Police Officer in Sikka Educates Dozens of Orphaned Children
For over two decades, Aiptu Veronika Kolidin (43) has quietly dedicated herself to serving orphaned children in Sikka Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). Since 4 October 2004, the female police officer serving in the Intelligence and Security Unit (Satintelkam) of Sikka Police has educated dozens of orphaned children, provided assistance to elderly care facilities, and helped construct adequate housing for the elderly.
A resident of Dusun Apinggoot, Desa Umagera, Kecamatan Kewapante, she has carried out these social activities for 22 years. Dozens of children have benefited from educational assistance from Veronika’s hands.
“Over the last three years, approximately 20 individuals have received help, ranging from primary school to university level. My work focuses on education, including school fee payments, provision of school uniforms, shoes, socks, notebooks, writing materials, textbooks, sports clothing and equipment for primary, secondary, upper secondary school and university students,” she explained when confirmed by detikBali on Monday (9 March 2026).
Beyond assisting orphaned children with education, Veronika also regularly distributes aid to elderly care facilities. The assistance includes basic groceries such as rice, ground corn, chicken eggs, sugar, tea, bath soap, washing soap, as well as clothing, sandals, and kitchen equipment.
She also provides other household items including buckets, plates, bowls, glasses, water kettles, mugs, ladles, basins, kitchen knives, napkins, alongside bed springs, pillows, bed sheets, and blankets.
Veronika stated that the education costs for orphaned children are largely sourced from her salary and allowance as a police officer. However, this income is not always sufficient to meet their needs.
“Naturally it is insufficient, so I sold coffee, ginger tea, fried bananas and cassava with terasi sambal from 2018 to 2024, as those children had finished or completed school and some already had employment, others had moved away and started families, so I stopped selling coffee and tea,” she added.
Beyond financing the education of orphaned children, Veronika and her family have also initiated a programme to construct adequate housing for the elderly in Sikka Regency.
Veronika’s decision to help orphaned children stems from her family’s simple life experience. She grew up from a farming family in Sikka.
“We came from a very simple family; both my parents were farmers, and my father also sold young coconuts at Geliting market or Bajo market, known locally as Regang Bam bihan Geliting,” she explained.
Veronika recalls that when her father’s coconut merchandise did not sell well, the fruit was often exchanged for basic necessities.
The coconuts were frequently bartered for one litre of rice, granulated sugar, block bread, Lifebuoy bath soap, washing soap, extra-strength soap, finger soap or Nusa coconut soap, as well as used or secondhand clothing.
That childhood experience later cultivated her determination to help orphaned children so they could have a better future.
“To complete their education and achieve a decent life,” she concluded.
Receiving Three Awards
Veronika’s dedication to social activities has also gained recognition. In 2022, she received three awards from the NTT Regional Police Commander.
The awards were presented in recognition of her work as an inspirational female officer, a female officer demonstrating participation and innovation, and as a liaison officer and interpreter in the Interpol General Assembly.
She also served as an interpreter in bilateral meetings between the Indonesian National Police and delegations from German, Turkish, and Bulgarian police forces. Veronika is known to have proficiency in English, German, and Arabic.