Indonesian Badminton Athletes' Auction with Tzu Chi

A number of well-known Indonesian badminton athletes compete to entertain visitors of the event "Badminton Indonesia Cares Donggala Palu" held at Fountain Atrium, West Mall Grand Indonesia, Jakarta.

Tzu Chi Indonesia in collaboration with Indonesian Badminton Community held an fundraising and charity auction exhibition entitled "Indonesian Badminton Cares for Donggala Palu" at Fountain Atrium, West Mall Grand Indonesia, Jakarta last Saturday, November 24.

Indonesian badminton legend, Hariyanto Arbi, the Chairman of Indonesian Badminton Community, said that this activity is a real form of concern for Indonesian badminton athletes against the natural disasters that have befallen the people of Palu and Donggala. "I cannot imagine the suffering of the people who were the victims of this disaster. In just a matter of minutes, everything they owned just vanished. Disasters are inevitable, but our spirits must not die, this is the message that we would like to deliver through this fundraising," said Hariyanto Arbi amidst the event.

In this fundraising event, several Indonesian badminton players such as Jonathan Christie, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, Marcus Fernaldi Gideon, Liliyana Natsir, and Greysia Polii, auctioned their favorite items that they used when they made the nation's name proud. In addition to those, there were also jersey and racket from Tontowi Ahmad, Hendra Setiawan, and Mohammad Ahsan who, although unable to attend the event, still auctioned their items.

"It feels good to be involved in this event which hopefully can help the victims in Palu and Donggala. I will auction one of the important things in my life, which is a racket that I have often used when competing and there are so many winning moments with this racket," said Liliyana.

Tzu Chi Indonesia volunteer, Hong Tjhin, gave an applause to the badminton athletes who participated while giving a speech at the "Indonesian Caring for Donggala Badminton" event.

Indonesian badminton legend, Hariyanto Arbi, who is also Chairman of the Indonesian Badminton Community accompanied by Indonesian badminton athlete Greysia Polii, told reporters about the purpose of the "Badminton Indonesia Care for Donggala Palu" event.

Meanwhile, Greysia Polii hoped that the results of the auction would be beneficial. "This is a form of our sympathy for the victims. Although we are not physically with them, our hearts are always there for them. We hope the fund collected can ease their burden," said Greysia Polii.

The same thing was also conveyed by the 2018 China Open Gold Medalist, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, who was also involved in this charity auction. This world number 7 badminton player hoped that the development of the badminton sport arena could have a major impact on the victims of natural disasters in Palu and Donggala.

"Hopefully, later with the existence of the badminton sports arena, it can bring out more outstanding athletes who will be able to make the nation proud. Besides that, with the existence of this sports facility, it is hoped that it can also entertain the people there," added Ginting.

The amount collected through this fundraising will be used to build a badminton sports arena. For this reason, KBI collaborates with Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation whose plan was to build 3,000 homes for the disaster victims who lost their homes.

The 2018 China Open Gold Medal winner, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, was very happy to be able to join the auction and hoped the results would have a major impact on the people of Palu and Donggala.

The highest bid at "Badminton Indonesia Care for Donggala Palu" event was 200 million rupiahs offered by dangdut singer, Inul Daratista, when buying Jojo’s racket (Jonathan Christie).

Tzu Chi volunteer who represented Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, Hong Tjhin, warmly welcomed KBI for helping to build Palu and Donggala by building sports facilities. "KBI's efforts to restore the condition of Palu and Donggala after the disaster are in line with our goal of building a housing complex completed with various public facilities such as schools, clinics, and multi-purpose buildings which can be used as sports venues. This is our underlying reason to provide a living place which will improve the quality of the people living there so that the housing can be a healthy, harmonious and productive environment," Hong Tjhin said.

To make sure this happens, fundraising was currently being carried out to public, communities, educational institutions and shopping centers. "The target is to begin development process in January 2019 with an estimated 1-year completion," continued Hong Tjhin.

This charity auction was attended by a number of entrepreneurs and celebrities, including Inul Daratista, Abdee Slank, and Olga Lidya who bargained for racquets and badminton jersey.

"I really support this fundraising held by fellow badminton athletes and also Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, therefore I took the time to come here. At first the target was Kevin’s jersey and Jojo’s racket (Jonathan Christie). But in the end, I only brought home Jojo’s racket," said Inul Daratista who bought Jonathan Christie's racket worth 200 million rupiahs. "Hopefully the collected funds can be beneficial for the community in Palu and Donggala," added the dangdut singer.

Indonesian badminton athletes and Tzu Chi Indonesia volunteers as well as the participants in the auction take a picture together after the event is over.

Visitors observe the belongings of famous Indonesian badminton athletes auctioned in the "Indonesian Badminton Cares for Donggala and Palu."

Meanwhile for Teguh Aria Djana, CEO of PT. Simas Net Insurance, who participated in the auction and managed to buy Marcus Fernaldi Gideon’s racket for 135 million rupiahs, the amount of donations is not the only thing. "We all know that Marcus is the living legend of Indonesian badminton now. The amount is meaningless, what is important is our intention to help each other," Teguh said. "I think it is a social responsibility to help the disaster victims in Palu and Donggala. This is also a moment to give appreciation to the athletes who have made the nation proud," he continued.

The highest bid was offered by Inul who bought Jonathan Christie’s racket for 200 million rupiahs. Meanwhile, Kevin Sanjaya’s jersey, worn during his 2018 championship, was successfully auctioned for 150 million rupiahs. Overall, this charity auction managed to collect donations with the total of 2,148,000,000.00 rupiahs.

Translated by Stefanny Doddy

Edited by Caroline Widjanarko (Tzu Chi School)