BOGOR, WEST JAVA — Often referred to as heroes, but their wages are far from commensurate. Especially those who are honorary teachers, their dedication in educating the nation’s future is often not worth the wages they receive. While people in urban areas are busy spending their THR money to prepare for Eid, honorary teachers in remote villages are not. In fact, their struggle is so great that they have to work tirelessly to be at the forefront of educating the nation’s children.
Too far away to think about getting benefits, the salary that should be received every month often stagnates for up to three months before it is paid. In fact, they also have families at home who need to fulfill their basic needs.
Thanks to the concern of donors who set aside their wealth, Dompet Dhuafa raised hundreds of millions of funds to be given as THR for family fighters, including honorary teachers. The THR of Rp1,000,000 (one million rupiah) for honorary teachers gradually began to be distributed on April 4, 2024.
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Waringin State Elementary School (SDN) in Bogor Regency was the first school visited by the Dompet Dhuafa Team. This school was established in 1984 with four study rooms that were blocked for six grades. In this school there are 4 out of 7 teachers who are honorary teachers. Like other honorary teachers, these four teachers only rely on salaries from the School Operational Assistance (BOS) fund. Of course, this is not a large amount to support the welfare of them and their families at home.
To deal with their family’s needs, some of them have side jobs such as selling or other odd jobs. This is what Sri Fatmawati (34) and Wawan Hendrawan (52) do. Meanwhile, others choose to open private lessons at home or to homes. This was done by Maulidya (24) and M Hilmi Al Haidar (23).
Mrs. Lidya, as Maulidya is known to the community, is proud to be a teacher at this small school. In fact, she firmly states that becoming a teacher here is her dream. Although she went to school in Jakarta, and even studied at a well-known private university in Jakarta, her goal is noble: to serve as a teacher in a remote area of the country.
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Ms. Lidya told me that at first she was assigned to three different schools as an intern from the university. Two of them were in the city, the last being at SDN Waringin. It was possible for her to continue as a teacher at the two schools in Jakarta where she did her internship. In fact, one of the well-known private schools in Kebayoran Baru had offered her a teaching position, but she still chose to become a teacher at SDN Waringin, albeit with honorary status.
“I have always wanted to be a teacher. It just so happened that during my internship, I was placed here. I like the people here, the children, the teachers, the environment. Anyway, after I graduate, I have to be a teacher here,” said the woman with a bachelor’s degree in elementary teacher education.
It was different with Mr. Wawan who was disappointed with the teaching profession. Being a teacher seemed to not have enough welfare, making him abandon the profession and choose to become an employee in hospitality. It only lasted a few years, and although he earned a much higher salary than being a teacher, he lost something. That is time for family and students. It was as if his soul was linked to the smiles of the students. Finally, in 2005, she returned to her calling, becoming an honorary teacher at SDN Waringin, until now.
“My pride is when the students I taught in the past can now be successful. They graduate from college, work in companies, and hold positions in companies. I never envy that their salaries are much higher than mine. In fact, that’s where my pride lies,” said the father of two.
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This is just a small part of the honorary teachers’ story. Each of them has a big reason why they are willing to serve even though the salary is not high. It turns out that it is no longer the salary they are looking for, but the satisfaction of successfully delivering students and students to reach the dreams they dream of. They may not expect THR from others, but we are the ones who need these people.
THR worth one million rupiah is still very small to replace their great devotion. Sahabat Baik, there is still a chance for us before the month of Ramadan ends to take part in this kindness program. Let’s set aside some of our THR for those family fighters through digital.dompetdhuafa.org/donation/thrpejuangkeluarga. (Dompet Dhuafa)
Text and Photo: Riza Muthohar
Editors: Dhika Prabowo, Ronna