| Tue, 10/06/2009 11:11 AM | Life
Youth fades, life changes, but Katrina Wanandi’s love outlasts everything.
Throughout her life, Katrina — who often uses her father’s name Setiadi — has proved that one doesn’t have to be an influential public figure to inspire others. The 90-year-old has shown that even a full-time mother — a role that doesn’t always get the respect it deserves — can change lives, just through the way she rears her children and shares her love with her family.
The love Katrina shared might look simple to some, but those who felt that love note how it has made a difference to each of them.
“It’s amazing for me to know that our omaco [great-grandmother] remembers all of our birthdays … without the help of a computer or Blackberry,” young Austin Wanandi said during his great-grandmother’s 90th birthday celebration Sunday, which was attended by her large family as well as dignitaries including Vice President Jusuf Kalla and Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu.
The boy’s innocent testimonial may have brought a smile to some faces, but what his words show is how Katrina never let time or experience diminish her ability to care. Her caring nature is so deeply embedded that even during her own birthday party, her thoughts were with the victims of the earthquake in the place she was born and raised.
“I’m concerned about the earthquake in West Sumatra,” Katrina said, when asked how she felt on her landmark birthday. “I really hope that if anyone can make a donation, please, do it — no matter how much.”
This proves what any of her family and friends will say: Katrina never thinks just about herself — which might appear to contradict the fact that she was an only child. Born with the name Tjoa Gim Jong Nio in Sawahlunto, West Sumatra, on Sept. 20, 1919, Katrina believed she needed many friends to take the place of siblings. This philosophy ensured that the young Katrina made friends everywhere she went.
One of these friendships — with a girl who lived across the road from her — ultimately changed her life.
Or more precisely, perhaps, with the girl’s older brother, Lim Gim To, who later changed his name to Sofianto Wanandi. He was so attracted to Katrina that he would do anything to be close to her, including taking up her hobbies.
“He joined the same choir even though he had a voice like a wrecking pot,” Katrina’s son Jusuf Wanandi, chairman of the CSIS Foundation, jokingly said of the man — who happens to be his father.
The two married in 1936 and had seven children. Her husband used to poke fun at her tireless dedication to raising their brood.
“If you stacked all the dishes mother washed for the kids then it would probably be higher than the Monas [National Monument],” Jusuf, the eldest of the tribe, quoted his late father as saying.
In the eyes of Jusuf and his siblings, their father was strict and authoritarian. As children, they were often punished when their father spotted their mistakes. Their mother, however, always remained patient and merciful. Stringing together pretty words to bring harmony to the family, Katrina was the bridge between her husband and children.
“Mom was the one who lessened [the effect of] father’s temperamental personality,” said Jusuf, older brother of Biantoro, Sofjan, Ratna, Markus, Edward and Rudi.
The combination of these contradictory personalities created balance in the family. While their father’s tough personality taught the children how to deal with real life, Katrina’s softness brought peace to all in the family, as her third son, renowned businessman Sofjan, reflected: “Father was the center of the discipline, while mother was the center of the family.”
According to her children, after Sofianto died in 1981, Katrina became even more of a pillar of the family. As an only child, Katrina found a special joy in being part of and taking care of a large — and growing — family.
Sofjan and Jusuf both remember fondly how their mother brought peace between the two brothers. As Jusuf tells it, for 40 years, he and Sofjan had the same political tendencies, but during the 2004 presidential election, the two took different sides. Such were their passions that “a cold war” erupted: The two brothers didn’t speak to each other for three months. Katrina sought a resolution by taking both men and their families on a holiday.
“When I differed with [my brother] Sofjan in the presidential elections of 2004, she was the one who took the initiative to take us to China for a 10-day visit, to bring us together again and achieve peace and love between us.
“Mother is truly the unifying factor in the family,” Jusuf said. “She’s the only child in her family, which makes her feel that our family’s unity is what brings her happiness.”
Katrina’s ability to bring happiness and peace to the family continues to this day, when she is surrounded by 20 grandchildren and 32 great-grandchildren. Whatever the distance, she is never quite apart from them. A big part of her daily life is contact with them — whether talking with them on the phone or visiting them — wherever they are. She has never missed a graduation day, even when her descendants graduated from universities as far away as in the United States.
The distance was never a barrier. And for this strong woman, age is no barrier either — it hasn’t stopped her from traveling overseas. She’s not someone who creates a burden or hassle for anyone else: She prefers to be on her own. She still packs her own luggage and has the courage to travel by herself. At the age of 80, for example, Katrina traveled to Ecuador alone to see her sister-in-law. Also in her 80s, she flew overseas alone for some medical tests.
“When she was nearly 70, mom visited China with us for the first time,” Katrina’s fifth son, Priest Markus, said. “With no worries, she climbed up the stairs of the famous Great Wall of China.
“When she was already at [the top of] the wall, her children-in-law were still left behind her, and then mom shouted: ‘Hey you, hurry up, I’ve been waiting here for so long...’”
Katrina’s outstanding energy surely piques curiosity: How does she manage to keep herself enthusiastic every day?
If you ask her scores of descendants, you’ll find they have a ready answer: It’s because of the love and happiness she spreads among others.
“She wants to make everybody happy,” said her great-grandson, Budi.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/10/06/katrina-wanandi-weaving-life-with-love.html