Ninok reading a book with Samuel and Kalea at Paud Joglo, photo taken on May 9, 2024 by Nadif
Hello, my full name is Tri Hantini Kusumadewi but you can call me Ninok, this March I am 47 years old. I was born and raised in the city of Semarang but currently I live in the city of Pati together with my husband (Bowo) and two daughters (Dya and Lea). My husband is a community worker and has an office in Yogyakarta. Every Monday he goes to Yogyakarta and Friday night he returns to Pati City. Sometimes he also travels outside Java to assist friends in other areas. Dya, my elder daughter, is in Cikarang Bekasi where she is in the 3rd semester majoring in information systems, while Lea, my younger daughter, is in the 2nd grade of junior high school.
Everyday I work at Paud Joglo as an assistant for early childhood. Together with Nanik, Ngatini, Elli, Dhea and Nadif I assist children aged 3 – 7 years. Through daily routines we introduce peaceful living, not only towards ourselves but also peace towards others and the environment. We model and teach
- respect and love by repeatedly practicing, discovering and pointing out concrete actions that model respect and love in and among themselves
- respect and love for the natural world by protecting water, using water carefully and sharing the rest
- protecting the environment by sorting the garbage, distinguishing plastic waste from organic waste, feeding the compost and making compost to fertilize plants at school.
In the afternoons I have activities with children aged 6 – 22 years old at the church where I worship. Together with a friend, we assist children to recognize their own potential and bring out their self-confidence so that they can be useful, independent and even support their families.
Through the tools I gained in Creating Cultures of Peace, I realized how good and capable everyone is, even for the special needs children we assist at Joglo. I saw that they are capable and can take the same amount of time as other friends. Giving good adjectives to children’s names really helped me to always see children in a good light. Through Creating Cultures of Peace, I also learned how to express an opinion in a calm and organized manner without violence.
In 2011 I first attended the Living Without Violence training and now I am still practicing to live without violence in my daily life, to bring out the good in times of tension, in an unsafe environment, and to solve a problem without creating new problems. Creating Cultures of Peace gave me a signpost to think before acting so that what I do brings peace and tranquility to myself and others. We strive to live peacefully starting with ourselves, so peace can be felt by those around us, and slowly everyone working together can create a peaceful environment.
16 May 2025
Ninok introducing a scissor activity to Royce, one of the children with special needs at Paud Joglo who still has limited words and mostly moves and walks during activities, photo taken at Paud Joglo transition room on May 17, 2024 by Nadif.
Ninok playing in the nature center with his 3-4 year old rose group friends, practicing hand control while filling water into a bottle using a water funnel, photo taken at Paud Joglo on May 22 by Nadif.