“This is my older sister’s business. I’m just helping her out. I barely knew her for most of my life. We come from a village, and she moved to the city when I was a baby. She supported our whole family. Everyone depended on her. She sent us money every month, but I barely knew her. I only spoke to her on the phone. A few years ago I followed in her footsteps and moved to Jakarta, and now we’ve become very close. I can finally witness the sacrifices that she’s made for us. She works all the time. She owns this small restaurant and runs a furniture business out of her home. Even though she’s a woman, she does all the marketing and negotiating herself. She wakes up early in the morning to search for wood in torn out buildings. When she comes home at night, her body is so tired that she goes directly to sleep. I want to become like her so she can rest. But I’m afraid I’m too naïve. When I watch her, I feel like she can do anything.”

(Jakarta, Indonesia)