00:00:16
My name is Joko Widodo.
00:00:19
This is the story of my childhood,
00:00:22
the beginning of my life journey.
00:00:26
This is me when I was young.
00:00:29
I came from Solo, Central Java.
00:00:33
I'm the eldest of four siblings.
00:00:36
I have three little sisters.
00:00:39
I came from a humble background.
00:00:44
We moved to a number of different rented houses,
00:00:47
mostly small houses that my father could afford...
00:00:50
...for all of us to stay.
00:00:54
My father fought...
00:00:56
...for our lives by selling woods and bamboos in the market.
00:01:00
My mother always helped my father in any way she could,
00:01:03
after she's done cooking and cleaning the house,
00:01:06
she would immediately go to my father’s shop...
00:01:10
...to help him tie up pieces of bamboo and wood together.
00:01:14
They did it all so their children...
00:01:18
...would be able to go to school.
00:01:20
They believed that with education, I would be able to change my circumstances..
00:01:25
My father’s perseverance…
00:01:27
...really inspired me.
00:01:29
With time, my father’s business grew,
00:01:31
sales were improving,
00:01:33
...and I knew...
00:01:34
...that my mother was finally able to set aside some cash.
00:01:37
I was a little naughty at that time.
00:01:39
Sometimes I would just randomly called...
00:01:41
...any food seller...
00:01:43
...who passed by our house.
00:01:45
Siomay seller,
00:01:46
bakso seller,
00:01:48
cookies and snacks seller.
00:01:50
My mother then would have to pay for the food that I ordered.
00:01:55
One day I was randomly calling a seller...
00:01:57
...who was passing in front of our house.
00:02:00
I thought she was selling snacks,
00:02:02
turned out she was selling coals.
00:02:04
Suddenly, my mother appeared before I could run away…
00:02:07
she bought some from the seller and handed me...
00:02:10
...a bag full of coals for me to eat while saying.
00:02:14
"Go ahead, eat them,
00:02:15
finish everything!
00:02:16
Aren't you the one who wanted this 'snack'?”
00:02:20
One day...
00:02:21
...we were evicted from our house by the local government because...
00:02:24
...there’s a plan to build public facilities in the area.
00:02:28
We were pushed away just like that...
00:02:30
...without any clear reallocation plan.
00:02:34
This event hit our family hard.
00:02:39
We had no other choice but to live with my uncle.
00:02:42
But these hard times had made us...
00:02:45
...determined to fight harder.
00:02:47
My father decided to become a bus driver,
00:02:50
after school I would help my mother...
00:02:53
...in the market, running my father’s shop.
00:02:58
Our family went through all of these hardships without ever once complaining...
00:03:01
... and we tried to give positive energy to each other.
00:03:05
We fought hard so we that can have our own house again.
00:03:09
Our hard work paid off, in the end.
00:03:12
My father was finally able to open up a carpentry workshop.
00:03:17
After a few years, we could finally afford...
00:03:19
...to buy a simple house.
00:03:24
In 1980, I decided to go to college...
00:03:28
..majoring in Forest Product Technology, Faculty of Forestry, in UGM.
00:03:32
I chose that major...
00:03:34
...so I could learn more about carpentry.
00:03:38
I wanted to follow my father’s footsteps,
00:03:41
and to expand his business.
00:03:46
I had long hair in college,
00:03:48
and I was really into rock music...
00:03:52
...from Nazareth,
00:03:53
Queen, Metallica,
00:03:55
Judas Priest,
00:03:57
Guns n' Roses.
00:03:58
My other hobby was...
00:04:00
...to go hiking.
00:04:01
Lawu Mountain,
00:04:02
Merapi Mountain,
00:04:03
Merbabu Mountain, Kerinci Mountain...
00:04:06
... I had climbed them all.
00:04:08
Nearing the end of my college years, when my undergraduate thesis was due...
00:04:12
...I've mellowed out.
00:04:14
I know I would be entering the workforce soon, so I decided to straighten up.
00:04:20
One day, I met this girl named Iriana.
00:04:24
She was one of my sister's friend...
00:04:26
...who often came to our house.
00:04:28
At first, we stole glances at each other...
00:04:31
...and with time, we fell in love.
00:04:34
Iriana is humble...
00:04:36
...and that's what I love about her
00:04:38
During that time, it was costly to go on a date, but I was very happy.
00:04:43
I took a bus...
00:04:45
...that was always really crowded.
00:04:46
I went back and forth from Jogja to Solo just to meet Iriana.
00:05:04
After I graduated in 1985...
00:05:08
...I applied into a paper company in Aceh.
00:05:11
Not until I was accepted that I found out I would be stationed in the middle of a jungle.
00:05:15
My job was to prepare...
00:05:19
...pine seedbeds to be planted in the forest.
00:05:27
After a few months of working, I went back to Solo...
00:05:30
... to marry Iriana,
00:05:32
and to prepare our departure to Aceh.
00:05:35
We spent the first years of our marriage in the middle of a jungle...
00:05:40
...for two and a half years.
00:05:43
In the second year...
00:05:45
...Iriana was pregnant,
00:05:47
and we decided...
00:05:49
...to have our first child in Solo.
00:05:53
As we moved back to Solo,
00:05:54
I started working with my uncle in a furniture factory...
00:05:56
...to gain working experiences.
00:06:00
There, I learned a lot about...
00:06:02
...how to be a good businessman.
00:06:04
I've worked in all of the divisions.
00:06:07
In productions, sales,
00:06:09
I've experienced it all.
00:06:15
In 1987...
00:06:17
...my first child was born,
00:06:19
Gibran Rakabuming.
00:06:21
Gibran is an abbreviation of Gigih dan Berani (diligent and brave).
00:06:25
I wanted...
00:06:27
...my first son to embodied the same spirit...
00:06:29
... embedded in his name.
00:06:31
The birth of Gibran became the catalyst for me to finally establish...
00:06:35
...my first company in furniture business...
00:06:38
...with the name of CV Rakabu.
00:06:46
But, being a businessman...
00:06:48
...wasn't an easy thing
00:06:51
I was once cheated out of a deal,
00:06:54
we have sent the goods but never receive any payment.
00:06:56
and the person ran away.
00:07:01
But whenever we fall...
00:07:03
...we have to get back up.
00:07:05
Not long after that...
00:07:06
...I got a business loan.
00:07:09
I was determined to get back up...
00:07:10
...and to expand my business, so I hustled…
00:07:14
...and even went overseas to attend furniture exhibitions to find customers.
00:07:20
My hard work finally started to come to fruition…
00:07:22
...as customers constantly flowing in to the workshop.
00:07:26
It was there that I met a buyer from France named...
00:07:29
...Bernard Chêne.
00:07:30
He was the one who gave me my nickname "Jokowi",
00:07:34
to distinguish Joko Widodo...
00:07:36
...with the other Jokos that he knew.
00:07:39
Since then...
00:07:41
...people in the furniture industry...
00:07:43
...started calling me Jokowi.
00:07:47
My other two children were born...
00:07:49
...when our family was finally more financially stable.
00:07:52
Kahiyang Ayu and Kaesang Pangarep.
00:07:55
I wanted my kids to learn from...
00:07:58
...the struggles of life, to have perseverance...
00:08:01
...to be independent.
00:08:02
So that all of them...
00:08:04
...can build a strong foundation of life.
00:08:07
Family is my biggest source of strength.
00:08:11
I'm sure what I experienced when I was young...
00:08:15
...is similar to what you're experiencing right now.
00:08:17
I would not be the Jokowi that I am today, if there was no…
00:08:21
...hardships in my life.
00:08:23
Keep fighting for your dreams.
00:08:27
Together, let's keep working for a better Indonesia.
