No Surrender
though being separated
(Way of blessing through green beans
and toasted bread)
Herisen Witno Ngongare
Monday, 28 October 2019by adminstube
Started with a brochure of event sent to my WhatsApp from my cousin, Erik, one of Stube-HEMAT Yogyakarta team members, the words "You Failed?" and "Per Angusta Ad Augusta" appeared and was highlighted. This made me curious, because it was my first time reading those words and I wanted to know more, so I finally decided to join the event.
It turned out that this event is a training about failure! However, it is not merely a failure but failure is seen from the perspective of the Bible and psychology with the theme ‘Per Angusta Ad Augusta’, which means From Difficulty to Glory. As my reflection, I found a new spirit and gratitude that God never left our family and we are confident to keep going, and have some encouraging reflections, such as "Keep going with the right foot towards the future and the left foot in the past" which means, if we stop moving, we are stuck between two periods that can make us waver, so we should keep moving ahead and face the life with God.There was one session that impressed me so, which presented several people who had experienced failures and revived, such as Andmesh Kamaleng, who suffered grief but did not give up; Maria Calista, who uplifted her family through her talented voice; Marco C Alvino, dropping out of college but it did not make him give up; and Sudarmono who did not lose hope despite losing his two palms. Really, this training was very interesting because the participants had the space and opportunity to tell about the failures they had faced and how to formulate strategies to rise from the failures themselves.
The same with my life experience, in May 2006 before junior high school graduation day, my family and I faced a very hard situation when my father passed away and left us forever. He passed away when I still depended on him to help my school homework, while my brother still needed mental and financial support for college, and my mother who lost her husband, still needed life companion. When I heard my mother's cry, I felt brokenhearted. What came in my mind was a promise never hurt my mother. For years I helped my mother with domestic works and sold green beans ice and toasted bread. I had no doubt and ashamed to sell because this was the only way to continue our life and to pay my brother’s college tuition. Finally in 2010 I finished my high school and continued my study in Yogyakarta funded by my mother.
During my campus break I returned to my hometown, but instead I grieved my mother, I was dating with a girl, although my mother had ever reminded me not to date until I finished college, but I violated it. My mother was hurt again and tears came out because of my conduct. This situation reminded me what I had promised and felt that I had failed to look after my mother. I regreted and apologized to my mother. I kept this promise until I continued my graduate study and finished it.
Per Angusta Ad Augusta
Tuesday, 22 October 2019by adminstube
‘Per Angusta Ad Augusta’, is a Latin term having a meaning ‘from the difficulty to the glory’. These words encourage people to be tough during 'difficult time' by being optimistic until final success. Actually, failure can not be separated from human life, and how people respond to the failure in a constructive manner without losing good attitude is the very important, and most of all is how they learn from failure to find energy to start a new mood.
As an institution for mentoring students from various regions in Indonesia who studying in Yogyakarta, Stube-HEMAT understands that students going to study in this city bring their own burden on their shoulders. Hopes of success both from oneself and family, as well as relatives and local community become one of them. While during their study, they face competition, challenges, complexity, demands for high standard of human resources and changes that could obstruct them in realizing hopes of success. Many sad cases occurred in the midst of the process of realizing hopes, such as depression and even suicide. Through the Training on Learning from Failure with the title 'Per Angusta Ad Augusta' at Villa Taman Eden 1, Kaliurang, 18-20 October 2019, Stube-HEMAT invited students to build optimism to face all challenges especially how to respond failure.
Rev. Bambang Sumbodo, M.Min, the Stube-HEMAT board, opened the training by inviting students to be wise in making decisions. Making decisions is not easy. There are several types of decision making, namely, first, to make decision carelessly that tends to his own safety; second, to decide by considering the profit and loss of the decision, the most profitable will be taken; third, to make decision by considering the motivation of decision, based on true motivation. Nelson Mandela is one example of a decision maker based on true motivation, even though he had to bear 27 years in prison for his anti-racial struggle and discrimination in South Africa.
Understanding the causes and context of failure will help people avoid further failure and help find effective strategies. The experiences of several figures, such as Marco C. Alvino who dropped out of college but now live from corn business; Maria Calista, with her voice raised her family’s economy; or Sudarmono, a disabled person who makes living as a tailor, are real examples of people who rise from failure and have strategies in their lives. It is not easy to uncover failures because it means admitting mistakes and weaknesses, can bring down spirit and even open disgrace, even though this is a part to improve themselves and to find new provision of life.
Some of the participants' determinations to avoid failure are to expand their network by getting to know people, mapping out the causes of failure, sharpening skills to speak, practicing English, having sewing and business skills. So, young people remain optimistic to be self-equipped and to move forward to face the future. Per Angusta Ad Augusta! (TRU).
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