“Waah, it’s not only Edi who has saved up! I have saved up some money too since last June,” protested Nani Sugiarti, one evening when I praised Edi. We were talking beneath the jackfruit tree, in Edi’s front yard.
Nani is a sweet, simple girl chosen by her friends to be the group’s secretary. She was the only KTM PPB member to have had a proper education I used to meet her early in the morning, while she was preparing to go tap rubber with her mother. Now, Nani is the assistant manager of PT. Palmdale Agro Asia Lestari a palm oil plantation. Nevertheless, she still joins in the activities of the group.
“Ya, Bang. Paustinus, Sarjono, Ropinus Induk, Emerensiana and most of our friends have started saving at CU,” said Edi proudly.
I was silently proud of them. It was not in vain then to have gone back and forth to the village to manage the PNPM Peduli program.