Affordable Food Aid Helps Jakarta Street Service Workers Unable to Return Home for Eid

Jakarta (ANTARA) — A street service worker (PPSU) has expressed gratitude for a subsidised food staples programme, having decided to forego his annual journey home for Eid in order to prioritise his family’s needs.

“Praise be to God, we can manage more comfortably with prices like these. It is affordable for daily expenses,” said Muhammad Said, a PPSU officer from Pondok Pinang sub-district, during an interview at the Kebayoran Lama District Office in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Said explained that for 100,000 rupiah, he was able to obtain a package of basic food items sufficiently varied to take home. The package contains red meat, potatoes, wheat flour, and two kilograms of rice.

However, beneath his relief at obtaining affordable provisions lies a difficult reality: Said has not returned to his hometown of Solo for four years. The savings he has accumulated have instead been allocated towards his child’s education.

“I do not travel home; it seems there are always school expenses. My child is registering for school in Yogyakarta,” he explained.

Despite the pain of missing his hometown for four years, the subsidised food programme has at least allowed Said and his family to experience something of the festive spirit of Eid.

Another Pondok Pinang resident, Ari, said she learned about the programme through the sub-district office, which distributed official vouchers to eligible families.

“One person gets one voucher for 100,000 rupiah,” she said.

Ari attended the event on behalf of her husband, who works as a PPSU officer. She expressed hope that such assistance schemes would continue and expand in the future.

“Hopefully, there will be more assistance,” she said.