ALSA LC UGM this year organized a new social initiative, the ALSA Charity & Social Event 2020, primarily aimed at supporting the waria (transgender women) community -- particularly the students of Pondok Pesantren Waria Al Fatah (Al Fatah Islamic Boarding School for Transgender Women) in Yogyakarta. The event carried the theme "Embroider the Truth from Within" and comprised two main activities: a webinar titled "The Dilemma of Recognizing the Existence of Waria" and an online embroidery workshop. An open donation drive was also held, with all collected funds channeled to Pondok Pesantren Waria Al Fatah.
The webinar featured three speakers: Shinta Ratri, Chair of Pondok Pesantren Waria Al Fatah, who shared her experience as a waria and gave an introduction to the boarding school; Merlyn Sopjan, a waria activist who recounted her struggle to advocate for the welfare of waria in Indonesia; and Pipin Jamson, a lecturer in the Department of Politics and Government at UGM's Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, who has been actively advocating for the rights of waria. The discussion was moderated by UGM Faculty of Law student Audrey Mokobombang. The moderator posed prompting questions to all three speakers throughout the discussion, and participants actively raised questions that were answered clearly and informatively by the speakers. The final activity was the embroidery workshop, organized with the assistance of Benang Sulam as the session guide. The workshop was attended by students from Pondok Pesantren Waria Al Fatah and ALSA LC UGM members. During the session, the trainers provided instruction and demonstrated all techniques on camera for participants to follow. The event closed with the online presentation of plaques to the trainers and the Pondok Pesantren Waria Al Fatah, followed by a group photo.
