Patricia Saerang

lImpactmakers, anything new no doubt creates new experiences and challenges. Now, how does one take in the new experiences and overcome the new challenges, including while in a leading role?

Patricia J. G. Saerang, a person with disability who also paints in the Chinese style and has experiences in leading 2 different organisations, would share her way below.

From Painting to Leading

Patricia Saerang, who was born without arms, loves painting since her childhood. This hobby turned into her profession after she had won a painting competition held by a university in Indonesia.

She took a painting course provided by a professional  Chinese painter, and paints acording to this style until now. Learning it was a challenge on its own, as it involves delicate brush strokes that define details very precisely, while she had to make those strokes using her feet. She persevered, however, and her perseverance was rewarded well.

Year by year, Patricia was increasingly known as a disabled painter, and often invited to many events. And, in 1988, she broadened her horizon even more by joining as a member in AMFPA (Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists), an international community for persons who paint without arms.

In 2006, Patricia was promoted to the position of chair person in AMFPA Indonesia. This was her first experience as a leader. As the chair person of AMFPA Indonesia, her duties were to hold a painting exhibition at least once a year, to facilitate members to register at painting exhibitions, and to hold events that would convey the message that, even though they do not have arms, members of ANFPA Indonesia can still paint.

As a first-time leader, she found it challenging to unite all members for a goal, to find the best place to hold exhibitions that would also accommodate the special needs of the painters, and to convince both herself and others that she could lead in spite of her disability. What drove her onward and allowed her to solve the challenges was, as she said it herself, “I try to accept the best advice to be implemented for the betterment of all and give the best advice to the same end.”

Patricia Saerang, Going Out of the Box

In September 2024, Patricia and a few of her friends built Sentra Disabilitas Nusantara (SETARA). It is an Indonesian organisation for persons with disability (PWD), not only for those who are without arms. Its main goal is to promote inclusivity between persons with and without disabilities in Indonesia regardless of religions, ethnic groups, et cetera.

Patricia was chosen as SETARA’s first chair person. Her duties in this role are to find out the needs of persons with disabilities in Indonesia and provide trainings for the skills they need, and also to provide training for select PWDs who will in turn teach persons without disabilities about how they could help and communicate with those with disabilities.

This second experience in a leadership role no doubt has its own challenges. However, Patricia Saerang holds on to the same motto that successfully helped her finish her term as AMFPA’s leader well.

So, Impactmakers, as Patricia Saerang has shared with us, as long as we have dreams and goals and persevere to achieve them, we will have the fuel to do what we need to do, including new roles and new scopes in an organisation.

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