MEET JOhn

Every child yearns for a father figure in his/her life. I did too. Unfortunately, I never had one. 

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My father was abusive and killed my sister. Because of this, I was sent away to be raised by my aunt, who is single. This void made me angry and I was a rebellious and challenging boy growing up.

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I was expelled multiple times due to my behaviour and picked up drinking. To finance my addiction, I bullied other students to give me their pocket money so that I could buy alcohol. After graduating from high school, I used violence on the streets to get money to buy alcohol. I had an axe which I used to threaten people.

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One day, I was offered by Wahana Visi Indonesia to learn organic farming at TLF but I refused. My aunt begged me to go as I was just lazing at home and causing trouble. In the end, I decided to apply as I thought organic farming sounded interesting. Besides I could also do arts and sports there so I decided to go.

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Initially, I struggled to manage my time and lacked discipline to keep up with the program. It was very tough but I desperately wanted to excel. I wanted to do well in the program as it was something that I can be proud of. Besides, I no longer want to see my aunt cry for what I've done. I didn't want her to cry because she was frustrated with me. I wanted her to cry because she is proud of me. The constant help from volunteers and mentors helped me to learn many valuable life skills and overcome my barriers. The void left by my father was slowly healed by the love showered on me.

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Now, I feel angry when I see young people hanging on the street doing nothing.  I want to help them, like how TLF helped me.