“No one has ever become poor by giving”

– Anne Frank

 

 

 

Since I was a little girl, I have been having a habit of refusing to accept a situation that is, in my perception, unfair or unjust. My parents recognized this since I was very young.

 

They both could laugh about it when they reflected on it in my 20s. They certainly weren’t laughing when I acted my impulses in my younger days.

 

They described me as relentless, stubborn, brave and often creative in coming up with ideas on what to do when I had a fixed goal in mind, even when they disapproved of it. They also told me that I would quietly do what I thought I needed to and not fuss about it along the process—too focused, at times, that I did not see anything else apart from the goal.

 

I am grateful to hear these reflections, as I am challenging myself to do something different today. This is why I am writing to you now, as I need your support.

 

Yes, I am asking for your help. Please read on.

 

In March this year, I embarked, together with a group of other facilitators and mentors, on what I considered the most important project I’ve ever done: Refugee Mentorship Program (RMP) which is co-led by Akino Tahir.

 

This fourteen-week program is put in place to support young refugees (18-24 years old) who are now located in Indonesia to:

• Develop a personal resilience mindset and skills;
• Improve interpersonal skills through exposure to Indonesian culture and language;
• Develop their ability to learn independently by introducing a structured learning process through basic research literacy.

 

In a nutshell, we would love to support these young life warriors to develop the most fundamental mindset, skills, expertise and network to rebuild their lives in such a difficult period.

 

Most of them left their country of origin unaccompanied – they moved without any of their families – in their early teens.

 

In this program, I supported these courageous souls to process and healed their traumas and reprogram their subconscious minds with beliefs and programs that would help them move forward in their life with more resilience, ease and hope.

 

This whole process was so intense for everyone involved and impacted them and me on such a deep level – the soul level. We met weekly for 14 weeks, and we all transformed throughout this journey.

 

I am not the same person I was at the beginning of this year.

Through this journey, I learned so much about healing, the human heart, and what matters more to me now during this period of my life.

 

With the help of Julie Grauel, one of my best friends and partner in turning reflection into stories, I finally started to verbally digest this journey into this new podcast episode (video and audio).

In it, I reflected on what I learned, realized and needed now. I also decided to ask for your help. What I want to continue actualizing in the future requires more heads and hearts than mine and the current people involved in this program.

 

Thank you for taking the time to listen and to let me know your ideas when you have them. Please write to me here: astuti@upliftmylife.today. If you would like to support/donate to the Refugee Mentorship Program, you can do it here. Thank you.

The goal that I have in mind is so much bigger than what I can do alone.

To honour my late parents’ advice, I am now choosing to share this goal and ask for help and support from those who resonate with it.

 

I am grateful for your attention, and I look forward to hearing from you.

With love,
Astuti

 

Let me know what you think about this episode via astuti@upliftmylife.today

Copyrights etc.: Music used in this episode: “On My Way” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). 

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License 

 

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