Aid in Action

Ibu Siti’s Secret in Stretching her Budget

 | Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Ibu K. Siti Halimah Sadijah is constantly looking for ways to stretch her monthly budget and make ends meet. Running an orphanage for 25 kids on an extremely tight budget is something Ibu Siti has perfected. As the head of the Yapista Orphanage, she is responsible for all aspects of running the orphanage and making sure the kids living under her care get what they need and are healthy. So when she heard of Air RahMat, a new way to get drinking water, she was both cautious and intrigued.

She was introduced to Air RahMat through Pak Agus from Yayasan Sahara Indonesia, an Aman Tirta partner. Pak Agus works with the orphanages in the Bandung area and met with Ibu K. Siti to introduce Air RahMat to her. Right off she saw the benefits of Air RahMat in the economical savings she could get from switching from refill water to Air RahMat.  The orphanage was consuming 3 galons (19 liter water cooler bottles) per day at a cost of Rp. 3,000 per galon. In any given month she was spending close to Rp. 270,000 just in drinking water. Then she started using Air RahMat and hasn’t looked back, saving Rp. 250,000 per month.  She reports that she hasn’t had any problems with Air RahMat and says, “With 25 children living here, this savings goes a long way, and the kids are healthy, and also I don’t need to worry about the kids getting into accidents boiling the water.”

She is also using Air RahMat in the school canteen school across the street. There she was going through 5 galons a day. Again she found the economical benefits great, but also says, “Using Air RahMat is also practical and easy. I don’t need to bother with all the hassle, especially when making ice, no more boiling and cooling and then packing. Just add Air RahMat and then pack and put into the freezer, practical and fast”. Since the first day until now, no one has complained.

Seeing how Ibu Siti has used Air RahMat and how she has liked it and how much it’s helping the orphanage, Dr. Agus brought Ibu K. Halimah’s story to a meeting of all the orphanages for West Java.  They are open to the idea of trying Air RahMat, and hopefully they can also experience the benefits of using Air RahMat while keeping the children healthy and happy.