Food assistance ignites hope for family living in earthen-floored home

Manado (ANTARA) - In a house far from luxurious in Environment V, Bailang Village, Manado City, North Sulawesi, lives a mother named Hayati Sahempa (45).

Behind her simple life lies the long struggle of a mother who strives every day to ensure her family can eat and survive. Hayati is a resident living below the poverty line, recorded in the 1st and 2nd deciles. Alongside her husband, who works as a daily casual labourer, she must support four children.

Her husband’s work is not available every day. When there is work, his maximum income is around Rp60,000 per day, but when there are no work calls, there is no income to bring home. The family’s living conditions are far from decent. Their house has plywood walls and stands simply with all its limitations. At the back, there is a small kitchen where Hayati prepares food for her family. The kitchen walls are made only of bamboo and zinc, while the floor is still bare, uneven earth.

For Hayati, that small kitchen is more than just a place to cook. It is where she struggles to provide food for her four children. With minimal equipment, she continues to cook rice and whatever is available. There is no luxury, only a mother’s determination to keep her family surviving day by day.

Every plume of smoke from that simple kitchen serves as a witness to Hayati’s struggle. Amidst the family’s uncertain income, rice and food ingredients are not always easy to obtain. There are days when household needs must be adjusted to the money on hand. In that kitchen, Hayati demonstrates that limitations do not necessarily extinguish hope.

She may not have a sturdy house, a steady income, or an abundant life, but she possesses something much greater: the fortitude to continue fighting for the four children under her responsibility. Amidst their hand-to-mouth existence, Hayati is deeply grateful because one of her children also receives government assistance, attending education at Sekolah Rakyat Menengah Pertama (SRMP) 21 Manado.

“Thank you, Mr. President, thank you to the North Sulawesi government, who always help us,” Hayati said in a low voice. For a family struggling daily to meet basic needs, this opportunity is more than just news about school. For Hayati and her husband, their child’s admission to the school represents a new hope—a hope that their child can continue to receive an education and have a better future, despite the family’s very limited economic conditions. Therefore, when her child was accepted, Hayati felt immensely grateful. The family’s burden feels slightly lighter, and most importantly, her child still has the opportunity to learn and pursue their dreams.

Food Assistance

Amidst the busyness of Hayati’s simple daily life, a message arrived from the local community head. The message may have seemed brief, but for Hayati, its contents brought profoundly meaningful news. The Head of Environment V Bailang, Ibrahim, conveyed that Hayati’s name was recorded as a recipient of government rice food assistance for the July, August, and September 2026 allocation. The rice is distributed through Perum Bulog to the village office and then forwarded to the beneficiaries.

Reading the message, Hayati felt relieved. Given her husband’s uncertain income as a casual labourer, the rice assistance is incredibly significant for her family. For some, a few kilograms of rice might seem simple, but for Hayati’s family, who must support four children with an unpredictable income, rice is a primary necessity that determines what is served on the dining table.