Hasna’s Story

Hasna is a 50-year-old woman from Maros, South Sulawesi. She takes care of her four children and husband while working hard as a domestic worker in another household. Every day, she walks for 30 minutes to her employer's house, where she performs house chores such as washing, ironing, and cooking. With her work, she earns 1 million rupiahs per month. To save money, she relies on arisan and a bank account, preferring not to keep money at home as it is easier to lose or spend gradually.

"If I didn't join Arisan, I'm afraid there would be no money left for me to save." - Hasana

Hasna's bank account was opened after one of her children got married and received monetary gifts. Her children encouraged her to open the account to save this money. As her children graduated one by one, she started saving money in the bank. When she receives money from the arisan, she deposits it in the bank as well. Her motivation for saving in the bank is to ensure her children can pursue higher education and to afford eye surgery for her husband.

In times of emergency, such as a family member falling ill, she prefers to borrow from relatives because repayment terms can be adjusted to her financial situation. Unlike banks, which have strict repayment terms and larger loan amounts starting from 10 million rupiahs, she only needs small amounts (500,000 to 1 million rupiahs).

Hasna uses a basic phone primarily to communicate with her children and employer. When asked about getting a smartphone, she said it is not a priority and there is no budget for it. SMS notifications are not useful for her as a feature phone user, and her bank usage is limited to deposits and withdrawals choosing to transact mainly in cash.