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A Second Chance: UPH Helps an Amputee Teachers College Student Fulfill His Dream
24-June-2024
June 29, 2020 was the day that forever changed the life of Joy Sishokhi Putra Lase – a second-semester student at UPH Teachers College (TC). It was the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and to prevent local outbreak in-person classes in his senior high school in Gunung Sitoli Selatan district in Nias, North Sumatra, were suspended for an extended period of time.
Out of sheer boredom and idleness from being forced to stay at home, Joy, then in Year 11, decided to help his father, a construction worker, in a nearby building site. About a month later, they were asked to lay wooden planks on asphalt road to help a tracked excavator crawl through without damaging the surface. That was when the freak accident happened. Whether it was due to carelessness, negligence or mishap, his right leg was run over and crushed by the large and heavy mechanical beast.
“I only remembered passing out when it happened and when I came to the first thing I felt was the unimaginable pain coming from the blood-soaked cloth wrapped around my leg. Then I was rushed to the nearest hospital,” he recounted.
Then came the shocking news. The doctor said his leg could not be saved and had to be amputated. “I felt like my world was crashing down. Deep down, I protested: ‘God, why you let this happen to me? What have I done to deserve this?’”
After he was discharged from the hospital, he descended into the dark hole of depression. “I became reclusive, irritable, dejected. It came to the point that I even contemplate suicide. I felt like I had lost all hope. All my dreams were shattered. That was the lowest point of my life,” he reminisced.
The accident also shook his faith for quite some time. “I used to be active in church ministry, but for over six months after the accident, I stopped going to church altogether. I blamed God for my misfortune,” Joy admitted.
However, thanks to the unwavering support from his loving family and caring school and friends, he strove to slowly get back on his feet. “I thought, how long would I wallow in self-pity, blaming others. There’s no point crying over spilled milk. It was an unfortunate accident. But life must go on,” he said, reconciled to the new reality.
In his final year of high school, the sixth child of eight siblings began applying for university. A cousin told him that UPH TC was offering scholarships for accomplished students of disadvantaged backgrounds. In fact, his ambition before the accident was to join the civil service. In his village, being a government employee is deemed a prestigious job that will increase one’s social standing. But the catastrophe got him to completely rethink the purpose of his life.
“When I was in junior high school, my science teacher told me that I would make a good teacher because I was good at explaining difficult concept to my classmates in a way that is easier for them to understand. I used to also gladly accept when appointed as a leader in school science projects,” he pointed out.
He summoned his courage and took the chance to apply to UPH TC. However, due to lack of preparation, his first attempt was unsuccessful after he failed the psychometric test and interview. Undaunted, he tried again and this time he made it. “I was ecstatic. I started to see a glimmer of hope,” he enthused.
As a fully-funded scholarship recipient, he stays in a dorm with hundreds of other future teachers from across Indonesia. This provides him with a strong support system, practically and emotionally.
“I truly enjoy being in the company of warm and caring people. My roommates, dorm parents, fellow students, and the wider UPH academic community are very supportive of me. There is a prevailing sense of togetherness. I feel like I have a second family. They have become the source of my strength and new-found confidence,” he said.
God keeps opening new door for Joy. Recently, he was among the 140 recipients of prosthetic legs, donated by Hyundai Indonesia, Grab Indonesia and Benih Baik Indonesia Foundation through the #RodaKebaikan program. It was the fruit of months-long facilitation by TC and MYC Residence in seeking prospective donor. With the artificial limb, Joy hoped to soon ditch the crutches and regain more natural mobility and increased level of independence.
“It comes with a learning curve and an adjustment period of about a month with regular training, but I am excited of the prospect of getting around more easily,” he said with an optimistic tone.
Despite his disability, Joy does not want people to treat him differently out of sympathy, or sometimes pity, because he said it would only bring him to the realization that he is weak and incapable of doing things that normal people do. “I still go swimming regularly,” he says, as if to prove the point.
Asked about his favorite Bible verse, Joy pointed to Philippians 4:13, which reads: “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
Joy’s TC admission demonstrates UPH’s commitment to provide an inclusive and non-discriminatory environment. Because all people are equal and beautiful in God’s eyes.