When Karisma first joined Harapan Fian as a volunteer, she expected to commit only six months as a facilitator for the Saturday Learning Class. Two years later, that commitment had grown into something much deeper. Through her journey at Harapan Fian, she found not only meaningful work with children but also a place where she could continue growing. As Karisma’s involvement expanded beyond the Saturday classes, she and several fellow volunteers spent countless hours talking about their own experiences as young women. Those informal conversations often returned to the same concerns: the lack of safe spaces to discuss feminism, sexual and reproductive health, and the everyday realities faced by women, especially those living on the margins. Gradually, they realized these shared concerns reflected a much larger gap that needed to be addressed.
Motivated by this realization, Karisma and her fellow volunteers founded Varginal Community, a youth-led initiative that promotes knowledge about feminism and sexual and reproductive health while providing a safe and welcoming space for women to share their stories. They believe that every woman has the right to bodily autonomy and access to sexual and reproductive health, regardless of her identity, age, social status, or life circumstances.
Today, Varginal Community continues to grow alongside Harapan Fian, carrying forward the values that first brought its founders together.
For Karisma, the journey demonstrates that volunteering is not only about supporting communities—it can also inspire new ideas, new leadership, and new movements. As they often remind themselves, when the space you need does not yet exist, sometimes the first step is to create it yourself.