Siblings pay for their caregiver to go on umrah pilgrimage

Jakarta, NU Online
Reading news almost every day about conflicts between people of different faiths, as well as the hardships faced by many of Indonesia’s domestic workers, can really get depressing (trust us). But once in a while a story comes along that reminds us that those stories are only a small part of what’s really going on and there are still a lot of ridiculously kind people in this country.

And we’re not the only ones who think so. The sweet story below was shared by Facebook user Wine Fallensky on Sunday and has already been shared 7,700 times and been flooded with comments from netizens touched by the beautiful gift Wine and his sister gave to the woman who helped raise them.

The caption begins: “Today, November 11, 2018, my babysitter / caregiver of 24 years has left on #UMROH for 20 days.”

“During these 24 years, I have never even heard a complaint coming out of her mouth.”

Wine goes on to explain that, even though the woman he refers to as Sus Yati (Sus being an affectionate term for a caregiver) has always been a hard worker, she is old and has wanted to retire for some time. But because she still has to earn money for her large family she continues to work. And even though she is very religious and had long dreamed of going on the Umrah pilgrimage to the Holy Land, she could never afford the trip because she always used her savings for her family’s needs.

Wine said he knew that he wanted to use his first earnings as an adult to send Sus to the Holy Land and his sister agreed to do so as well. He also got his parents’ blessing for their plan.

In the caption, he says that the first time he told Sus about their plans to pay for her trip and asked her to look for a travel package, she just laughed. He says he kept asking her every day for a week but she still didn’t believe him until finally she asked, “Really, you want me to go on Umrah?”

He replied, “Yes, just search for good travel package, so you won’t be tricked [Editor’s note: that’s a real concern with Umrah packages in Indonesia]. If possible, ask those you know. Look for a good one, which is not located so far so you won’t get tired there.”

A few days later, Sus brought Wine a brochure listing several Umrah promo packages. He asked her which one she wanted to take and she said “I leave it up to you. Alhamdulilah I am just able to go.”

Wine says he immediately decided to get her the best, most complete package, with a lot of facilities and a hotel located not too far away from pilgrimage sites so she wouldn’t get tired.

He says that he’ll never forget the moment when she hugged him with tears in her eyes.

“I pray for you and your family to have plenty of good fortune. Later, I will pray for you there.”

Wine said that there were a few challenges in getting her trip arranged, one being that her birth certificate had been eaten by termites which made acquiring her passport a little more difficult. But in the end, they made it happen.

Wine finishes the post by writing:

Never underestimate a profession. If done sincerely, and faithfully, it will definitely bring happiness and blessings. Friends can also bring happiness and be a blessing to the people around them. Start with small things. Time, attention and sincere affection are all invaluable assets that cannot be bought with money.

Remember…

A loyal person is rare. Hopefully this will inspire and encourage my friends to continue to do good, sincerely and regardless of social status, race or religion.

This is a picture of us and my adoptive grandmother ~

P.S.

Use your own money, ok, not you parents’ money!

Okay, if that doesn’t restore your faith in humanity, we’re not sure what can. We hope that Sus Yati is having a wonderful time on her pilgrimage and we pray that Wine’s example inspires a lot more people to follow his lead and kick some ass at being kind to the people in their lives. (Masdar)