Turning over a new leaf<\/p>\n
Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Kulonprogo, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
God's secrets are everywhere and His guidance can come anytime,
\nanywhere -- a prison is no exception.<\/p>\n
Sadiman Nur Widodo (Sandiman), 43, was formerly the leader of
\na gang of robbers in Yogyakarta. It was while serving time in
\nprison that he became enlightened about God's ways.<\/p>\n
A father of two, Sandiman was imprisoned after being found
\nguilty of robbing someone of seven kilograms of gold.<\/p>\n
He repented after being released from prison and set up the
\nal-Ghifari Islamic boarding school and an orphanage. Orphans and
\nchildren from poor families live there, take school lessons and
\nlearn about religion.<\/p>\n
Sandiman has an interesting story to tell. He entered the
\ncriminal world as a pickpocket when he was 10 years old. After
\ncompleting elementary school, he had had enough of school.<\/p>\n
\"I did not think going to school would be any use to me. After
\ncompleting elementary school, I went around Yogyakarta learning
\nhow to be a thief,\" he said.<\/p>\n
It was when he was 14 that he thought he had learned enough to
\nbecome a thief. He decided to move to Jakarta and practice his
\ntrade there. In 1977, he returned to Yogyakarta and remained in
\nthe criminal world: a thief, a gambler and a drunk. In 1983 he
\nmarried Ngadinem, now 40.<\/p>\n
In 1990, Sandiman thought it was time to step up his criminal
\nactivities. He recruited some people, formed a gang and began
\nrobbing Yogyakarta's wealthy. \"We were intelligent then. We
\ncollected information about every rich person in town,\" he said.
\nAt the same time, he sank deeper into gambling, womanizing and
\ndrinking.<\/p>\n
Sandiman and his gang committed dozens of robberies, always
\nmanaging to elude the police. But a bit of carelessness while
\nstealing seven kilograms of gold in Yogyakarta led to Sandiman
\nand several of his accomplices being caught. They were all
\nsentenced to four years in prison.<\/p>\n
Sandiman earned the respect of his fellow inmates as a
\nhardened criminal. In his first year in prison, he was able to
\nsend home Rp 500,000 to Rp 600,000 a month to his family by
\nextorting his fellow inmates.<\/p>\n
Shame<\/p>\n
Despite the money, his family was ashamed of him. They never
\nvisited him in prison and considered him dead. Ngadinem asked him
\nfor a divorce.<\/p>\n
\"Unlike other inmates, I never had a visitor in prison. After
\nmy wife's request for a divorce, my family cut off all contact
\nwith me. Life became meaningless. Afraid of losing my family, I
\nwent into a long and deep reflection. There was a time in prison
\nwhen I cried all night long,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Sandiman, a Muslim, was soon asking his fellow inmates about
\nhow to perform daily prayers. He was ignorant about religious
\nmatters but wanted to learn how to pray to ease his restlessness.<\/p>\n
Some of the inmates doubted his good intentions. Several
\ntimes, they poured water on him while he prayed. \"Look, this is
\nGod's answer to your prayers,\" they would say.<\/p>\n
Sandiman soon came to the attention of the al-Ghifari
\nFoundation in Yogyakarta, a nonprofit organization involved in
\nreligious activities.<\/p>\n
Sandiman began to learn more about Islam. In 1998, after
\nhaving his sentenced reduced by one year, he was released from
\nprison and decided to fully repent and become a new person.<\/p>\n
For the next three years Sandiman worked to find donors and to
\nconvince the public that he was a different man. In January,
\n2001, with funds from donors, Sandiman built an Islamic boarding
\nschool and an orphanage on 3,000 squares meters of land that he
\ninherited. The school and orphanage are called al-Ghifari.<\/p>\n
\"This is the second time I received enlightenment about God's
\nways. After I left prison, thanks to help from al-Ghifari, I was
\nable to find donors to establish the Islamic boarding school and
\norphanage,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The school and orphanage currently have 104 children. Sixty of
\nthem board at the school, while 44 others are day students. They
\ncome from poor families in Wonosobo, Magelang, Purworejo and
\nother towns.<\/p>\n
\"I am really nothing in terms of religious knowledge. But I
\nsincerely want to help develop a young generation that adopts the
\nright approach to morality and knowledge. There are many examples
\nnow of Islamic boarding school students who are good at reciting
\nthe Koran but can doing little else in their everyday lives,\" he
\nnoted.<\/p>\n
He said his boarding school relied fully on money from donors.
\nEvery year he needs some Rp 10 million to keep the school and
\norphanage running.<\/p>\n
Sandiman is also planning to start a workshop, which would
\nhelp him earn money and provide jobs for graduates of his
\nboarding school.<\/p>\n
\"But it won't happen for another five years. Only a few of our
\nstudents have reached secondary school. I will start the workshop
\nwhen there are more of them,\" he said.<\/p>\n
For Sandiman, the most important thing is to be useful to
\nsociety, especially as he was able to live with his wife only
\nafter their two children were already married.<\/p>\n
\"I am quite happy with my situation now. I will continue to do
\ngood and look after poor children. That is how I will repent for
\nmy past sins.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/turning-over-a-new-leaf-1447893297",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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