This is a story about two tough women who earn a fortune with extraordinary struggles for their family. Katinem and Sri Lestari Name. Both of them are Rapel collectors who work in tandem, riding a motorcycle together to pick up trash posted by users in the Yogyakarta City area. Working together lightens and speeds up the pick-up and weighing process at the user's location, "I weigh and record it in the application, Ms. Sri sorts it out," said Katinem.
Katinem comes from Jambi, while Sri Lestari comes from Klaten. Fate brought the two of them to become neighbors in the Umbulharjo area. Katinem is quite well-trained in the world of trash, because she has become a mire before getting to know Rapel. When she was an itinerant seller, Katinem went around looking for people who wanted to sell their waste. Once upon a time, after going around for half a day looking for trash, none of them could be picked up. "We sat on the edge of the river. See there are lots of bottles at times. We take it with a hook. We go through times. It's sad that it's hard to find money. It feels, O Allah,” he recalled then smiled. He also never forgets how the bad stigma of scavengers often hurts his heart. Starting from the words and behavior that are less wearing, he has ever felt. For him, all of these are life lessons to be able to appreciate others more and be grateful for all the sustenance that He has outlined.
His life slowly got better, when in early 2020 he decided to join Rapel. The mother of three children admits that it is enough to help the family's economy, meet daily needs, pay school fees for children, rent rooms, and so on. "It's much more prosperous to join Rapel. First, we don't tire around, we wait to be picked up. In the past, it was not necessary to get around. Then first enter the housing, some are not allowed to enter. Now you can enter elite housing because there are uniforms too, there are many customers," said Katinem. A similar feeling was also felt by Sri Lestari, "At first I was just trying, but thank God, I was able to meet my daily needs," she said.
Hopefully their stories can inspire us to fight harder, both for our families and for the environment. In fact, collectors are the foremost warriors in efforts to manage inorganic waste in households. Call collectors by downloading the Rapel application on your device, segregated waste will be weighed and valued according to the application. (THW)
