tennis, a number of residents have been receiving training from external institutions, facilitated by the house.

Laeli has been attending Wall Street Institute English school in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta, for the past three months.

“I’ve always wanted to be able to master the English language,” she said. “This may be a far-fetched dream, but one day, I want to open my own small English language school.”

Another resident, Zainuddin, was enrolled in the Digital Studio Workshop in Kelapa Gading, after the committee recognized his talent for graphic design. Cheshire House is also planning to enroll five residents in the Intensive English Course language school.

“We usually try to first see what their potential is, what they’re good at,” Mahmudi said. “We want them to be disabled people who are ready to compete with the general public.”

The institution is planning to expand its programs and involve more of the residents in external activities, Mahmudi said, but it has encountered financial obstacles.

The average monthly cost to run the house is about Rp 28 million ($3,500), Mahmudi said. The residents are entitled to room and board, three meals a day and snacks. They also receive health care, including physiotherapy, daily checkups and vitamin supplements.

“We pay for everything,” Mahmudi said. “They [the residents] are here for self-empowerment.”

About 60 percent of the expenses are covered by Cheshire House’s financial backbone, The Red Feather Shop. Situated within the house’s small compound, the shop sells products that are crafted by the residents.

The handicrafts section offers products ranging from embroidered towels and napkins to coasters and bags, while the woodcraft items range from doll houses, including miniature furniture, to bookshelves and custom orders.

“The materials, the design, the finance and the quality control come from the committee,” said Laeli, who was managing the shop from behind a wooden counter. “Our residents make all of it. The woodwork is made by the men, while the handicrafts are mostly made by the women, and a few men also.”

Aside from the in-house shop, these products are also sold in bazaars and at some of Jakarta’s upmarket hotels.

As part of the empowerment initiative, the residents get paid for each item they produce. For small items like an oven glove, they are paid Rp 3,000 per piece, while a large doll house can earn them as much as Rp 150,000, Mahmudi said. A small portion of their earnings are donated to the house’s maintenance.

The committee’s main problem is covering the remaining expenses, which they need to expand the programs, Mahmudi said. “We’re really relying on donations if we want to make this place better.”

For some of the residents, living in Cheshire House means a second chance at a normal life, to make the best out of what they have.

Tennis queen Ida Yany confirms this.

“I like living here, I can do something useful with my life,” she said. “With my condition, I don’t want to be still and do nothing, I don’t want my life hampered by it.”

“With what I have right now, I want to do more and become better.”