Jemmy Talakua

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Starting Point

What initially started as a community of youths concerned with education, became a flourishing foundation that strives to promote GEDSI in Ambon. Jemmy Talakua institutionalized Yayasan Rumah Generasi in 2019, six years after its initial emergence. During their embryonic phase, the volunteers would provide self-help community services to teachers and students in remote schools. These activities provided the basis for the foundation’s network, which was useful in recent years.

Yayasan Rumah Generasi advocates for GEDSI mainly through education, complemented by health and technology intervention. The foundation aims to develop a communal safe space to support human development. The people of Yayasan Rumah Generasi work alongside the government to ensure the implementation of gender-responsive policies, all while fostering marginalized communities and schools for disabilities to thrive. 

Peace Journey

Together with Yayasan Bakti, Yayasan Rumah Generasi is now a proud beneficiary of the Australian DFAT’s INKLUSI program. This program intends to empower marginalized and vulnerable groups within the community, in which Yayasan Rumah Generasi chose to prioritize children with disabilities. They provide supporting devices, school uniforms, learning tools, and various others in tandem with education on reproductive rights and sexual health in schools for disabilities.

Yayasan Rumah Generasi helmed the Body Talk Program, an initiative meant to destigmatize people with leprosy and provide them with proper healthcare services. The foundation also installed policy clinics to promote gender mainstreaming in policies and the regional fund budget. In cooperation with SKALA, Yayasan Rumah Generasi trained the local government officials in creating gender analysis, a much-needed act since the officials were originally skeptical of gender perspective.

Success Stories

Jemmy Talakua stated that as a male activist who worked for women and children, he assumes the role of mediator when a crisis arises within the women activist community. He also acknowledged the importance for men to position themselves as allies for women. When we arranged a focus group discussion for the local consultation stage in Ambon, Jemmy and fellow activists expressed their hope to build a union for women and children activists in Ambon to collaborate and consolidate. 

Interestingly, we witnessed firsthand how Yayasan Rumah Generasi operated very efficiently in arranging a learning activity for students with disabilities. Our Lead Researcher offered Jemmy and Yunita—another activist under the foundation—to connect with Rio Pelu, a government official under the Ambon City Library. We accompanied Yunita on a visit to the library, from which she and Rio arranged for a library visitation for the students with disabilities. Fast forward to a week later, Yunita sent us pictures of the students, ranging from elementary to high school ages, visiting the library and having fun with the learning tools provided in the library. It was a very heartwarming sight.