Kartika raises funds for Unicef<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The youngest daughter of former president Sukarno, Kartika
\nSoekarnoputri, visited a posyandu (health clinic) on Wednesday to
\nraise funds for UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund).<\/p>\n
Kartika, who was accompanied by well-known Dutch model Annette
\nLauer, was observing the activities at the clinic, located in a
\nslum area of Pancoran Barat in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Local mothers brought babies in for a health checkup and to
\nmonitor their development.<\/p>\n
"The U.S. media have been very critical of Indonesia, that's
\nwhy it is not easy to raise funds there. Luckily, some of my
\nfriends support me," said Kartika, referring to Annette, whose
\ngrandmother is Indonesian.<\/p>\n
Kartika, the only daughter of Soekarno and his Japanese wife
\nRatna Sari Dewi, currently lives in New York. She owns the
\nKartika Soekarno Foundation for Indonesian Children.<\/p>\n
Both Kartika and Annette made the three-day visit to the
\ncountry as members of the U.S. National Committee for UNICEF,
\nwhich was formed to raise funds for UNICEF. Most of the
\ncommittee's members are celebrities and public figures.<\/p>\n
"I've been to a posyandu before in Subang, West Java, but I've
\nonly just found out now how children live in such a poor
\nenvironment as here. I love the concept of posyandu because it is
\na community-based program," said Kartika, adding that they would
\npresent a report to the U.S. National Committee for UNICEF in
\nSeptember.<\/p>\n
Nona Poeroe Utomo of the Indonesia UNICEF said they had
\nvisited the posyandu because the number of clinics was in decline
\nsince the 1997 economic crisis.<\/p>\n
"Therefore, Indonesia UNICEF plans to revitalize the clinics,"
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
In the 1980s, there were 250,000 health clinics across the
\ncountry, but now, that number has decreased by 20 percent.<\/p>\n
Kartika and her entourage will also visit Magelang in Central
\nJava and Yogyakarta to observe a school-based management project
\nand another project for street children.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kartika-raises-funds-for-unicef-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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