While Being Severely Affected by Pandemic, Sahrul’s Shop Devastated by Earthquake

While he was struggling to keep his business running amid the pandemic, Sahrul had to face another calamity as his shop was devastated by the West Sulawesi earthquake in January.

Sahrul in front of his house and shop which were destroyed by the earthquake. (ACTNews)

ACTNews, MAMUJU - The earthquake that shook Mamuju and Majene in January destroyed not only public infrastructure but also shops and stores around the area. As a result, business activities are hampered.

One of the shops that sustained considerable damages belongs to Sahrul (39), a resident of Korongana Neighborhood, Simboro, Mamuju Regency. Sahrul’s grocery store that he opens in his house was flattened to the ground. "I still have no money to renovate the shop," said Sahrul to Global Wakaf-ACT team last February.

With his shop destroyed, his livelihood, too, has been severely affected by the earthquake. When the disaster happened, he was struggling to keep his business running amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

With the initial capital of IDR 1 million, Sahrul established the grocery store in 2011. Before the pandemic, he was able to make up to hundreds of thousands rupiah a day. However, his income was cut by half since the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Since Coronavirus pandemic, I earned only IDR 30,000 every day at most. I am grateful for that. However, now that my shop was destroyed, I have no money because I can no longer work,” he said.

Now, Sahrul is cleaning up the ruins of his collapsed house and shop while slowly rebuilding his house. He just received business capital assistance from Global Wakaf-ACT through the Waqf for Indonesian Micro Business Capital program on Tuesday (2/23/2021). With this business capital funded by the public’s waqf, Sahrul plans to open the shop again to make a living. []