I am Charles Angell, 86, a retired fisheries biologist. Through a former colleague and friend, Jean Gallene, who lives in Medan, Indonesia, I previously donated , along with friends funds to pay for medical treatment for the student's mother and have continued to assist the family from time to time with my personal funds.

I have started this campaign to raise funds for the education of a young Indonesian student currently living in abject poverty without the means to pay for his education beyond secondary school, but with the ambition to continue his studies at a technical school and the goal of earning a decent living to lift his family and himself out of poverty. Upon completion of his studies, Rehan will be able to get a good paying job in automotive technology or a related field, support his family and lift them all out of poverty. Our goal is to raise USD 11,500 to support Rehan for the full three years of his degree program. I will send funds to Rehan through his mother, Wulandari as they become available until we reach our goal. In this way Rehan can continue his education uninterrupted.

Here is the background as to how I became involved with the family of Ibu Wulandari :

I lived and worked in Indonesia, specifically Ambon, from 1980 through 1983 as part of a team to develop a fisheries faculty at Pattimura University. In the years from 1986 to1991 I was working with a UN Food and Agriculture Project based in Chennai, India during which I met Jean Gallene. Then from the mid 1990’s through 2001 I undertook various consulting assignments throughout Indonesia. I mention this just to let you know that I have spent a few years in Indonesia and am familiar with the difficulties many families confront in their daily lives.

My former colleague and now retired fisheries technologist and friend, Jean, and I have been exchanging emails since his retirement to Medan, Indonesia. Several years ago Jean asked if I could help him raise funds to help a former neighbor, then nearly destitute. At the time Ibu Wulandari , his former neighbor, was suffering from a severe case of gout and did not have the money for treatment. I appealed to some friends for assistance and they generously added to what Jean and I could afford. The treatment was successful. Wulandari could return to her meager source of income, making and selling snacks to school children. However, last year a flood destroyed what few belongings she and her small family had, leaving her, her wheelchair bound mother and young son, Rehan, totally destitute. She and her family now depend on the generosity of neighbors and Jean for food and the medicine they need to treat malaria and her mom’s heart condition. There are few social welfare funds in Indonesia and what little there are, are very difficult to access. Wulandari has placed her hopes in her son, Rehan, who recently completed secondary school. Jean and I have contributed some money for his tuition to the UNPAB technical school where he has started this month. However we are not able to fund him much beyond a few months. Hence I am starting a Gofundme campaign to raise $11,500 to provide Rehan with tuition, transport and lunches for the three year course.

Jean, who supported Rehan through his primary and secondary schooling, tells the story of this poor family as follows:

There are only three persons left in this poor family, following a house fire, nearly 14 years ago. Their present living conditions are reflected by unsanitary housing, leading to frequent crises of malaria, dengue fever, and malnutrition. Another important point is the impossibility for Wulandari to get a permanent work opportunity because of the fact that she must attend to her handicapped mother, now on a wheelchair because of a stroke, furthermore, she is also taking care of her son Rehan.

This endless burden and daily suffering started 14 years ago, 2012, following the loss of three family members because of the house fire mentioned above, resulting in the loss of three persons, victims of this tragic event. As a result, their daily nutrition is only ensured through neighbor’s generosity and local support , which often is only enough for three weeks a month. As such, they must reduce their daily food intake in order to be able to eat basic food for a month. They cannot afford to buy a refrigerator, as well as a small television.

Through small financial support and donations, the son, Rehan, was able to attend school education from kindergarten till SMP level without interruption, which he completed successfully last June 2026. As a result, Rehan would like to continue his education with technical studies with learning on mechanics and computers at a vocational school.

As such, last June 2026, the mother of Rehan, i.e. Wulandari, managed to get enough donations from a generous person, in order to register him at the Vocational School UNPAB, km 4.5 Jalan Jend. Gatot Subroto, Kec. Sunggal Medan, North Sumatra. This inscription at the Vocational School was done in order to secure a place well in advance, since the vast majority of these schools are now fully booked.

However, the follow up education of this boy is now almost at stake, due to the difficulty to get funding for the next three years to this vocational school, SMK.

Another important point is that Rehan cannot benefit from a poor family education card, “KIP”, since his mother did not apply for it when her son was still at kinder school. As a result, local authorities in their living area told his mother that Rehan is, unfortunately, not allowed to benefit from this card {which can drastically reduce his education costs}.

As a result, there is a lack of funding that is needed for Rehan to be able to attend a three years technical education course. Without any financial support, 16-year-old Rehan will become just another person on the long list of those living below the poverty line, unable to continue his technical studies, subsequently unable to contribute to improve the living standards of their small family.

Your gesture and generosity are vital for Rehan's continued studies, because without financial support, he will not be able to undertake the forthcoming three years of technical studies, SMK.

In Indonesia, as anywhere in the world, it is very often difficult for a young man without a degree to obtain a decent, well-paying job that allows him to improve his social standing.

However, given that job opportunities for young, qualified individuals are constantly available in the automotive industry in Indonesia, Rehan has a real advantage in having chosen this field of study.

Rehan is well aware of this, as I witnessed during our recent discussions. He knows that he will have to work hard after completing his technical studies, in order to improve the daily lives of his mother and grandmother.

Thank you in advance to the individuals and/or companies/organizations who would like to contribute, even with a small donation, in support of the technical studies of the young Rehan, here in Medan North Sumatra, Indonesia.

Hoping from your kind gesture to receive enough funds in order for this child, Rehan, to incorporate the technical school for a three years time, with the same enthusiasm as he did with his recently completed secondary education, SMP.

Your generosity will lift this family out of destitution as well as provide Rehan the means to a better life through education.

Rehan sent me the following in Indonesian followed by the English translatiton:

NOTE FROM REHAN ANGGARA, 16 years old, IN BAHASA INDONESIA, [translated into English by Google Translate]

Seperti yang sudah diketahui banyak orang di sekitar saya, saya lahir dari keluarga yang sangat miskin. Kakek, Paman, dan Ayah saya meninggal 16 tahun lalu saat berusaha menyelamatkan sebanyak mungkin barang milik kami selama kebakaran di rumah kami.

Ibu saya bekerja di restoran tetapi kehilangan pekerjaannya selama krisis covid, dan sekarang beliau tidak dapat bekerja karena sering sakit paru-paru, dan beliau juga harus merawat saya dan nenek yang menggunakan kursi roda karena stroke.

Saya bersyukur kepada Tuhan dan banyak orang baik di sekitar saya, beberapa di antaranya orang asing, yang telah membantu kami, dan dengan itu saya berhasil mengikuti sekolah secara teratur dari taman kanak-kanak hingga sekarang di tingkat SMP. Namun, baru-baru ini, ibu saya memberi tahu saya bahwa orang yang membantu kami untuk makanan, obat-obatan, dan sekolah tidak akan dapat lagi mensponsori saya untuk bersekolah di sekolah teknik.

Saat ini, persediaan makanan kami terbatas karena perbaikan jalan, berjualan jajanan di depan rumah sudah tidak memungkinkan lagi. Akibat banjir dan perbaikan jalan baru-baru ini, uang untuk membeli makanan seringkali hanya cukup untuk tiga minggu dalam sebulan.

Empat bulan lalu saya dirawat di rumah sakit karena masalah perut dan kekurangan gizi. Saya terkena malaria dua kali dalam 7 bulan terakhir, tetapi saya tetap coba belajar dari rumah sakit selama 5 hari karena saya suka belajar.

Sekarang saya baru saja menyelesaikan sekolah menengah atas, tetapi tidak punya uang untuk melanjutkan studi teknik karena saya ingin belajar teknik elektro-mekanik dan komputer jika memungkinkan.

Alasan saya ingin belajar teknik elektromekanik dan komputer adalah karena di Medan, saya melihat bahwa anak muda yang dapat diploma yang berkualitas, selalu mendapat kesempatan bagus untuk bekerja di bengkel-bengkel besar yang menangani mobil Jepang dan Cina. Ini akan memungkinkan saya untuk meningkatkan kehidupan ibu dan nenek saya dalam waktu 3 tahun, karena dengan kondisi keluarga saya, saya tidak dapat kuliah terlalu lama di college atau universitas.

Saat ini, fokus ibu saya adalah mendapatkan makanan minimum untuk bertahan hidup, tidak banyak harapan lagi. Karena itu, impian dan visi saya adalah meningkatkan kondisi hidup kami secepat mungkin.

Saya masih muda, tetapi pikiran saya sehari-hari bukanlah untuk bermain-main, melainkan bagaimana membantu ibu dan nenek saya yang miskin untuk mendapatkan makanan minimum di rumah. Saya membersihkan mobil untuk uang saku selama liburan.

Jika seseorang yang berhati baik dapat membantu saya untuk bersekolah di sekolah teknik selama 3 tahun, itu akan menjadi tindakan terbesar bagi keluarga saya sebagai berkat dari Tuhan! Tanpa bantuan apapun, saya akan tetap miskin sepanjang hidup saya, tidak mampu membantu ibu dan nenek saya.

Rehan Anggara, 16 tahun, Medan, Sumatera Utara, Indonesia.

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English translation

As many people around me know, I was born into a very poor family. My grandfather, uncle, and father died 16 years ago while trying to save as many of our belongings as possible during a fire in our house.

My mother worked in a restaurant but lost her job during the COVID-19 crisis and is now unable to work due to frequent lung problems. She also has to care for me and my grandmother, who is wheelchair-bound due to a stroke.

I am grateful to God and the many kind people around me, some of them strangers, who have helped us, and thanks to this, I have been able to attend school regularly from kindergarten to now, in junior high school. However, recently, my mother informed me that the person who helped us with food, medicine, and school fees will no longer be able to sponsor me to attend technical school.

Our food supplies are limited, because of road repairs, selling snacks in front of our house is no longer possible. Due to recent flooding and road repairs, the money for food is often only enough to last three weeks out of the month.

Four months ago, I was hospitalized for stomach problems and malnutrition. I had malaria twice in the last 7 months, but I still tried to study from the hospital for 5 days because I like to study.

Now I just finished high school, but don't have money to continue my engineering studies because I want to study electro-mechanic and computer engineering if possible.

The reason I want to study electro mechanic and computer engineering is because in Medan, I see that young people who earn a quality diploma always have good opportunities to work in large workshops that handle Japanese and Chinese cars. This will allow me to improve the lives of my mother and grandmother within three years, as my family's circumstances mean I can't go to college/university for a long time.

Right now, my mother's focus is on getting the bare minimum to survive, and there's not much hope left. Therefore, my dream and vision are to improve our living conditions as quickly as possible.

I'm still young, but my daily thoughts aren't about playing around, but rather how to help my poor mother and grandmother earn a minimum living. I clean cars for pocket money during the holidays.

If someone kind-hearted could help me attend engineering school for three years, it would be the greatest act of kindness for my family, a blessing from God! Without any help, I would remain poor for the rest of my life, unable to support my mother and grandmother.

Rehan Anggara, 16 years old, Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia.