A little help goes a long way in villages<\/p>\n
MATARAM, West Nusa Tenggara (JP): Throughout our trip to six
\nproject sites in Jakarta and to villages in West Nusa Tenggara
\nthere was not one person unimpressed with the quality and work
\ndone by United Nations Volunteers (UNVs).<\/p>\n
Everyone uttered words of praise and gratitude.<\/p>\n
Hospitable residents at five villages of Akar-akar, Sukadana,
\nLoloan, Teruwai and Mertak in West Lombok idly talked about the
\nbenefits to their communities after working with the UN
\nvolunteers, who won a special place in the villagers' hearts.<\/p>\n
The villagers seem to have only adoration, mingled with
\nsadness which entered our conversations each time they became
\nconscious of the long struggle ahead. A struggle they will have
\nto continue on their own.<\/p>\n
\"I find it hard to believe that Gemma has left us. It's like a
\nbaby being left by its mother just as it has learned to crawl,\"
\nsaid Sukur Riyadi, a local assistant to Gemma Relojo at the
\nMertak preparatory village.<\/p>\n
\"But we are determined to continue what she started,\" he said.<\/p>\n
By the time we arrived it had been a week since Filipino UNV
\nGemma Relojo, who oversaw Teruwai and Mertak villages in West
\nNusa Tenggara, had left.<\/p>\n
Four vehicles were packed with people who cried like there was
\nno tomorrow just to see Gemma off at Mataram's Selaparan Airport.<\/p>\n
\"If I could, I would come up with Rp 5 million (US$2,130) to
\nhave her back here with us,\" Sukur said with tears in his eyes.<\/p>\n
At Mertak, Gemma laid out the organizational structure and
\nnetwork for residents to continue to identify their needs and
\nwork toward meeting them.<\/p>\n
Mertak is now the local youth's pride. Gemma established
\nseveral social groups such as the Youth Organization (Karang
\nTaruna), the mosque youth assembly and a youth sports
\norganization. All of these came from local initiative.<\/p>\n
Gemma also worked with the Center of Developmental Study for
\nland conservation, managed to terrace the slanted and dry
\nlandscape for farming purposes.<\/p>\n
The UN volunteers help local communities identify their
\nproblems and needs and find solutions.<\/p>\n
The trip to West Nusa Tenggara took us to the Community Self-
\nHelp Program for Development project. Similar projects are being
\nimplemented in Irian Jaya, Maluku, Southeast Sulawesi and East
\nNusa Tenggara. All are to officially end next January.<\/p>\n
Every field-worker expects the projects to sustain the
\ncommunities after they leave.<\/p>\n
Typical schemes are the introduction of Credit Revolving Funds
\nto promote self-employment and small-enterprises through a
\ngrassroots participatory development approach.<\/p>\n
Local communities, who feel they have benefited greatly from
\nthe financial help and volunteer assistance, said they wish to
\ncontinue practicing what they have learned.<\/p>\n
Mi'sah, a woman who chairs two credit revolving funds -- one
\nfor a brick-making group and another for a tailoring group -- in
\nAkar-akar, said she hopes the groups continue.<\/p>\n
\"Their projects have boosted the collective income of our
\nvillage,\" Mi'sah said, pointing out that the tailoring group,
\nwhich has 10 members, earns at least Rp 8,000 per day.<\/p>\n
The credit revolving funds start small-scale enterprises and
\ngenerate employment in the local community through collectives.
\nTo obtain the Rp 6 million grant, a group needs to have at least
\nfive members.<\/p>\n
Trickle Up Projects similarly aim to support individual
\nenterprises' sustainability. Examples of Trickle Up Projects in
\nLombok include traditional weaving and small shops.<\/p>\n
Projects also try to increase community groups' access to
\ngovernment services and funding possibilities from international
\nNGOs, and bilateral and multilateral agencies.<\/p>\n
Volunteers generally discuss project plans and ways to
\nimplement ideas with the villagers.<\/p>\n
\"It's no easy task, people would not trust us unless we got
\ndown and did the same work, if not more than them,\" said Samiran
\nHadi Subroto, a national UNV coordinator.<\/p>\n
A volunteer's fieldwork does not end at dusk and there is no
\nholiday with such work unless one leaves their post, Subroto
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
All the groundwork, which may evolve into a rural village's
\nself-sustainability, does not receive all the attention and
\nsupport it deserves from local governments.<\/p>\n
In the case of West Nusa Tenggara, the implementing government
\nagency for the UNDP-supported program seemed indifferent, if not
\noblivious, to the programs' development.<\/p>\n
Volunteers said staff at the Ministry of Manpower's provincial
\noffice disappointed both volunteers and villagers who had hoped
\nthe project for the betterment of their livelihoods would be
\nsupported.<\/p>\n
Durga Shrestha, from Nepal, and Ajoy Kumar Singha, from
\nBangladesh, voiced frustration at perpetually being given empty
\npromises of workshops being held to train villagers.<\/p>\n
\"Many residents think that we are the lazy ones,\" Durga
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"They don't care about us,\" an exasperated Ajoy said.<\/p>\n
Kitanep, a Lombok villager who worked with Durga in Akar-akar
\nsaid no inspection or on-site visits had ever taken place.<\/p>\n
\"On the contrary, they often come only to ask the village chief
\nto stamp papers, a record, as if they had come here to monitor
\nthe projects,\" said Kitanep.<\/p>\n
\"Being a UNV is not easy, the volunteers are not seeking fame
\nor recognition,\" said Subroto, who is based in Mataram.<\/p>\n
He underscored the fact that these volunteers are foreigners
\ndedicating their services to Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Subroto said he had encouraged fellow volunteers not to rely
\nonly on government support.<\/p>\n
Subroto claimed there was so much red tape at the Ministry of
\nManpower's provincial office that he has given up seeking support
\nand assistance there.<\/p>\n
Such is the constraint of working with the bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
\"It is a learning process for both parties,\" Dianne D.
\nArbodela, a Jakarta-based UNV program officer, said of the less-
\nthan-ideal situation.<\/p>\n
The question of sustainability is at stake when reality shows
\nhow crucial support is to those in need of inspiration.<\/p>\n
Fieldwork has demonstrated that financial support is just as
\nimportant as emotional support, and ignoring either is harmful.
\nCommunity development, after all, requires continuous monitoring.<\/p>\n
A former UNV at an urban slum project in Cipinang, East
\nJakarta, disagreed. She said a project's capability would sustain
\nas long as there is a need for it.<\/p>\n
\"Of course, we cannot expect sustainability to continue
\naccording to our world view, because the local community will do
\nwhatever deems fit to meet their own needs,\" Thelma C. Orbosa of
\nthe Philippines said.<\/p>\n
When all is said and done, those who witness the process may
\nsay the economically and educationally weak villagers need only a
\nlittle encouragement, that they too can make it and enjoy the
\nfruits of development.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-little-help-goes-a-long-way-in-villages-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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