Amalia Nur Wahyuni
My name is Amalia Nur Wahyuni, I am 30 years old. I am coming from Bogor, Indonesia but currently I live in Bremen, Germany, I’ve been living in Germany since Mai 2021. I came to Germany because I was an Au Pair (Youth who lives in the Host Family to learn the culture, language and support the parents by taking care of the children). I got the chance to become an Au Pair through YCM (Yayasan Cipta Mandiri) and Gesine (Founder of YCM).
Bunga Hikmawati
My name is Bunga Hikmawati, I was born in a small and unwell known countryside, namely Kebumen, Central Java, Indonesia. I had lived my own childhood until teenage years. I am the youngest of seven children, due to financial limitations, my parents could not provide a decent education for all the children. However, we cannot choose where, when, and to whom that we would be born, but we can choose what path that we take.
Alma
Meet Alma, a vibrant and friendly young woman who joined YCM some years ago. She joined YCM when she was 14 years old. She is the eldest of 5 siblings. Her father is a humble religion teacher, and her mother is wandering around the kampong selling frozen foods door to door. They used to live a very simple life as their parents earned very small amount of money for their lives.
Dimas
Dimas is a young man who was born and grew up in the city of Bogor where YCM is located. Dimas is a special man, who stays on my mind. He is a polite and motivated person who wanted to change his life to be a better one.
I have simple stories yet inspirational about him and touched me deeply. Thus, let me introduce him first. I got to know Dimas since he came for the first time, when he joined YCM. A sixteen-year-old boy who could not continue his education to high school due his hardship of life. His father was working as a casual worker for construction. Who earned money when he had work to do, otherwise nothing to earn.
Resti
My name is Resti. My father passed away when I was born, and my mother raised me by herself. Since I was in primary school until high school, my aunts and uncles helped me to pay my tuition fees. Unlike my mother, most of them were working as civil servants. This made my mother desperately wanted me to become a policewoman, she thought if I am a policewoman, in the future I will earn pension fund when I retire. My mother earned money by selling foods to our neighbors. I graduated from senior high in 2010 and I had no dream at all as I was forced by my mother for becoming a policewoman. After I failed the test for becoming a police for couple of times, I gave up.
Dery Syaputera
He grew up without a father figure who passed away since he was in elementary. His mother hardly to communicate with him and he tried to figure out his life since then. He struggled a lot in his elementary and high school years, without knowing direction and negative environment could easily manipulated his acts. He often played hooky from school, stole others’ belonging, cheated, fought with his friends and many other mischievousness. When he was fifteen, he decided not to continue his study, instead he chose to become an angkot’s driver (angkot is a public transport in our city).
Kiki
Kiki faced a challenging and heartbreaking turning point in his life when his father passed away just as he graduated from junior high school. The loss left his family in financial hardship, making it impossible for her mother to afford his continued education. While his friends advanced to high school or vocational school, Kiki could only watch, feeling hopeless and ashamed, haunted by the thought of a future that seemed bleak and uncertain.
Amir
There are many extraordinary impressions that are difficult to convey one by one, but it is clear that today's life is obtained from how we spend our time from 5 years, 10 years or even 15 years ago. It turns out that YCM not only provides knowledge but also provides a perspective on the direction of life in a family way, sharing other people's life experiences and
taking moral messages and applying them in life.
Fiqri
YCM played a significant role in shaping my academic and career path. Through the foundation, I learned the importance of perseverance, self-motivation, and the power of education. In 2019, I began volunteering at YCM as a tutor, sharing the knowledge I had gained with others. By 2021, I started working as an accounting staff member while continuing my tutoring role until August 2023. After graduating from university, I was eager to seek new opportunities and further expand my professional experience. Currently, I serve as a Finance Assistant in the Grants Team at CIFOR
Herman
Hermansyah joined YCM around 2004 after receiving information from a friend. After joining YCM, Hermansyah experienced many positive changes in his life.
He was grateful for gaining valuable knowledge, especially in English education and other essential skills. The knowledge he acquired at YCM helped him continue his education to a higher level. He felt that his learning experience at YCM became a valuable asset for his future.
Ari Nugraha
Ari is a young man who decided to join YCM when he was 11 years old. A neighbor told him about Yayasan Cipta Mandiri (YCM), a House of Dreams for underprivileged young people to gain knowledge, confidence and skills. He is indeed a clever one, but unfortunately his parents were not supporting him to come to YCM. For them, Ari must help the financial condition of the family as his father who is an angkot (minibus public transport) driver struggles to earn enough money for the family’s daily needs.