Sunday, May 31 of 2020 was a happy moment for us, because it was our day of HBH (an abbreviation of ‘Halal Bi Halal’, a term commonly used by Indonesian people to describe a gathering after the end of Ramadan month). HBH brought together the entire Titian family and the IKATIFO (Titian Foundation Alumni Association) members. Every year, IKATIFO committee convenes HBH to strengthen the friendship among alumnis. HBH IKATIFO is a moment that every generation in Titian is looking forward to, because at the event, every generation can share stories, and have some fun. However, in nowadays’ condition, meeting in large numbers and creating a crowd are obviously not allowed. Not to mention some of the regulations by the government to prevent transmission of the COVID-19 virus—IKATIFO’s HBH could not be implemented as in previous years.

At the end, the IKATIFO committee decided to implement online HBH procedure. Of course, this was the first HBH that has ever done that way in Titian. However, through online, everyone can possibly reach out to each other wherever they are. It is hoped that the availability of this online HBH could enrich all IKATIFO members experience with some fun activities and make the members still feel the regular HBH atmosphere as usual.

This year’s HBH event featured the theme of “Stay Connected, Far From Home”. According to the theme; many of Titian alumnis couldn’t go back to their hometown. The HBH committee chose and used Titian Bayat CLC as the operation centerpiece of the online HBH event. All the committee members involved applied health protocols. Inside the operation room, only a few people were allowed to join.

The event was started at 9AM. There were representatives from each generation. The largest participants were the newest generations that have just graduated from high school, Generation 10 Bayat and first Generation of Tangsel, which has made this HBH became an introduction for them to enter the IKATIFO family and vice versa. Many working alumnis and college student alumnis were still located in the other regions, because they couldn’t go home. Some of them were located in Jabodetabek area, others were in other parts of Indonesia, and even few of them were located in Japan. The online HBH was also joined by Mrs. Lily and her family, Titian staffs in Jakarta, Bayat, and South Tangerang — there were so many people joining event, so it felt more fun and meaningful.

As always, the HBH event was also filled with good wishes from various parties; from Wahyu Cahyo from Generation 9 as the event coordinator, Rika Nur Cahyati from Generation 8 as the new head of IKATIFO, and from Titian’s side there was Mrs. Febriana (Ana) as Titian Foundation program manager. However, she couldn’t join with the committees, so she conveyed her response through a video.

There were also entertainment sessions and quizzes. Alif, Wahyu, and Nabila from the Generation 9 performed together and sang a song titled ‘Delan Liyane’ which means ‘Other Road’, and it made the HBH participants more excited. At the end of entertainment session, two participants succeeded in winning a challenge and got a prize.

HBH is not solely a usual gathering among the alumnis, but it is also the time for knowledge and experience sharing. At first, the one who shared the story on HBH this time was Tri Widodo of Generation 3. He told us about his journey before entering the world of college. Although he was not accepted several times in the university major he planned before, he eventually succeeded, and could even go on to higher education. The next story brought from Tedi of Generation 7; he was the head of the IKATIFO committee for the previous period. He shared a lot about his activities during the pandemic, his experiences during his tenure as the previous head of IKATIFO, also his experience as a Titian beneficiary. Last one, we got to know and listened to stories from the newest IKATIFO family members, the Generation 1 Tangsel and the Generation 10 Bayat. They shared all things about Titian and also share their feelings about the process they were currently facing.

The most anticipated moment of each HBH is to hear the messages and advice of Titian Foundation’s pioneer Mrs. Lily Kasoem, as she is already being the ‘mother’ of Titianers and Titian Foundation. At HBH this time, Mrs. Lily joined us along with Fendi Irawan from Gen 9. This time, Mrs. Lily told us about her activities during the quarantine. She also gave us some advice to continue maintaining our health and follow the government’s advice. Lastly, she said that Titianers are special, unique, and great—she felt really proud to meet the rest of Titianers. (IDP)