Poverty and Lack of Opportunity: Are They Siamese Twins?

Poverty cripples people’s lives…in so many cases. Recently, my cousins and I had a light chatting about our late parents through our family WhatsApp group. One of them mentioned that her mother only had the opportunity to attend school for two years. She had to drop out to support her poor parents who produced and sold cakes to survive.

It was more than 80 years ago and during that colonial era lives in small towns on Java Island were very difficult.

It was not only her mother. My mother, her younger sister, also had to walk the same path. She also only had the chance to go to school for two years. And at her very tender age, she had to help collect banana and pandan leaves, prepared the cakes and did other chores at the kitchen.

Once in a while, years ago, my mother reminisced how she was so dearly loved by her teacher because she was so humble and very smart. Even many years later, when she happened to meet her teacher again, she still showed her deep affection to my mother and regretted that she did not have the opportunity to study to higher levels.

Later in her life, following the death of my father at the age of 39, my mother made a living from the skills she had perfected for so many years at the kitchen. She baked and sold cakes for several years. Later on, she opened a small restaurant selling chicken soup, chicken curry, satay, and other kinds of delicious local culinary.

Through the small restaurant, she could save some money to help fund my schooling. And I was much more fortunate because I could complete my college education. Her support on my education might be her way to realize her unfulfilled dream through her youngest son. And I’m always very grateful for all her love, support, and silent toil and suffering for me.

Poverty cycles

Poverty, indeed, almost always walks hand-in-hand with the lack of opportunity. If you are poor, it is so difficult to dream big things. With so limited financial resources, it is difficult to access quality schooling…and even to feed your bodies with the needed basic nutritious meals.

Many poor children, like my mother and aunties, often had to drop out of school at primary or junior high and became child laborers. And they end up working menial jobs with very minimal wages or earnings. And the poverty cycles go on and on for generations.

My two older brothers were among them. Soon after my father passed away, they had to stop schooling at their teenage age and entered the work force to support their lives. They had no skills and had to start right from the bottom of the ladder. Lives were very hard for both of them, even up to tens of years later.

Not long after entering grade 10, I also almost quit schooling because I had no dream where my life should be directed to. I almost applied for a job as a shop attendant in a faraway island in eastern Indonesia. I thought that with my sufficient math mastery and humble character I might be able to be a good shop attendant.

Fortunately, the Lord had a much better plan. Just at the same period, my classmates asked me to join them to a weekly student gathering. We sang gospel songs and listened to the sermons tailored for young generation. And months later, I met Brother Jonathan Soepardjo, a guardian angel the Lord sent to salvage me from my helplessness.

He tirelessly mentored me to become a member of the quartet group he was establishing. Soon we – The Calvary Boys — started singing at the fellowship and scores of churches not only in Surabaya, but also in other towns. He often asked me to share my personal spiritual journey with Jesus Christ to the public where we sang. The opportunities forced me to come face-to-face with my psychological trauma to speak in front of many people.

The quartet’s last performances were in scores of gatherings and churches in Singapore more than two years afterwards. Brother Jonathan grew up there before returning to Indonesia a few years before meeting us. The Singapore experience brought about lasting transformation to my life as I was realizing the importance of English. I soon enrolled at the English department after returning to Surabaya.

Breakthrough during bleakest year

If you are poor, you need to find some breakthroughs to help catapult you from the poverty trap. In my case, I was very fortunate because the breakthrough discovered me during my bleakest year through Brother Jonathan.

But you need not wait and expect similar transformative experiences to come your way. During this social media era, you yourselves can be the ones who proactively searching for your life transformations.

If you need visions or advices to help drive you into more productive and meaningful lives, you can easily discover millions and millions of ‘online recipes’ to help you breaking your poverty shackles.

Of course, if you want to interact with real persons who could walk along site you through your life journey — like Bother Jonathan to me — you need to take the initiative to join community groups near you. You can join fellowships similar to my experience where you can interact with caring sincere brothers or sisters who are willing to be your mentors. They will be able to inspire you to embrace your brighter future.

Indeed, amid all the information technology advancements these last few decades, we are still social human beings who need intense interactions with other people. You will surely benefit — and psychologically and spiritually healthier — when you could nurture sound and deep inter-personal relations with other persons. And through such ties, you might eventually learn critical life lessons that will substantially change your life journeys…for the better.

So, are poverty and the lack of opportunity being destined to be inseparable Siamese twins? You are the ones who can prove that this idea is completely wrong. Even if they are like Siamese twins, with the Lord’s loving help, you will have the power to entirely separate them for good…and embrace much more fruitful lives.

And not only enjoy lasting transformation of your own lives, but also enable you to help transform many other lives the Lord entrusted to you. (HS)