Get to know us

Our aim is to provide education and training for people with visual impairments on the Island of Nias, enabling them to live independently. We envision a future where they gain the knowledge and skills necessary to prepare for life with dignity and equality. To achieve this, we provide formal and inclusive education, vocational and community-based training, and both hard and soft skills development. Through these efforts, we empower visually impaired people in Nias to access employment, participate fully in society, and live on equal terms with the community.

Our history

For decades, students with visual impairments from the Nias Islands have had to travel to Tanjung Morawa and Medan to receive education and training at special schools for the blind and visually impaired.

According to data from the Ministry of Health in 2017, around 1.5% of Indonesia’s population lived with visual impairments. By 2021, with improvements in public health, the estimated figure was still no less than 0.5%. With a population of over 1,000,000, the Nias Islands—covering an area of 5,625 km²—are home to at least 5,000 people with visual impairments.

This reality inspired us to establish educational and training services for people with visual impairments in the Nias Islands through the organization HIMPUNNAH ONO NIHA PEDULI DISABILITAS NETRA (ONIPEDISTRA), located at Jalan Laria Umbuhumene, Bawodesolo, Gunungsitoli Idanoi, Gunungsitoli.

Background

Establishment and Inauguration

Onipedistra was established under Notarial Act No. 39 on 18 September 2021 and received approval from the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (No. AHU-0003658.AH.01.07) in 2023. The organization began operations on 1 August 2023 with six students. Its official inauguration took place on 24 November 2023, by which time the number of students had increased to eleven.

The founders

1. Yunius Larosa – as Chairman

2. Jabes Silaban – as Secretary

3. Iwaris Harefa, S.H, M.Kn – as Treasurer

4. Arozato Harefa – as Counselor

Agreys shows us the school of Onipedistra

An introduction from Mr. Yunius Larosa

The notary deed was issued in 2021, and official approval from the Minister of Law and Human Rights followed in 2023. Onipedistra began its activities in August 2023 and was officially inaugurated on 24 November 2023.

A note from
Mister Silaban

My name is Jabes Silaban, I am 62 years old. From 1993 to 2022, I worked at YAPENTRA, a special school for the blind in Tanjung Morawa. I was responsible for administration from 1993 to 2015 and served as director from 2015 to 2022.

During my time at YAPENTRA, between 15 and 17 students from the Nias Islands came to study at the school. Based on this experience, I proposed to the Hildesheimer Blind Mission (HBM) in Germany the idea of establishing a school for the blind on Nias Island. The aim was to reduce the need for students from the Nias Islands to cross the sea to attend YAPENTRA. HBM approved this project.

Life on Nias

Indonesia is an archipelagic country consisting of 17,504 islands, stretching from Sabang (Aceh in the west) to Merauke (Papua in the east), and inhabited by numerous ethnic groups. Nias Island lies about 85 miles from Sibolga Harbor in Sumatra. It is bordered by Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam in the north, Mursala Island in the east, Mentawai Island in the south, and the Indian Ocean in the west, making Nias one of Indonesia’s outermost regions.

Nias Island is home to more than 1,000,000 people, the majority belonging to the Nias ethnic group. Most of them work as small-scale farmers, cultivating rubber, coconuts, corn, rice, and coffee. Others earn a living as fishermen, entrepreneurs, or in various professions. Immigrant groups also live on the island: the Batak (often working as teachers, policemen, or soldiers), the Padang (commonly gold traders, restaurant owners, or shopkeepers), and the Chinese (often merchants or businesspeople).

Most of the population is Christian. Many church denominations are present on Nias, including BNKP, AMIN, ONKP, HKBP, GNKP, GKPI, and others.

Nias Island

People with Visual Impairments in Nias

Over the past ten years, 15–18 students with visual impairments from Nias have attended education and training at YAPENTRA in Tanjung Morawa or similar schools around Medan. Although Gunungsitoli is only about 280 kilometers from Medan, the journey across the sea requires considerable time and money. Parents, with limited financial resources, often cannot visit their children, and the students themselves face exhausting travel when returning home for school holidays.

According to the Ministry of Health, about 1.5% of Indonesia’s population had visual impairments in 2017. By 2021, with improved health services, the number was estimated at no less than 0.5%. With a population of more than 1,000,000, Nias likely has at least 5,000 people with visual impairments within its 5,625 km² area.

Nias is classified as an underdeveloped region, with limited progress in both infrastructure and education. Many roads and school buildings are in poor condition. Farmers and traders often live very modestly, as their products must be shipped by sea, leading to low prices due to high transportation costs.

The island has very limited industrial development: no factories, no agricultural processing facilities, and few companies providing employment. Despite rich marine resources, fishing and seafood processing remain largely underdeveloped.

The people of Nias maintain strong traditions and cultural practices.

Livelihoods

The Condition of Children and Youth with Visual Impairments in Nias

Many young people with visual impairments remain at home without daily activities beyond eating, bathing, and sitting. They often live in very simple conditions — breakfast and dinner might consist of boiled bananas, with rice available only once a day for lunch, as families cannot afford rice as a staple food.

One such case is Fransiskus Zebua, a 25-year-old man who previously stayed at home without any activity. He is now one of the students at Onipedistra.

Some children do not attend school at all, while others are hidden away because they are considered a source of shame. Parents are often embarrassed to let them leave the house.