Persons With Disabilities In Surabaya Present Bags For Puan Maharani

SURABAYA - There was something interesting about the visit of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, to Tambakrejo Market, Surabaya. Wandering from one corner of the market to another, when she was about to shift, Puan was approached by Ahmadi, a bag craftsman.

"This is our bag, ma'am," said Ahmadi to Puan, Wednesday, March 2.

The lady immediately stopped. Listen carefully to Ahmadi's explanation. Ahmadi is from the Tiara Handicraft group, an empowerment movement for people with disabilities and school dropouts.

Ahmadi handed over a number of bags created by him. Batik motifs, Ahmadi bags come in various types and sizes. There are various color choices.

Puan looked amazed by the work of the people with disabilities. The spirit of never giving up on the situation amazed Mrs. "All is well," said the grandson of the proclaimer of Indonesia, Ir Soekarno (Bung Karno).

Ahmadi's smile radiated from his face even though he was covered by a mask. She is happy that her work has been appreciated by the first woman to become the chairman of the DPR.

Ahmadi intends to gift the bag to Puan. But Puan wanted to buy it, then handed over some funds. Puan bought up four bags made by people with disabilities. "The bags are cool. Keep up the good work," said Puan to Ahmadi.

Ahmadi is part of Tiara Handicraft, which is passionate about empowering people with disabilities. Tiara Handicraft was started in 1995 by recycling used bottles. In 1997, Tiara Handicraft began to develop the production of bags and souvenirs made from cloth.

"Since then, Tiara has focused on empowering people with disabilities. So far, we have empowered, trained more than 800 people with disabilities to be independent," said Titik Winarti, the head of Tiara Handicraft, to the media after meeting Puan Maharani.

Ahmadi himself joined Tiara Handicraft since 2005. He started everything from scratch. Ahmadi uses a modified sewing machine, adjusting to his body condition. "The most difficult thing is adapting the sewing machine," he said.

In the midst of limitations, Ahmadi never give up. Not only learning sewing techniques and bag production, Ahmadi also studied various aspects of business management. "I want to be independent, become an entrepreneur," he said.

He studied management, marketing, design trends, to public relations. All aspects are considered by Ahmadi to support his business. After feeling capable enough, Ahmadi then made "Kanta Craft". "Since 2013 I have been self-employed," he said.

He has worked with various types and sizes of bags. "Not everything is immediately good. Sometimes designs arise from mistakes. I think hard so that the wrong material is sewn not to be wasted, so that it can still be completed and marketed," Ahmadi said.

Regarding the choice of name, namely "Kanta", it turns out that it has the meaning of lens. Of course, it is accompanied by the hope that these works can be a means to see how truly people with disabilities do not want to sit idly by and continue to work tirelessly in improving their lives.

"I am happy and grateful to be able to meet Mrs. Puan Maharani. She is very proud of her making our bag, and hopefully she will be pleased to wear it later," he said.