Indonesian Catholics raise funds for Sister Cargo's shelter

Katharina Reny Lestari

Sister Laurentina Suharsih (center) who manages a shelter for victims of human trafficking in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province receives a donation raised through a charity golf tournament by the Cana Marian Grotto Community and Sahabat Insan, on Oct. 4. (Photo supplied)

Catholic groups in Indonesia have raised more than 1.2 billion rupiah (US$80,000) to help renovate a shelter managed by the Congregation of the Sisters of Divine Providence for victims of human trafficking in the country's East Nusa Tenggara province.

The funds raised by the Community of Cana Marian Grotto and Sahabat Insan through the fourth charity golf tournament in North Jakarta on Oct. 4 were handed over to Sister Laurentina Suharsih.

The nun said the funds will be utilized to renovate the shelter in November to enable the accommodation of 10 more victims.

Sister Laurentina is better known as 'Sister Cargo' for helping repatriate hundreds of corpses of illegal Indonesian migrant workers mostly from Malaysia since 2017 when she was sent by the Congregation to help victims of human trafficking.

At least 147 Catholics, Buddhists, Muslims and Protestants as well as followers of other religions took part in the fundraising event, according to its coordinator Elly Halim who told UCA News they'd decided to assist the nun's service after consulting with Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo of Jakarta.

By having a more decent and wider shelter, we hope that the nun will be able to reach out to more victims of human trafficking. We also hope that a training center, which will also be built, can help the victims to have better lives, she said, adding that money earned from previous tournaments too was handed over to Catholic groups in different regions.

Jesuit Father Ignatius Ismartono, an adviser to Sahabat Insan, said Indonesians, especially Catholics, need to pay serious attention to the rising cases of human trafficking.

Elman Sunarlio, a participant from St. Anthony of Padua Church in East Jakarta, said he had donated to the cause and hoped more people will join such charity programs.

East Nusa Tenggara is a predominantly Catholic province that is also one of the poorest in Indonesia. Poor families are easily lured by false promises of decent jobs and better lives.

Data from the Central Statistics Agency shows that 20.05 percent of the 26.16 million people living in poverty across Indonesia between September 2011 and March 2022 live in East Nusa Tenggara province.

Poverty is, indeed, one of several factors which make individuals vulnerable to trafficking, according to Sister Laurentina.

Many victims wanted to have decent jobs and better lives even though they did not have adequate skills. This is what I call 'an instant culture,' she said.

The nun said ending human trafficking will be a tough task. This is a crime which makes money. Authorities arrested only those who play small roles. Real actors remain at large, she explained.

She lamented that the government's Human Trafficking Prevention and Handling Task Force had failed in accomplishing its task.

What is the result? If asked, they always say there is no budget. This is so >

Many human trafficking cases victimize unskilled women and children from the villages, reveals data from the Women Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry.

A total of 1,331 people became victims of human trafficking between 2019 and 2021 of which 1,291 were women and children, data showed.