Suheri reaps success against all odds

Suheri reaps success against all odds

Susanna Tjokro, Contributor, Jakarta

When accidents happen, sometimes the impact may be unbearable. It
changes the way you live your life, particularly if it causes
permanent damage, such as a physical disability. The initial
desperation can be very a damaging emotion, but these feelings
usually lessen over time.

Suheri is living proof of that.

Today he is a well-known dollhouse maker, all of which
happened after the car accident that changed his life. Suheri was
born and raised in Palembang, South Sumatra. On a fateful day in
1971, he joined three friends to go hunting. Everything went
smoothly until the jeep passed a winding, slippery road.

The driver lost control of the jeep and it flipped over,
veered right and crashed. Suheri was sitting next to the driver
in the jeep and lost consciousness. All of them ended up in a
hospital, but Suheri was the only one to suffer permanent
injuries.

The doctor broke the news to him that he had irreversible
spinal injuries, causing paralysis. He went to Jakarta in order
to get a better treatment. At first he was hospitalized in a
private hospital for a month, without any progress.

He later moved to Fatmawati Hospital in South Jakarta, taken
care by an orthopedist as there was no spinal specialist. The
three-year healing process bored him to death.

"Aside from lying in bed, there was nothing else I could do,"
Suheri said.

In 1977 his wounds started to heal and he was confined to a
wheelchair. His physiotherapy gave him hope that he would be able
to walk again. Despite therapy, however, he eventually had to
face the reality that he would be in a wheelchair for the rest of
his life.

There were some difficult emotional issues; he knew he
couldn't do the things he had been able to do before. The ordeal
affected both his mental and physical health. Fortunately it
didn't last forever. He learned to think positively.

He knew he could either allow himself to become severely
depressed or try to get something positive out of the situation.

"I reminded myself that despite the fact I was in a wheelchair
user, I still could use my other body parts," said Suheri.

At Fatmawati Hospital, Suheri and several other wheelchair
users were trained to make various wooden crafts, like picture
frames and wooden toys, among others.

He moved to Jakarta Wisma Cheshire Home, inside Fatmawati
hospital's compound, in 1974. It had been opened that year by
British man Leonard Cheshire as a home to care for paraplegics in
wheelchairs.

Today, Cheshire Foundation is taken care of and supported by
Indonesians and expatriate volunteers. The foundation promotes
the creative power in paraplegics and develops their self-worth.
It makes them believe that despite their disability, everybody
has their own talent.

Suheri lived with three other wheelchair users as the home's
first occupants.

At its workshop they made various wooden crafts, such as
picture frame, toys and crutches. They sold those crutches to
other hospital -- Sumber Waras, St. Carolus, Cipto Mangunkusumo
and Jakarta Hospital to name a few.

Later, one of the British helpers brought a dollhouse to
Cheshire. Suheri and his colleagues learned the skill to make the
dollhouse through carefully studying the one brought to them.
Their dollhouses won the hearts of many kids.

Suheri also enjoyed success outside the workshop. He was sent
by the National Sports Council (KONI) to the Paralympics. He
competed in various events, such as table tennis, wheelchair
racing, archery, javelin, shooting and lawn bowls. Competing with
other disabled world-class athletes helped increase his self-
esteem.

"Besides, I got the opportunity to travel the world. I've
visited the UK, China, Japan, Austria and Australia," said Suheri
brightly.

He left Wisma Cheshire to set up his own small welding company
in 1989, with a soft loan of Rp 1 million He rented a small house
across from Fatmawati Hospital and turned it into his workshop
cum house. He made kitchen sets and chairs for food courts, among
other goods. Dollhouse was not the main merchandise. It only took
him less than one year to repay his loan.

The business went well, until the advent of high interest
rates along with the economic crisis that struck in mid-1997. The
cost of materials soared and business dropped, except for the
dollhouses.

Suheri decided to focus exclusively on making the dollhouses,
and a friend offered him use of his unoccupied house for free in
Bukit Cirendeu, Jakarta. Grateful Suheri uses it as a workshop.

"When I started the dollhouse business, many local passersby
dropped into my workshop out of curiosity. Some people had no
idea that what they saw were actually dollhouses. They thought
those houses were for pets, be it birds, kittens, puppies and the
like," said Suheri with a smile.

Initially all his customers were expatriates, but then locals
started to buy them. News spread by word of mouth at a time when
Barbie was getting more popular. Barbie, Ken, Kayla and the like
need a house to settle down.

Kids may also buy accessories to dress up their Barbie, from
handbags to shoes. And the good news for parents is that the
prices are reasonable. Although the goods are not made by Mattel,
they are worth a look and relatively cheap considering their good
quality.

Cars (Rp 200,000), bathroom sets (Rp 75,000) and other
colorful plastic goods join the ranks. A beautiful red satin ball
gown is an irresistible bargain at Rp 15,000. A set consisting of
a cute hand-knitted wool sunhat, tank top and matching pants is
relatively cheap at Rp 15,000. Besides some Barbie lookalikes, a
few genuine Barbie and My Scene dolls from Mattel are also on
offer, at prices lower than in the stores.

Little girls (or their parents) may even design their own
dream house. The smallest dollhouse (65 cm x 75 cm) costs Rp
270,000. By paying additional an Rp 75,000, the owner gets a bed,
dressing table, dining set and a set of chairs. Other furniture,
say a four-poster bed (Rp 25,000), bunk bed (Rp 25,000) and
rocking chair (Rp 15,000) are also on display.

Committed fans of Barbie may order their own furniture which
resembles Barbie House to match their dollhouse, such as a desk
(Rp 400,000) and cupboard, just to mention a few. The cupboard
(90 cm x 1.85 cm) is priced at Rp 700,000.

He started out with two craftsmen, but today he has 15. Some
fellow disabled friends are his suppliers. They work from their
own homes, making mini furniture, from sofas to bunk beds. The
business generates monthly turnover of more than Rp 30 million
per month, as the cheapest dollhouse costs Rp. 270,000.

"I sell about 100 or 150 dollhouses per month. Some of my
customers even resell those dollhouses in the Netherlands,
Bandung, Kalimantan and Cinere (Jakarta). A few weeks before
Christmas are our peak season," said Suheri.

Unmarried, Suheri lives with three teenage nephews and a
niece, Santi Puteri, 13. I was impressed by her mature ways in
helping her uncle. She greets customers cheerfully, answers all
questions and deals with them in a thoroughly professional
manner. Suheri takes care of them, sends them to school and in
return they help him run his business.

Suheri does not go hunting along with his friends anymore. He
cannot do the things he was able to do before and he has had some
problems, but he has bounced back. His life changed, for sure,
but he does not look back in anger. He keeps going forward.

"Don't give up easily. Patience, determination and commitment
will pay off," said Suheri.

Surviving against all the odds, today Suheri is 55, without
the use of his legs, but still going strong.

------------------------------------
Para Handicraft
Jl. Depan R.S. Fatmawati No. 38
(Next to Apotik Melawai)
South Jakarta
Tel: (021) 751 32 47
-------------------------------