“I don’t want to go back to my dark past; I want to make my family happy.”

Gusti Darmawan (30) is determined never to return to his dark past and wants to change his life for the better. Gusti Darmawan, or commonly known as Gusti, is a client of the Class I Jakarta Pusat Correctional Center (BAPAS). He is one of the alumni of the batch 2 social entrepreneurship barbershop training in 2020 organized by the Inspirasi Indonesia Membangun Foundation (YIIM) and PT. Insight Investments Management (INSIGHT). This program is one of YIIM’s flagship programs aimed at improving the welfare of underprivileged communities and helping them become self-reliant by building businesses.

Gusti was born in Menteng, Central Jakarta. He is the first of two siblings. His highest level of education is Junior High School.

Gusti is married and has three children. His first child is currently in 5th grade of elementary school, his second child is in early childhood education, and the youngest is three years old.

Involved in a Drug Case

In 2005, while he was in junior high school, he became entangled in a legal case involving drug abuse. This happened due to the negative influence of his residential environment and free association. Eventually, he was sentenced as a minor and took the package program (non-formal education) at a juvenile detention center. After three years, he was released. Then, the case recurred in 2010. He was arrested for the second time on similar charges. The cause was the same as before. Eventually, he was imprisoned. In the same year, after 4 years, he was finally released from prison.

In 2017, he was unemployed and had no activities. Furthermore, during his previous time in prison, he had met several people who were drug dealers. This caused him to fall back into drug use. Ultimately, he was arrested for the third time and was released in 2020.

After entering prison for the third time, Gusti felt he had to change. He no longer wanted to return to his dark past and wanted to start a new life to make his small family happy.

Gusti’s Determination to Change His Life

Before Gusti was released from prison, he sought out various activities to develop his skills, skills that could be used to find work. When a program was organized by BAPAS and YIIM, he became interested in joining the training. He wanted to fill his time before his release. He chose to participate in the barber training. After completing the training, he had the opportunity to join a YIIM internship in February 2020. This opportunity was very valuable to Gusti, as it allowed him to develop his skills and career upon his release.

He started his career by interning at Barber Inspirasi under the auspices of YIIM, located in Beji, Depok, and then continued at Rawa Belong, West Jakarta. During his internship at Rawa Belong, he was rotated once a week.

After a year at Rawa Belong, he moved to a barbershop under YIIM’s auspices located at the YIIM Office in the Gran Wijaya Ruko Complex for 3 months. After spending 3 months at the YIIM barbershop, he returned to Rawa Belong for 6 months until now.

Gusti’s career has progressed significantly. He has become a Barber Assistant at Barbershop Inspirasi and is trusted to serve as a mentor for barber training and internships conducted by YIIM with partners. He is also actively involved in social activities organized by YIIM. At the same time, Gusti has also been working as a mobile barber with the D’Kapster application for a month.

Gusti also extended his status as a BAPAS client, because he wants to continue learning and improving his skills. He eventually learned to become a content creator because it relates to his career as a barber.

Hard Work to Make His Family Happy

Gusti’s monthly income is Rp2,000,000. To date, his income is used to prioritize family needs, such as paying rent, his wife’s business capital, paying off motorcycle installments, and transportation costs.

Gusti had to take a motorcycle on credit for his family’s needs. He felt sorry for his wife because, before they had a motorcycle, she always had to borrow a neighbor’s motorcycle to go to the market and take their children to school. To buy the motorcycle, he used various means. At that time, Gusti eventually borrowed money from YIIM to buy the motorcycle. Even though the motorcycle he bought was used, that wasn’t a problem. When submitting the loan application, YIIM approved it on the condition that the motorcycle had complete documents and was in good condition. Eventually, Gusti found one and bought it for Rp3,000,000.

Gusti’s expenses didn’t stop there. He had to pay Rp500,000 monthly for rent. The rented house is occupied by four families, including his wife’s family. Gusti doesn’t pay the rent alone; the other three families also contribute to the monthly rent.

Currently, his children’s education is supported by the government. Their school tuition is free, and they also receive assistance from the Jakarta Smart Card (KJP). Gusti uses the KJP for his children’s educational needs, such as books, uniforms, and stationery.

His wife also helps increase their income by selling culinary items, a business she has run since 2017. She sells various side dishes such as grilled chicken and catfish pecel. The capital for this business comes from Gusti’s income. His wife’s income from her sales is Rp100,000. This income is used for daily household needs such as children’s snacks, breakfast and family meals, and Gusti’s transportation allowance.

Looking ahead, he hopes to save up capital to start his own barbershop business, even though he still has some doubts. He wants to make his family happy by providing for their needs, having savings, and taking his children on vacations.

For friends of inspiration who want to try Gusti’s haircuts, you can visit Barbershop Inspirasi at Jl Bumi Indah No 23 RT 08/ RW 09, Sukabumi Utara, Kec. Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, DKI Jakarta.

Salam Inspirasi!