Sri Legiyem, Her Business Grows With PKH
Writer :
Alif Mufida Ulya (OHH Ditjen Linjamsos)
Translator :
Karlina Irsalyana
DEPOK (August 19, 2021) - The figure of Sri
Legiyem (48), a Beneficiary Family (KPM) of the Family Hope Program (PKH) from
Cimanggis District, Depok City, can be an inspiration for us who want to grow
their businesses.
Coinciding with the 76th
Indonesian Independence Day Commemoration Month with the theme Indonesia Tough,
Indonesia Grows perfectly describes Sri Legiyem's perseverance in growing
her business.
Like the PKH assistant in
Cimanggis District, Depok City, Muhammad Andika Riyadi, who revealed the
interesting side of Sri Legiyem. Andika said Sri has a strong awareness and
desire to keep growing and trying.
“There is a persistent
spirit and the spirit is different from other (KPM). There is a desire to
continue to grow awareness of being independent, and not wanting to
continue to be a recipient of assistance, she is already capable. And this
finally inspires other KPM mothers, I see,” said the man who is also trusted as
one of the PKH coordinators in Cimanggis District.
Starting from Sri's
anxiety in facing the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which had an impact on the
cracker and motorcycle taxi business that she and her husband have been running
for the past 25 years, she decided to sell her kitchen needs, starting with the
most frequently used spices, such as shallots, garlic, chilies, and tomatoes, by
online.
“From the moment we got
married, until almost 25 years, my husband was selling crackers. However, since
last year's pandemic, there has been no income at all from motorcycle taxis and crackers. I was confused, almost desperate for what to do. Everyone is
(switching from conventional transactions to) online, so we try to use online
to sell too," she said.
She tried her luck by selling kitchen needs online
through WhatsApp social media channel by taking advantage of the status and
group chat features in her immediate environment.
"I put status in the form of a video. Every
time I finished shopping, I made a video of all the ingredients, then many
people ordered. Or I write 'Please if you want to order on the list, I am
still waiting, that's it. So, they just need to list what they want to order.
There are those shopping for the week, shopping for the day, shopping for
celebrations as well," she explained.
Not only selling kitchen spices and fresh vegetables, but she
also sells processed side dishes and vegetables in cooked dishes. "If the
side dish is cooked, usually from the afternoon I have made the status 'Ready
for tomorrow morning'. I mentioned the menu choices that I cooked, such as
mushroom peppers, mackerel peppers, ferocious tamarind, and et cetera. Well,
later someone ordered all of those things. Alhamdulillah,
the response has been pretty good so far,” she explained.
Admitting initial motivation departed from the need factor,
gradually her motivation turned into a desire to continue to progress and
develop. “In the beginning, it was a necessity, vegetables and seasonings, if
they don't sell well, you can use yourself, cook yourself, and then you just
want to progress, keep trying and be happy in activities like this. Thank God,
there are requests from neighbors," she said.
She was able to reverse the situation from being
helpless due to the pandemic, to now rising against that helplessness, to
having her own grocery shop, in just a year.
PKH Assistance Set aside
for Business Capital
Everything she does can't be separated from her
efforts to set aside some money from the PKH social assistance that she
receives every three months. “Initially, I routinely set aside a little bit of
PKH assistance for later if suddenly there was an urgent need. At first, I
didn't think there would be a pandemic, it turns out that the benefits are for
this business capital," said this mother of four children.
Sri Legiyem was registered as a beneficiary of the PKH
social assistance in 2017 with four components at that time, namely one toddler
and three children who were in elementary school, junior high school, and senior high
school. Over time, the remaining two components, namely elementary and junior
high school children with the amount of assistance that he received was
approximately IDR 700 thousand every three months.
Some of the PKH assistance, Sri said, she uses for the
children's school needs, buying books, food, and others. Meanwhile, for the
other part, she added it to the shop's business capital because the customer's
demand for her kitchen needs was increasing day by day.
Realizing that the assistance is temporary, she is
reluctant to linger depending on the social assistance for her livelihood. As
group leader in the Family Capacity Building Meeting (P2K2), which is routinely
held in PKH, it also encourages her strong desire to be independent and become
an example for other KPM mothers.
"Because the assistance is only temporary, it can't
be forever, while the needs of the children's lives (until when) we never know.
From there, how to continue to grow again, be independent, be grateful to be
able to get out of PKH assistance, provide opportunities for others to get
similar assistance, "said the woman who had time to sell handmade
accessories.
Sri Legiyem has applied for graduation from PKH in
2021. However, according to Andika, as Sri PKH Companion, due to the pandemic,
the graduation process is being postponed for a while.
"We have received the graduation application,
but because of the current conditions, this PKH assistance is certainly very
meaningful for KPM to survive in a pandemic condition. So that, Mrs. Sri's
graduation application is currently pending, "said Andika.
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