Various forms of attention, as well as solidarity actions, were taken to respond to the Lembata and Adonara Flood last April. One that took part in these solidarity actions was Bunda Mayora Victoria along with Fajar Sikka, the organization of the local trans women community that was founded by Bunda in 2018 in Maumere, Sikka. Bunda Mayora or also known as the first trans women public officer in Indonesia, is a Chief of Badan Permusyawaratan Desa (BPD) in the Habi Village, Kangae District, Sikka Regency, Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT).
Bunda, along with her friends, Mrs. Yolanda, Mrs. Paulina, from Fajar Sikka and Mrs. Venti as well as Mrs. Intan and Mrs. Bening from Lembata, and IKatan WAria Larantuka (IKWAL) were at the forefront of this solidarity action, distributing aids such as clean water, groceries, medicines, masks, clothes for adult and children, underwear and women necessities. From the first three to four days, the end of April to this July, Bunda and her peers were hand in hand in assisting Adonara and Lembata residents to get back on their feet again.
Two months after the flood, Adonara, and Lembata are entering the reconstruction phase. Assessment and documentation of the damaged school buildings, infrastructure as well as housing are already taking place. In the meantime, many of the local residents moved from the emergency posts to the family farms. The construction of standard/emergency housing of 2 rooms, using bamboo and foundation as the materials, has also gained government support.
The careful and special attention was given to the Ile Ape residents that saw their villages erased before them. Healing therapy for the children from 2 years old, 5 graders, and the middle school students was performed by Bunda and her friends. Most of the children now fear the water and the wind. Stories of water and wind that were brought by Bunda and her friends, reminded the children how water and wind could function and benefits our lives. Through fun games to create cool wind, Bunda reached and touched these children. Moreover, character-building also became another focus of this therapy session. To this day, the activity has engaged 40 to 50 children.
Not only that, but Fajar Sikka’s other mission is also to help the economy getting back on track. Fajar Sikka distributed assistance to the weaving communities that taken the form of business startup capitals, for example, by providing balls of yarns and cotton to create the Ikat, could earn them 400 thousand rupiahs. During the visit to emergency posts, Bunda also organized socialization regarding Covid-19 Health Protocol that is needed to be adhered to then masks distribution to stop the chain of Covid-19.
The assistance from Bunda and her friends were welcomed with open hands by the villagers of Amakaka, Ile Ape, and Oyong Barang. Bunda has distributed assistance to 60 to 90 households in each village. Through arisan (a form of rotating savings and credit) as well as the disaster stories that they spread, Bunda and her friends had fundraised the money and received assistance that is ready to be distributed to the public.
Yet, amidst assistance distribution, Bunda was also facing several challenges, the long distance travel from Maumere to Sikka that needs 4 hours journey, so Bunda have to leave very early in the morning, at 2 a.m and sometimes at 4 a.m to get to Sikka. Fortunately, NTT is rather safe, so there is less need to worry about traveling earlier in the morning. Another challenge is social jealousy because of the discrepancies in assistance distribution to fit each need and capacity While there was grief, was there also an entertaining story from the field. Many thought the trans women are a vulnerable community that is feminine, but, when Bunda visited the soup kitchen in the shelters and faced with urgent matters, causing Bunda to have carried the sack of rice by herself. Bunda quickly carried the sack of rice that made this a funny story to Bunda and the other refugees.
The solidarity action that was taken by Bunda to respond to the Lembata and Adonara floods, was not the first. Instead, Bunda has been active in social work long before Fajar Sikka was founded in 2018. Social assistance was among the social activities that Fajar Sikka organized. The other activity is advocacy that target the minority groups including transwomen, disabled communities, elders, and widowers as the main target population of the social activities in Fajar Sikka. The expectation is that through advocacy, minority groups could gain their identity cards (KTP), the social assistance (BST), Indonesia Health Card (KIS), Sikka Health Card as well as the other basic rights. Bunda also distributed another form of assistance such as the business startup capitals for the trans women to create and drive trans women communities’ active participation in the wheel of ecgetting back on track. Fajar Sikka distributed assistance to the weaving communities that taken form of business startup capitals, for example, by providing balls of yarns and cottons to create the Ikat, could earned them 400 thousand rupiah. During the visit to emergency posts, Bunda also organized socialization regarding Covid-19 Health Protocol that is needed to be adhered to then masks distribution to stop the chain of Covid-19.
The assistance from Bunda and her friends were welcomed with open hands by the villagers of Amakaka, Ile Ape and Oyong Barang. Bunda has distributed assistance to 60 to 90 households in each village. Through arisan (a form of rotating savings and credit) as well as the disaster stories that they spread, Bunda and her friends had fundraised the money and received assistance that is ready to be distributed to the public.
Yet, amidst assistance distribution, Bunda was also facing several challenges, the long distant travel from Maumere to Sikka that needs 4 hours journey, so Bunda have to leave very early in the morning, at 2 a.m and sometimes at 4 a.m to get to Sikka. Fortunately, NTT is rather safe, so there is less need to worry in traveling earlier in the morning. Another challenge is social jealousy because of the discrepancies in assistance distribution to fit each need and capacities. While there was grief, was there also an entertaining story from the field. Many thought the trans women is a vulnerable community that is feminine, but, when Bunda visited the soup kitchen in the shelters and faced with urgent matters, causing Bunda to have carried the sack of rice by herself. Bunda quickly carried the sack of rice that made this a funny story to Bunda and the other refugees.
The solidarity action that was taken by Bunda to respond the Lembata and Adonara floods, was not the first. Instead, Bunda has been active in social work long before Fajar Sikka was founded in 2018. The social assistance was among the social activities that Fajar Sikka organized. The other activity is advocacy that target the minority groups including transwomen, disabled communities, elders and widowers as the main target population of the social activities in Fajar Sikka. The expectation is that through advocacy, minority groups could gain their identity cards (KTP), the social assistance (BST), Indonesia Health Card (KIS), Sikka Health Card as well as the other basic rights. Bunda also distributed another form of assistance such as the business startup capitals for the trans women to create and drive trans women communities’ active participation in the wheel of economic of Nusa Tenggara Timur.
The working mechanism of Fajar Sikka is really a reflection of Fajar Sikka’s founding stories that grew out of concern during Bunda Mayora’s journey as a trans woman. Bunda saw many acts of violence against trans women when she was in Yogyakarta, even when she was doing a street performance to provide for herself. The concern after seeing herself and her peers not having identity cards, unable to gain basic rights because of it, and unable to express themselves. For Bunda Mayora, kindness is necessary for erasing the stigma and in fighting for inclusiveness, “Experience of kindness has been in my life ever since I was young until I am grown. I have been in a life where everything is abundant. Then, when I become a trans woman, my life becomes very modest, there are many stigmas, discrimination, and many things that feel unfit. Then, I thought to myself, until how long do I want to hate the situation. This is life. (As long) as our lives are, let’s do good. When we departed, we don’t bring anything. Everyone deserves kindness from the universe, from God. I too have been healthy because of acceptance.”
Started from inclusiveness, Bunda Mayora with her Fajar Sikka peers have been actively involved in society through the Integrated Health Centre cadre, working in the soup kitchen, and supporting the KLB.
I reached out to Catholic friends, Moslem trans women, Moslem and Christian widowers. This is tolerance, even with vulnerability, we are not limiting ourselves, we do good deeds, and the resentment falls in, the government accepts us. Since 2018, to this day, no matter what the gender concept was that only men and women, coming from the out of question families, that people thought (only) know of cooking, grooming, women with feral works, but now, many people support us, co-existing with us, added Bunda. And eventually, Bunda Mayora, Fajar Sikka is not only bringing the lights in the Lembata and Adonara disaster. But also becoming the lights, in the darkness that was facing the minority groups especially the trans women communities in Sikka.