He was right. He did not have to sell dog meat that cost Rp 30 000 a plate. He did not have to sell used clothing from house to house just like when I met him for the first time during an assessment in Loncek. He was now a final year undergraduate at the Mathematics and Natural Sciences Faculty (MIPA) at University Tanjungpura, Pontianak. He was an educator, facilitator and was now flying from places to places on a plane.
He told of his last days spent playing the dice. It was during his years at lower secondary school (SMP). To obtain an education, Edi had to leave his parents at home in the village. He lived at the student hostel owned by the church at Korek village not far from his own village about a day’s journey using a motorboat.
One night during a festival in the village, he went with his uncle and bet on his whole savings at the gambling table. If he won, he would be able to pay his school fees and all expenses for his stay at the hostel. But, what happened next? All the money he saved up from selling dog meat was gone — taken by the bookie. He had wanted to return to his hostel with a mountain of money, now his luck was turned and he was left with bitterness and tears.
“I asked money from my uncle, but he said that he too had none.”
