Each and every noble person that we meet is incredible but Mr. Abdurrahman has a special place in our hearts….
Rain was pouring mildly in the southern part of the capital, particularly in Kalibata and Tebet. Streets were wet, wind was blowing hard that staying at home would be the perfect way to spend a lazy Saturday on January 28, 2017.
We had to leave the house though. We had a mission of finding Mr. Abdurrahman, one of the noble people whom we would love to put into a list of the noble persons taking part in our second #KNJSocialExperiment titled #SoliaGoesToMall.
We took off from Palmerah station. Pasar Minggu Baru was our desired station and Tebet Barat market became the destination. The unusual Saturday was on.
From Palmerah station, we were transferred to Tanah Abang station where we took another train trip heading to the Pasar Minggu Baru station. From the point, we took a public minivan taking us to Kalibata station. It turned out we stepped down at the wrong station. It should have been Kalibata station instead of Pasar Minggu Baru!
We resumed our journey by taking another public minivan from Kalibata station to Tebet Baru market. When we got there, the market was still operational though probably not as hectic as it was in the morning. The market was relatively small, composing of a few floors only. People in Jakarta mostly know this market as the best place where they can find and order designs for invitations.
We were searching Mr. Abdurrahman throughout the market from the lower to the uppermost floor. Each floor is the home for different sellers; one is for those running business on cards, invitations, and ready-to-enjoy foods and drinks. The second floor houses businessmen on plastic and house utensils. Upper floors are the centers of spices, vegetables, meats and fruits.
We were roaming the market. We even asked for information from some sellers yet to no avail. Mr. Abdurrahman was not seen at all during the search. We then walked out from the market, wishing his face was somewhere around it. But again, he wasn’t there.
We decided to end the effort then. We would come back a few days later on as suggested by one of the people who often see Mr. Abdurrahman in the market.
As our attempt failed in the Tebet Barat market we resumed our search in Blok M area, quite far from the first place. We went to the spots where the inspirational figure usually offers his service of measuring consumers’ body weight in the busy business section but the results were still zero!
We were preparing another noble person should we didn’t find Mr. Abdurrahman by Wednesday, February 1st.
Alhamdulillahirobbil’alamiiiin (thank God), we met him in Blok M several days later. He was seen waiting for customers. We were beyond words! Finally meeting him when we were about to give it all up.
After we told him our intent of inviting him, Mr. Abdurrahman was enthusiastic. He said he would bring along his wife. He said that he is about 70 years old. He lives only with his wife in Jakarta.
A few days after the meeting, we went to his rented room in Manggarai, South Jakarta. Mr. Abdurrahman was working in the Tebet Barat market so we only met his wife, Mrs. Nunung, 56 years old.
This woman is very friendly. We were having a good time talking with her about her husband, their family and her wishes about the #SoliaGoesToMall project. She said her husband had sold porridge before he was offering the service of measuring people’ weights. Their three kids are all reside in Subang, West Java, while occasionally visiting their parents in the capital.
Mrs. Nunung said they remained living in the capital because they were finding it hard to find jobs in the village. “We have no rice fields. What could we do then (in the village)?”, she said.
We parted with her as the day was approaching dusk. After fruitless attempts, visiting the family made us feeling grateful, satisfied and relieved for that was all worth it.
Writer and editor: Eny Wulandari
make a better world with a smile, keep fighting and always pray to Allah SWT