UNDP program benefits 150,000 poor families<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The UNDP-sponsored Community Recovery Program (CRP) is moving
\ntowards a new phase emphasizing the empowerment of poor families
\nand the creation of strategic alliances at the local level to
\nhelp eradicate poverty in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Since it was first launched in 1998, the CRP has disbursed
\ngrants worth US$17 million from donor countries to assist more
\nthan 150,000 poor families through income-generation activities,
\nbasic social services, food security and humanitarian aid for
\ninternally displaced people affected by ethnic and sectarian
\nconflicts.<\/p>\n
UNDP Resident Representative Bo Asplund said in the CRP's 2002
\nprogress report that it had provided support for 896 poor
\ncommunity institutions with the total number of participants
\nincreasing to 150,000 households.<\/p>\n
\"The establishment of 15 new humanitarian coordination posts
\nin Ambon, Buton, Denpasar, Manado, Bitung, Kupang, Halmahera and
\nTernate has benefited more than 83,000 people,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He explained that the UNDP in cooperation with the government,
\nNGOs and facilitators had channeled funds raised from donor
\ncountries such the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Britain, as
\nwell as the private sector, to poor communities (IDPs) through
\nincome-generation activities such as commercial farming, fishing,
\nmarketing of products in the informal sector and seedling
\nproduction for reforestation.<\/p>\n
CRP National Council Chairman Emil Salim concurred and said
\nthe CRP would continue with more projects \"to reach the poor and
\nto eradicate the poverty.\"<\/p>\n
\"We want to deliver a message that civil society and poor
\npeople must and can escape poverty through their own initiatives.
\nAnd more can and needs to be done. There are more people today
\nliving on $1 a day than there were in 1996 before the economy
\ncollapsed ...,\" Emil said.<\/p>\n
He said the council had uncommitted funds amounting to only
\n$1.4 million left to finance its projects.<\/p>\n
\"We hope that the poor people we have given grants to can
\ncreate a snowball effect by circulating the funds to other
\nprospective recipients,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The CRP, which was launched in 1998, has so far received grant
\ncommitments worth $28 million from Sweden, the U.S., the
\nNetherlands, New Zealand, PT Beiersdorf, and the United Nation
\nDevelopment Program (UNDP).<\/p>\n
To date, it has received $26 million of the total grant
\ncommitments.<\/p>\n
To access grants, poor people can prepare an initial proposal
\nthrough NGOs in collaboration with the CRP's regional
\nfacilitators. At present, 28 CRP regional facilitators have been
\nappointed around the country.<\/p>\n
Emil went on to say that with new projects needing to be
\nfunded, it was imperative that the CRP increased its ability to
\ncreate a permanent trust fund.<\/p>\n
\"It will make the CRP more sustainable,\" he said, adding that
\nthe CRP must also explore the mobilization of funds from domestic
\nresources.<\/p>\n
Emil also called on other NGOs to start conducting similar
\nprograms to help poor people fight poverty.<\/p>\n
\"We need more organizations like the CRP in this country to
\nhelp eradicate poverty,\" Emil said.<\/p>\n
Emil criticized many programs that only gave out food to poor
\npeople, saying that such programs would not improve their quality
\nof life.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/undp-program-benefits-150000-poor-families-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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