COVID-19 Updates From the Field: Stories from Indonesia

Covid-19, Stories | February 17, 2021

Remember Hascaryo? CBM first met Hascaryo during the Covid-19 pandemic through our work with partners in Indonesia. Hascaryo is a single father and lives with mental illness, and was supporting his family through his business of creating gift boxes. When the pandemic sent everyone into lockdown, his business suffered and he was struggling to remain positive and provide for his child. Hascaryo is however an avid entrepreneur and initially turned his focus to being motorcycle taxi service. As lockdown continued, fewer and fewer people needed to travel and he had to rethink his options. With the support of a CBM partner, Hascaryo did some training on making protective face shields that complied with the health standards.

Well now his fingers move with speed and finesse to make more and more face shields, increasing his income – now he can more easily meet the needs of his son and himself. His confidence continues to grow too! While he wishes life would return to how it was before Covid-19, Hascaryo is proud of himself and his ability to adapt and rise to the challenge of the pandemic.

CBM has been thrilled to hear how Hascaryo has continued to flourish, despite the challenges of Covid-19. As Hascaryo said, in tough times “We have to adapt, because silence doesn’t solve the problems.” And he continues to do just that.


CBM acknowledges the support of the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP). 

Pledge to stand in solidarity with all our neighbours, and encourage our government to provide vital support to vulnerable nations by signing the End COVID For All pledge here.

Donate to CBM’s COVID-19 Crisis Appeal here.

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