Turning over a new leaf

Turning over a new leaf

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Kulonprogo, Yogyakarta

God's secrets are everywhere and His guidance can come anytime,
anywhere -- a prison is no exception.

Sadiman Nur Widodo (Sandiman), 43, was formerly the leader of
a gang of robbers in Yogyakarta. It was while serving time in
prison that he became enlightened about God's ways.

A father of two, Sandiman was imprisoned after being found
guilty of robbing someone of seven kilograms of gold.

He repented after being released from prison and set up the
al-Ghifari Islamic boarding school and an orphanage. Orphans and
children from poor families live there, take school lessons and
learn about religion.

Sandiman has an interesting story to tell. He entered the
criminal world as a pickpocket when he was 10 years old. After
completing elementary school, he had had enough of school.

"I did not think going to school would be any use to me. After
completing elementary school, I went around Yogyakarta learning
how to be a thief," he said.

It was when he was 14 that he thought he had learned enough to
become a thief. He decided to move to Jakarta and practice his
trade there. In 1977, he returned to Yogyakarta and remained in
the criminal world: a thief, a gambler and a drunk. In 1983 he
married Ngadinem, now 40.

In 1990, Sandiman thought it was time to step up his criminal
activities. He recruited some people, formed a gang and began
robbing Yogyakarta's wealthy. "We were intelligent then. We
collected information about every rich person in town," he said.
At the same time, he sank deeper into gambling, womanizing and
drinking.

Sandiman and his gang committed dozens of robberies, always
managing to elude the police. But a bit of carelessness while
stealing seven kilograms of gold in Yogyakarta led to Sandiman
and several of his accomplices being caught. They were all
sentenced to four years in prison.

Sandiman earned the respect of his fellow inmates as a
hardened criminal. In his first year in prison, he was able to
send home Rp 500,000 to Rp 600,000 a month to his family by
extorting his fellow inmates.

Shame

Despite the money, his family was ashamed of him. They never
visited him in prison and considered him dead. Ngadinem asked him
for a divorce.

"Unlike other inmates, I never had a visitor in prison. After
my wife's request for a divorce, my family cut off all contact
with me. Life became meaningless. Afraid of losing my family, I
went into a long and deep reflection. There was a time in prison
when I cried all night long," he said.

Sandiman, a Muslim, was soon asking his fellow inmates about
how to perform daily prayers. He was ignorant about religious
matters but wanted to learn how to pray to ease his restlessness.

Some of the inmates doubted his good intentions. Several
times, they poured water on him while he prayed. "Look, this is
God's answer to your prayers," they would say.

Sandiman soon came to the attention of the al-Ghifari
Foundation in Yogyakarta, a nonprofit organization involved in
religious activities.

Sandiman began to learn more about Islam. In 1998, after
having his sentenced reduced by one year, he was released from
prison and decided to fully repent and become a new person.

For the next three years Sandiman worked to find donors and to
convince the public that he was a different man. In January,
2001, with funds from donors, Sandiman built an Islamic boarding
school and an orphanage on 3,000 squares meters of land that he
inherited. The school and orphanage are called al-Ghifari.

"This is the second time I received enlightenment about God's
ways. After I left prison, thanks to help from al-Ghifari, I was
able to find donors to establish the Islamic boarding school and
orphanage," he said.

The school and orphanage currently have 104 children. Sixty of
them board at the school, while 44 others are day students. They
come from poor families in Wonosobo, Magelang, Purworejo and
other towns.

"I am really nothing in terms of religious knowledge. But I
sincerely want to help develop a young generation that adopts the
right approach to morality and knowledge. There are many examples
now of Islamic boarding school students who are good at reciting
the Koran but can doing little else in their everyday lives," he
noted.

He said his boarding school relied fully on money from donors.
Every year he needs some Rp 10 million to keep the school and
orphanage running.

Sandiman is also planning to start a workshop, which would
help him earn money and provide jobs for graduates of his
boarding school.

"But it won't happen for another five years. Only a few of our
students have reached secondary school. I will start the workshop
when there are more of them," he said.

For Sandiman, the most important thing is to be useful to
society, especially as he was able to live with his wife only
after their two children were already married.

"I am quite happy with my situation now. I will continue to do
good and look after poor children. That is how I will repent for
my past sins."