THE BOS FOUNDATION’S DEDICATED MOTHERS

Today is Mother's Day in Indonesia, and we would like to share the challenges that our surrogate mothers conquer every day at our two rehabilitation centres: Samboja Lestari in East Kalimantan and Nyaru Menteng in Central Kalimantan. 

Our surrogate mothers work tirelessly to guide and support orangutans through the rehabilitation process, with the ultimate goal of release back in the wild. At the centres, the surrogate mothers find they bear many of the same responsibilities that they also have when caring for their own human children. 

We would like to share the personal reflections of some of the surrogate mothers that work in our rehabilitation centres, to get a deeper look into their daily lives and experiences. 

What is the most interesting part of working at the BOS Foundation? 

Kumie, a surrogate mother at Nyaru Menteng, explains; “It is, of course, the orangutans! This is the best thing about working at BOSF. As a surrogate mother, I have been able to learn a lot about orangutans and I now understand them on a deeper level. I have fallen in love with each and every one of our orangutan's unique personalities and traits.”

Meanwhile, for Ulfa Hanani, from the Nyaru Menteng finance team, it is the people she works with that make her feel fulfilled: "Here, I have met many amazing and inspiring people, all of whom come from different backgrounds and bring different knowledge. I have learned so much while working at Nyaru Menteng.”

Isnawati, a surrogate mother at Samboja Lestari, enjoys her job for the ‘forest atmosphere’; “We can breathe fresh air every day while working. It is only at Samboja Lestari that we can do this, as the surrounding areas are filled with mining sites.

"Working as a surrogate mother is also very exciting, because not many people get this opportunity. I can care for and teach orangutans. As orangutan populations are declining, I feel that my work is helping preserve orangutans and the environment."

What has been your most memorable experience working at the BOS Foundation?

"I had only been working here for about a week when an orangutan approached me. I wasn’t sure if he wanted to play, or was simply curious. As I didn’t know, I felt a bit scared. At point I also used to think that all orangutans looked alike, but I now know that they don’t! I had difficulty memorising their names in the beginning, but I soon started recalling their names and faces, especially the most dominant and naughty ones. Like Kirun, who liked to pick on new people”, explained Hani Puspita Sari, a senior member of the Nyaru Menteng enrichment team.

“Kirun is now about 20 years old and currently resides in the quarantine complex. Whenever I distribute enrichment at his complex, I stop in front of his enclosure to say, ‘Hi Kirun, remember me? You used to bite me a lot, huh!’ Kirun also surprises me sometimes on my rounds at the quarantine complex – showing that he remembers me. For me, that kind of interaction is a very special, memorable part of working at BOSF.” 

Meanwhile, Hariyanti, the enrichment team supervisor at Samboja Lestari, reflects on her experiences; “One day, while I was doing an inventory of food and supplies for Forest School, I was approached by an orangutan named Kikan who, out of nowhere, slapped me across the face! It was terribly painful! From then on, I've always kept my distance.  

“I often share stories of my experiences at work with my two children. I hope they both can someday help raise awareness on environmental issues and wildlife conservation."

An equally unique experience was shared by Wiwik Yuli Susilowati, Samboja Lestari’s finance coordinator; “In 2015, dangerous fires burned for days. They ended up destroying more than a hundred of hectares of Samboja Lestari's forests. For more than two weeks, Samboja Lestari employees worked tirelessly to help extinguish the fires, which continued to spread and were difficult to stop due to the extremely dry weather. Once extinguished, a spark could appear from anywhere and reignite the fires in a matter of minutes. At that time, I was managing the food delivery for everyone fighting the fires. Fire-fighting teams even came from afar to help us put out the fires. 

“One scorching afternoon, the logistics crew and I were delivering food and drinks to the team. But they had moved to another area to fight fires that kept appearing in different spots. We could not find them in the area where we thought they would be working. Then, suddenly we heard a cracking sound. We turned around and saw a dry bush burning not far from us! We panicked for a second, and after realising there was no fire team to help us, knew we had to act quickly. While a colleague contacted a firefighting team by radio, I went to break the branches of an unscathed tree nearby, and tried to create an emergency firebreak, in the hope it would slow the fire down. Luckily for us, the firefighting team appeared and helped us put the fire out. Fighting the forest fires is an experience I will never forget."

You have a husband and children at home whom you also care for. How do you balance your responsibilities at home and at work?

Hani from the Nyaru Menteng enrichment team feels that this is a challenge she has managed to overcome; “I have to be able to fairly divide my time between my work at home and my work at the centre. At home, I am busy raising three growing boys. Every day, I clean the house and serve them breakfast, and after they leave for school, I leave for work. I have done this for about 20 years now. Sometimes you just don't have enough time to take care of yourself. At the office I must be professional, so I don’t bring my personal problems to work, and I don’t take work issues home. Being a good mother to my children, a fair partner to my husband, and a hardworking employee for BOSF is indeed a balancing act!"

Hariyanti, the supervisor of Samboja Lestari’s enrichment team, said; “I have two children who are still in school. When I first started working at Samboja Lestari, I had to be willing to split time between caring for my first child, who was only six months old at the time, with work. I had difficulty even finding the time to breastfeed my child, but in the end, I found a way to balance it all."

Sri Ramadhanti, a surrogate mother at Samboja Lestari, offered her opinion; “I have to allocate time to take care of my son and to take care of baby orangutans. I really want to be able to follow the progress of my son's growth, and I also have to do the same for the baby orangutans. I sincerely enjoy my work, but I must admit that I do feel a touch sad when I am on night shift and have to leave my son at home."

As you can see, our surrogate mothers make many sacrifices to support the orangutans in their care and aid the conservation effort. We deeply appreciate all of our surrogate mothers at the BOS Foundation, who go above and beyond to ensure rehabilitated orangutans get the chance to return to their true home in the forest. 

Our warmest regards and utmost respect to all mothers in Indonesia and around the world!