Professional funeral services a friend in time of sorrow

Professional funeral services a friend in time of sorrow

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Many cultures around the world cherish the belief that death
is not the end but merely the beginning of another great
adventure, a transition from this life to the next. As such,
burial ceremonies are usually the most elaborate.

The Egyptians embalm their dead so that they can return to the
body, the Chinese burn paper money so that their dead will have
provisions in the afterlife and the Javanese sweep the road where
the dead will be carried along to clear away any obstacles in the
soul's path to the netherworld.

But regardless of whether the dead benefit from the rituals or
not, these ceremonies are really aimed for the living, to assure
families and friends that their loved one has received a proper
burial.

It also provides an opportunity for relatives and friends who
share in the loss to express their love, respect, grief and
appreciation for a life that has been lived.

It is difficult for the bereaved to have to look into the
preparation details of funerals, especially when the death was
unexpected.

Depending on the culture and religion of the deceased and his
family, these preparations may include choosing a coffin, the
method and location of the final resting place -- whether by
burial or cremation -- bathing the dead, arranging a cleric and
transportation to the cemetery.

"Sometimes the family is just too shocked to be able to look
into the preparations, and neighbors are very rarely able to
help," Susan E., head of operations at the Bunga Kamboja
Foundation (YBK), said.

A noble idea to help those in need prompted D. Walandouw,
founder of YBK, and others to establish foundations that handle
funeral arrangements. Many of these foundations are nonprofit,
relying on those they help to be able to continue operations.

Bunga Kamboja Foundation (YBK)

The YBK, established in 1960, collects a small monthly fee to
finance the funeral preparations of its members. For as little as
Rp 1,500 (about US$0.148) to Rp 3,500 a month, members are
entitled to a full funeral service for any religion in the event
of death.

The difference in price only affects the amount of grief money
received by the surviving family as a token of sympathy, Susan
said, explaining that a Rp 3,500 a month membership entitles the
member's survivors to Rp 80,000.

The privilege, however, only becomes effective after three
months of membership.

For Muslims, funeral preparations include a white shroud, soap
and rose water for bathing the body, a tub to bathe the body in,
a body bathing service, boards to line the grave, a varnished
teakwood grave marker, transportation to the cemetery and a
graveside service.

Christian members receive a white shroud, gloves and socks,
towel and soap for bathing the body, tulle for the cross, a
varnished teakwood grave marker, transportation to the cemetery,
and a 10 percent discount on the price of coffins.

"We don't give away coffins because they are so expensive, but
we do sell them," Susan said.

Coffins on sale at the foundation range from Rp 8 million for
a two meter long satin-lined coffin with a two-piece lid, to Rp
1.25 million for a white cloth-lined wooden coffin with a single
piece lid.

The foundation also provides a funeral service for nonmembers
for Rp 500,000 for adults and Rp 450,000 for children under 10
years of age.

"But we give priority to our members," Susan said, adding that
the nonmember price excluded a Rp 160,000 ride in a hearse within
city limits.

To date, the foundation has 85,231 members, including those
from government offices, private firms, neighborhood associations
and individuals, she said.

The foundation also provides cremation and embalming services
that it coordinates with the Cilincing crematorium in North
Jakarta for the former and the Medical Faculty of the University
of Indonesia for the latter.

"We don't dare do our own embalming, we prefer to let the
experts do it," Susan said, adding that the cost for an oven
cremation was Rp 1.2 million while formaldehyde embalming cost Rp
650,000.

She said that besides Muslim and Christian burials, the
foundation also does burials for other religions, although not as
often.

With 26 hearses to transport the body to its final resting
place, the foundation provides services for at least 10 burials a
day, Susan said.

"You just have to call us and tell us the deceased's
membership number and we will take care of everything for you."

Tabitha Consolatory Foundation

For those who like a complete Christian service, including a
cemetery plot, then the Tabitha foundation in Kemayoran, Central
Jakarta, may be more suitable. Membership costs a little more
than the YBK, but it includes a Rp 300,000 plot at the Pondok
Rangon cemetery in Bekasi, West Java.

Membership comes in two schemes; the regular scheme costs
between Rp 50,000 and Rp 150,000 with a monthly fee of between Rp
2,000 and Rp 6,000, while the Care scheme costs Rp 1 million for
a lifetime membership.

Tari, Tabitha's membership administration staff, said that for
the regular scheme, the difference in membership and monthly fees
affects the type of coffin provided.

"The highest class includes a Rp 2.15 million coffin while the
lowest includes a Rp 1.85 million coffin," she said, explaining
that members joining the Care scheme were provided with services
higher than that of the first class service in the regular
scheme, including a Rp 3.9 million coffin.

Services provided by Tabitha include socks and gloves, veil,
perfume, hand-held floral wreath, guest book, grievance card, a
collection box and grave marker.

Tabitha also provides services for a standard cemetery plot,
cremation papers, death certificate, a hearse for three journeys,
and an announcement on Radio Pelita Kasih.

Cremations are provided by the Cilincing crematorium and
Nirvana crematorium in Muara Tawar, Bekasi, and cost between Rp
730,000 to Rp 1.9 million.

As of July 2001, the foundation had 19,307 members registered.

Rumah Gadang Foundation

The Rumah Gadang Foundation in Rawamangun, East Jakarta, also
handles funeral arrangements for the public. Established in 1978
by Sajuti Saman and several others from West Sumatra, the
foundation was originally limited to Muslim Minangkabau, a tribe
from West Sumatra.

"But knowing that we provided funeral services, neighbors
started asking us to help with their funeral arrangements, and we
really couldn't turn them down. They're neighbors after all,"
Jessy Sajuti, the daughter of the founder, said.

Unlike YBK and Tabitha, the Rumah Gadang Foundation does not
collect membership fees.

"We used to, but we scrapped that and now the service is on a
first-come-first-serve basis," Jessy said, explaining that
membership from 1978 to 1980 used to cost Rp 250 a family per
month, but was discontinued due to difficulties in collecting the
fee.

She said that the service was based on pure charity and that
it was carried out first before there was any mention of cost.

"Afterwards we request the clients to pay for the service and
that is usually a minimum of Rp 500,000," Jessy said, explaining
that the cost already included bathing the deceased and
transporting the corpse to the cemetery.

With such limited funding, she admitted that the survival of
the foundation after 24 years was nothing short of a miracle.
"It's amazing really, we only have three hearses, and not even an
office, but to date we have helped bury 10,000 people," she said.