There is a house in Bandung, not far from Daarut Tauhid, one of the biggest Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia, where boxing saves lives of people living with HIV every day.
Founded by five people with HIV and history of drug abuse in 2003, this house aims to support people living with HIV, engage their members and wider community to come together and break stigma through sport.
Ginan Koesmayadi, Co-Founder Rumah Cemara, which had been living with HIV for almost 16 years, shared his inspiration to start this community to Our Better World, a storytelling initiative of the Singapore International Foundation, that people like him were still stigmatized because there’s a lack of information about HIV in Indonesia. Meanwhile, more than 600,000 people are living with HIV in Indonesia, according to UNAIDS.
“I feel sad when all my tableware is separated from others. I am hurt. More so when you know that the stigma is coming from people very close to you, like your friends and family,” said Koesmayadi.
The boxing gym is one of Rumah Cemara’s ways of helping people like Koemayadi, those with HIV/AIDS or drug addiction, by keeping them fit through sports, providing a space for community and giving them a chance to demonstrate what they can do for their communities.
Dimas Bayu, one of the boxer in Rumah Cemara said to Our Better World, the first time coming there, he couldn’t help to feel afraid of the people with HIV. Today, he understands and helps to break stigma and discrimination. “There’s nothing to worry about because they’re just like us.”
He also praised how Koesmayadi and Rumah Cemara helped him found himself through boxing. “Here, I learnt boxing from Ginan [Koesmayadi]. I learnt how to motivate myself when I’m feeling down, also from Ginan. I’m here today, on this level, because of him.”
Today the house is growing with more members and the need for bigger space. Jimmy, head of sport development for the house, confessed with a smile, “That pavilion used to be a hen house.”
The house and its residents live in harmony with the local communities, who are mostly students and teachers from the Islamic boarding school.
"We invited the ustadz (teacher) of the boarding school, and he came to give us his blessing," said Jimmy.
A story by Our Better World – telling stories of good to inspire action
