On 6 October 2019, I volunteered as a tutor at Yayasan Pemimpin Anak Bangsa (YPAB), a not for profit organisation focusing on continuing formal education for underprivileged students. I taught a non-curricular class: diversity and multicultural inclusion.
I admit I volunteered, mostly, because of selfish altruism. I needed to be inspired. I was in a low point of life. I was working in a toxic environment (I was part of the senior management, so I am partially to blame too). I wanted to feel better about myself. And the easiest way to feel good is to do something for other. I am hacking my social animal instinct.[1]
Additionally, Kiki, one of the founders of YPAB, who is also a co-worker and a good friend, is a very persuasive individual.[2] He has successfully persuaded some of the firm’s staff to volunteer as tutors: Vera, our then finance senior staff, taught high school level accounting and Renata, our client relations staff, taught Mandarin.
I want to contribute, but I have never been interested much in Indonesian structured education curriculum. School was a place to socialise, the academic learnings were extra for me. I am more inclined to abstract thinking. When Kiki came out with diversity and multicultural topic—something that I truly care as someone who identified himself as ‘transnational’, ‘multicultural’, and ‘traveller’—I had all the reason to say yes.[3]
At first, I was reluctant to include ‘controversial issues’ such as atheism and homosexuality. I thought the students are grass root Indonesians, they may not ready to discuss them in constructive manners. Then I remember someone wrote that liberal intellectuals who think most people are easily offended and cannot understand liberal ideas are actually elitist snobs. The cultural war will not be won by discussing Camus whilst sipping wine and whisky among privileged and educated social circles. So I went for it.
The classroom was crowded. There was only one fan in the room to help mitigate the room temperature, and they kindly directed it to me. The class was briefly interrupted with power outage. However, all the students listened attentively. Engaged. None of them was looking at their smartphone when I was presenting. Many of the women were wearing hijab. There was even one lady in burqa who consistently made eye contact and I saw no contempt when I declared I am an atheist muslim.
In summary, I taught them about affinity bias; on how we have the tendency to like or more comfortable with people who look like us. I also explained the concept cultural identity as something abstract and relative but most importantly malleable. One’s emphasis on the value of identity may not be the same with others; for some religious affiliation is important, others their profession matter more. I also taught them about our prejudices. As humans our reptilian brain have them intuitively, affected by our upbringing. Yet as humans we can check our assumptions with our reasoning. I closed the session with pro-social questions. There are several questions which acceptability differs in certain cultures. For example, “What is your religion?” and “How much is your salary”—one is acceptable in Indonesia and the other in Singapore.
They gave me a wonderful little surprise for me: birthday cupcakes. They sang happy birthday to me, celebrating my belated birthday. I am not really into cupcakes, but the gesture made me into cupcakes.
I did not plan to stay long after class. But then I talked with Kiki, co-founder Dora and the volunteers Dira[1] and Vera, in the administrator’s room. There was also Pak Junardi, he was a director in one of the largest telco company in Indonesia. He visited YPAB to consider volunteering as a tutor.
I did not realise yet that the administrator’s room that day became my class room and I had 5 powerful tutors.
Pak Jun said he is a kampung boy, grew up in a small village near Blitar (he said it is not even in a map). He migrated to Jakarta after getting a degree as a mechanic from a vocational school. He worked at the casino as a dealer (it was the Ali Sadikin era, that’s how senior he is). When the casino was shutdown, he became a peddler selling cigarettes. Then he found employment as a biology teacher.
He had two advantages that made him a good teacher: he can and read English books; and a kampung boy knows plants. He told us that when he did not have the money to buy books, he’d hang around a bookshop for hours and read and made notes (public libraries were not common in Jakarta, even until now they tend to have limited collections). His hobby is bonsai.
We all wanted to know how he joined and climbed to the top of corporate world. However, he was saving that for his official class in YPAB. As further teaser, he told us that he is a certified 7 Habits coach and he has been coached by Stephen Covey himself. During his time in corporate world, he instructed his managers to write their personal statements. He still have his pasted on his home office desk.
After Pak Jun left, Kiki and Dora told me their war stories in building the organisation.
I am impressed with YPAB Tanah Abang facilities. It is located in a building owned by PLN, the Indonesian state power company, by the Ciliwung River. It is a humble building, right at the heart of a slum, a hotspot for their ‘target market’. Yet they have everything a proper school has. Some of the rooms even have air conditioner. If their tangible assets are these impressive, they must have great intangible assets.
Both Kiki and Dora are highly (internationally) educated and well travelled. They have powerful professional careers. Despite their privilege, this is not to say that they are immune to setbacks. Dora had an employment dispute and was let go when the firm she was working for was acquired. It was during that tumultuous period she built YPAB. Kiki left a promising career at now the biggest law firm in Jakarta, partly because he was struggling with mental issues, then he built the foundation.
When they started, they struggled to acquire and retain ‘customers’ (i.e. students). Apparently, many not-for-profit organisations focusing on continuing formal educations are less than credible. They issue the degree to the students without actually administering the education. The administrators’ unjustly profit from the grants, the faux students got a formal degree without having to put the time and efforts for educating themselves.
Consequently, funders need to be convinced that YPAB is legit. While they need to find customers who are actually willing to invest in education. Kiki told me how he struggled with the latter. Many marginalised people are unable to see the benefits of investing in education. Given the financial stress they are under, they have more pressing needs to get a job. Their time spent on studying is time lost on working. Additionally, the pragmatic use of a formal degree is to get a job. Thus, in short term, the less than credible organisations which can offer the degree without requiring them to study and attend class have more interesting proposition.
When YPAB Tanah Abang was opened, one student enrolled. Reluctantly. He was late for 1 hour, making the tutors wait. When it was raining, he said he could not go to school despite his home is walking distance. Kiki picked him up with umbrella.
They ‘market’ the program by approaching people in public. When Kiki was working as a lawyer in an international law firm, they went to drivers’ cafeteria in CBD office buildings to handout flyers during lunchtime. They spoke to peddlers on Car Free Days, pitching their free education programmes.
YPAB secured a significant grant in 2014. They told me how they spent sleepless nights preparing for the proposal and pitching to the funder, each contributing their professional skills. They were competing with larger organisations with good reputations too.
Kiki said things are progressing fast when Rizal Arryadi joined as headmaster. He is a brilliant educator. Now, people are on the waiting list to enrol. If a student slack off, they would be expelled and replaced. Students are coming from as far away as Bekasi and Bogor (YPAB even subsidised their train fare). Some of the students are admitted to public universities.
YPAB stories are classic entrepreneurship lessons. The underdog stories that everyone loves.
The vision, the purpose, the focus, the teamwork, the experiments, the sacrifice, the dedications to customer service, and the fun and joy. They are all textbook grit implemented. I can see why they have powerful career. Their skills and resilience are transferrable to any other aspect of life.
I imagine how painful it is for Kiki to listen to surface level jargons such as ‘#Clientsetisfaction#’ (the misspelling and double hashtags are exact quotation). Kiki has built and developed a credible, real organisation, delivering valuable education services with significant constraints. Not just a papier-mâché relying on empty branding and often deceptions.
That Sunday, I was in a company of amusing characters. Their non-conformist and bold attitudes allowed them to live such a impactful, therefore meaningful, life. It was a Sunday well-spent. I was and still am, inspired. They reminded me that there are talented good people creating good places.
However, I feel ‘small’ at the same time. I realised I have been too self-absorbed lately. I think only on how to make things work at the firm (a hopeless cause, now I learned) and how to maintain my expensive lifestyle. I worried about money most of the time. Feeling guilty for not being productive and failing to achieve my ‘targets’.
I have forgotten that none of us can walk through life with impunity from sadness, sorrows, and worries. I was suffering in a false sense of isolation. By giving myself to someone and something beyond myself, I woke again.
[1] I also meditate daily and undergone psychotherapy.
[2] I recruited Kiki in October 2018 as an associate lawyer for the firm I was managing. Just a month after I was hired as the deputy managing partner, I needed to restructure the team of lawyers. Budget was tight but the only way to improve was to recruit talented people. Kiki was referred by a former co-worker and a friend. I never thought a person with such high qualifications would accept the offer we made. He could have found a much more competitive offer in terms of salary and remuneration.
[3] I once attended a CPD class on Multicultural Inclusion by Simmon Holiday when I was working for Herbert Smith Freehills. So I copied and modified the materials to fit profiles of YPAB students (I hope it is not a copyright infringement since it is for ‘non-commercial use’).
Andira is a volunteer for PPKN subject