Freelance Laundry Worker in Medan Denied Aid Due to NIK Registered with Online Loans, Hopes for Data Update

MEDAN, KOMPAS.com — The plight of coastal communities living near poverty is embodied by a woman named Mariani (51). A resident of Kelurahan Belawan I in Medan Belawan District, she lives a life of hardship while caring for her sick mother and three school-aged children.

Often, Mariani receives help from compassionate neighbors due to their dire circumstances. For years, they have lived in a wooden house that is nearly collapsing.

Her family’s economy now depends solely on her and her younger brother, who works as a fisherman. Mariani’s job is modest at best.

She is a freelance laundry presser earning whatever her neighbors are willing to pay.

"I press clothes at people’s homes. They pay me because they know I’m a widow, so thankfully I get around Rp 300,000 a month," Mariani told Kompas.com on Thursday (17/9/2026).

Back when her husband was alive, their finances were stable. They once relied on catches from the sea.

Now, Mariani is the family’s breadwinner. Earning Rp 20,000 a day is a real struggle.

"None of my children have jobs yet. I just started working this month; usually, I’m unemployed. My niece once gave me some goods to sell, and I made a profit of Rp 1,000 or Rp 500. Sometimes I get Rp 20,000 a day. That’s what we live on," she admitted.

Mariani said she used to frequently receive food aid from the government through the local kelurahan office. However, this year the aid has stopped coming.

"For the last three distributions, we didn’t get any food aid," she revealed.

Mariani grew worried and only found out why after consulting with kelurahan officials.

"It might be because my child borrowed an online loan using our family card. But they said the account has been deactivated. Now PKH is helping us to update our data. Hopefully, it succeeds," Mariani said.

She hopes the government will kindly assist her family. Their long-deteriorated house is in increasingly worrying condition.

They were advised to move in with relatives or neighbors, but her mother insists on staying in their simple home.

"When it rains, it leaks. Especially now, the roof is gone. We just use a tarp," she said.