4 Inspirational Stories of Indonesian Youth with Disabilities

Disabilities are often seen as an obstacle to carrying out activities like non-disabled people. However, disability is not a barrier for several Indonesian Youth figures to create innovative works that inspire many people. The abilities and determination of persons with disabilities are the same as those of the general public. Not many people know, behind their limitations they can carve out extraordinary achievements. Here are some inspiring figures with disabilities with their achievements:

4 Inspiring Indonesian Youth Figures with Disabilities with Their Achievements

1. Panji Surya Sahetapy

Panji Surya Sahetapy is the son of singer, Dewi Yul and actor, Ray Sahetapy. He is a hearing-impaired person who has had an extraordinary career journey. However, who would have thought, during his education, he had difficulty communicating with people who could hear? This difficulty then made him determined and made the difficulty a motivation.

Surya is determined to equalize education for people with disabilities with other public schools so that people with disabilities have the same abilities and rights as the general public. Therefore, he officially became an American graduate with a full scholarship. He won three awards at once. Here are the three awards that he managed to get:

• International Student Outstanding Service Award
• The Outstanding Graduating Student Award In The Master’s Degree.
• NTID Graduate College Delegate.

2. Putri Ariani

Ariani Nisma Putri or better known as Putri Ariani, a 17-year-old girl is a singer from the city of Yogyakarta who was born on December 31, 2005. Despite having physical limitations, this does not make Putri lose her enthusiasm to pursue her dreams in the world of singing. This can be seen from the many achievements Putri has made at a relatively young age. Since the age of 2, Putri has discovered her singing talent. Her parents also supported her, despite her visual impairment.

Putri’s talent in singing was proven when she won an award in the framework of Anugerah Baiduri as an outstanding child singer at the national level, in 2016. In the same year, Putri won second place at the national literacy level and became a finalist in the second season of The Voice Kids Indonesia. Putri is good at playing the piano and composing songs. In 2018, Putri had the opportunity to perform the song Song of Victory at the opening ceremony of the Asian disability sports party when Indonesia was chosen to host the Asian Para Games. Putri recently made another proud achievement in the international arena. She became one of the contestants of America’s Got Talent 2023. Putri became a solo pop singer with a blind woman from Indonesia, who won the Golden Buzzer from Simon Cowell.

3. Angkie Yudistia

Angkie Yudistia was born on June 5, 1987. She became deaf at age 10, after taking antibiotics that affected her sense of hearing. She was sick and the doctor recommended she take antibiotics. Angkie uses hearing aids and learns to read lips when others speak. Angkie was disappointed with her condition, but she tried to rise up until she could continue her education until S2 at The London School of Public Relations, Jakarta, with her limitations. With her disability, Angkie tried to establish “ThisAble Enterprise” which is now under the auspices of PT Berkarya Menembus Batas since 2015. The foundation helps people with disabilities to become economically independent and empowered.

In 2008, Angkie was honored as The Most Fearless Female by Cosmopolitan for being an inspiring and accomplished woman. She further proved that people with disabilities have the same rights in a career. This was proven by her becoming the first disabled person to be appointed as special staff to the president of Indonesia.

4. M. Ade Irawan

M. Ade Irawan is 29 years old or is often called Ade Irawan and is nicknamed the Indonesian version of Stevie Wonder. How not, Ade, who is blind, is one of the country’s proud pianists with a series of achievements.

Born in England, Ade has learned to play the piano since he was young. Physical limitations do not stop Ade from continuing to hone his talent and love for the world of music.

Ade followed the life of his mother who served in Chicago, USA, so he had many opportunities to learn from famous Blues and Jazz musicians. Not only that, Ade also managed to perform on the prestigious Chicago Winter Jazz Festival music stage in 2006 and 2007.

Thanks to his expertise, Ade successfully held a solo concert in 2010 and performed proudly at events organized by the Indonesian Embassy to Bahrain, at the Indonesian Pavilion in Italy, and at the Sydney Opera House, in Australia. Finally, he is also trusted to be a regular pianist at the Farnsworth School of Chicago and Jazz Links Jam Session.

Writer: Agnes Damora Siburian

Source Image:

• https://www.instagram.com/suryasahetapy/
• https://www.instagram.com/arianinismaput
• https://www.instagram.com/angkie.yudisti.1
• https://www.instagram.com/electric.cadil

What do you think about this inspiring story of Indonesian youth with disabilities? They are amazing, right? You can read other interesting articles about Youth Empowerment here