I was born in Gorontalo, North Sulawesi, on March 19, 1926. I am the third of five siblings, two sons and three daughters. My father is Poka Badudu and my mother is Pano Sulaeman. My father graduated from grammar school, while my mother never went to school and was illiterate. When I was three years old, my family moved to Poso, Central Sulawesi. I underwent my elementary education at a grammar school (SR) in Poso, but only until the third grade.