Despite facing hardships since losing their homes and loved ones, beneficiaries of the Java Reconstruction Fund in Bantul regency seem to have beaten the odds and moved on with their lives, some even with a touch of style.

Tito Judi, Cheerful Color House in Sitimulyo, village Padangan, Bantul

In dusun Padangan (a sub-village of Sitimulyo), Tito Judi, 47, owns a house painted with so many cheerful colors that locals refer to it as a kindergarten. This makes him proud.
He has lived alone in his new house since early 2008. He lost his adopted son in the earthquake that shattered his former house, and his wife fell ill and died in June last year. “The cheerful colors help to lift my spirits,” Tito said.

Mujiyem, The Pink New House in Dukuh sub-village, Bantul

In neighboring Sabdodadi village Dukuh, Mujiyem, 30, talks about the color of her 30-something-sqm house: “I like pink, so do my two children. I had the freedom to color my home.”
“Our house may be small and humble, but what’s more important to us is that it is comfortable to live in, quite nicelooking and bright,” she says.

Heri Pranoto, The Pink New House in Dukuk sub-village, Bantul

Her neighbor, Heri Pranoto, 51, says the colorful houses are a clear sign of change. “This is quite different from the past. The colors of the houses here used to be boring white or cream,” said Heri. His back and right leg were paralyzed when he was pinned down by the walls of his house during the earthquake. He now prefers to sleep in a temporary shelter at night.

Unlike Mujiyem, though, Heri admits he had to argue with his teenage children to get the colors that he wanted for the house. “But we finally agreed that they can paint their bedrooms as they like, while I do the living room,” he said. He chose dark orange for the living room. Heri also decided to decorate his veranda with green bathroom tiles, despite his children’s accusations that he was being ‘untrendy’. “Let them protest, I don’t care,” said Heri. “Another reason for the many colors is because people could not buy many colors at once, so they bartered,” he said.