Shaloom Razade Decided to Be a Foster Parent: I've Never Been Grateful

JAKARTA - The social journey to East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) left a deep impression on Shaloom Razade.

The daughter of Wulan Guritno admitted that she received a hard slap after seeing the inequality of educational facilities but was still accompanied by a high spirit of learning from the children there.

Shaloom revealed that as a representation of the younger generation living in big cities, he is rarely exposed to the reality of life that is limited.

"Maybe from my perspective as a younger child, the younger generation, we have never been exposed to such a situation," Shaloom said at an event in Senayan, Central Jakarta, not long ago.

This situation made Shalom do a pretty sharp self-reflection. He felt that he had not been grateful for the ease he had.

"Because yes, maybe until now I was very ungrateful, and I was very handsome because with the very inadequate facilities they were still very enthusiastic," he said emotionally.

For Shalom, the spirit of children in remote areas of NTT far surpasses his when he was still in school.

"Even when I was in school, there was a lazy one, what was it like. We were so handsome and they were still grateful and they were happy to live it," he continued.

This experience also opened Shalom's eyes to be more caring and started sharing kindness.

"So I'm handsome and also open in the sense that we can share goodness with those who have less. This is one way to expose the situation of our friends out there for young people to be more aware," he hoped.

Seeing her son's change, Wulan Guritno also shared an interesting story behind Shalom's decision to sponsor children. Wulan told how she tried to compare Shalom's lifestyle in Jakarta with the cost of assistance for children in NTT.

"When I came back from there, I asked how much pocket money? How much to eat at a restaurant? Chocolate, don't lie, don't be hypocritical, right," recalled Wulan.

Wulan tried to explain to Shalom that the money that is often spent for momentary pleasure can be very meaningful for the future of the children there.

"Imagine the child, how much money can he do, how long, Kak. Then finally he was called, finally he took care of the child now," said Wulan proudly.

Shalom's decision turned out to have a domino effect in his own family. Shalom's younger brother, Landon, even expressed a similar desire to set aside his pocket money.

"Landon also wants to take care of the child and says, 'Can I have pocket money, Ma, half of Mama gives me half more...' but he doesn't have a KTP yet so he can't," added Wulan.