Dahlia Rera Oktasiani

Dahlia Rera Oktasiani, 30 years of age. She is called, “The Queen of The Community”. She is a member of tens of communities, from the community of literation, traveler, runner, vegetarian, virtual reality enthusiast all the way to snake and reptile lover community.

Once, Dahlia was invited to introduce snakes to Wanadri, a group of well-known nature explorers. “They were a bunch of scary-looking men, and then there was me, the facilitator. A petite woman, very unconvincing. They could not believe it! Hahaha.” Being part of communities for Dahlia is compensation for her education. “After I finished high school, I refused to go to university.” She chose to learn from various communities.

Her persistence finally paid off. In 2012, Initiative of Change nominated her to receive a one-year scholarship to Arizona, USA. Even when in Arizona, Dahlia was actively involved in communities, “I even received an award.” She said. After joining Tempo Institute three years ago, Dahlia officially takes off her crown as The Queen of The Communities.

This merry lady is responsible to persuade various communities to become Friends of Tempo Institute. “Actively involved in communities teach us about tolerance,” Dahlia explained. “We could be arguing and having differences, but we still walk together to achieve our communal goals.” The most impressive thing? “My childhood.” Her neighbours were Christian families. Sending each other food was a tradition. Nothing suspicious. “My mother pinched me once when I asked whether the food we received contained pork or not. She said, our neighbours already knew we are Moslem.” Her neighbourhood has changed now. Mingling is limited between Moslems only. “Even that, we need to be selective. For instance, exclusively with 01 or 02 supporters only.”

The proudest moment? “I can be friends with my twin sister, Kahlia, she is schizophrenic.” With her swinging mood, things could be difficult but she loves Kahlia unconditionally. “We are connected. We help each other no matter what. That makes me proud. Once, she also told me that she was proud of me,” Dahlia said while wiping her teary eyes. “Really. I am so proud of her.”

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PUBLISHED BY Puan Indonesia
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