After 25 Years Without Electricity, BAZNAS Launches 'Rumah Terang' Programme in Indramayu

The National Zakat Agency (BAZNAS) has launched its ‘Rumah Terang’ (Bright Home) Programme by installing solar panels for a farming community in the Perhutani forest area, Cikawung Village, Indramayu Regency. This marks the first time the local community has enjoyed electricity after living for 25 years, or a quarter of a century, without proper access to lighting. BAZNAS Chairman Sodik Mudjahid stated that the programme, held on Thursday (9/7/2026), targets 452 households as beneficiaries nationwide. Gradually, the programme is being focused on 102 households in Indramayu. In addition to residents’ homes, the programme also covers one local mosque, bringing the total to 103 points now equipped with environmentally friendly electrical installations. ‘Today we are directly implementing it in the Indramayu area. For one device package like this, there are cables, lights, and a solar cell. This is valid for 10 years, a minimum of 10 years. This has also been permitted by PLN,’ Sodik explained in a written statement on Saturday (11/7/2026). Sodik explained that the presence of this aid programme is expected to provide a real impact that is directly felt by the community, while also reflecting the utilisation of nationally collected zakat funds. ‘We have just seen the proof, from a dark place to a bright place. BAZNAS’s 13 priority programmes are the result of zakat, infak, and sedekah from all muzakki in Indonesia. For the first time in Indramayu, for this week it is 103,’ he explained. He further conveyed BAZNAS’s high hopes for changes in the quality of life of the Indramayu community now that their area has access to proper lighting. ‘The hope is that the community becomes smarter, more diligent in learning, especially their children, more enthusiastic about life, increases their worship, and increases their work, so that overall they become more prosperous,’ said Sodik. Meanwhile, Acting Regional Secretary of Indramayu Ahmad Syadeli appreciated the swift action of BAZNAS in presenting the Rumah Terang Programme in Cikawung Village as an important momentum to accelerate development in remote areas. This tangible synergy serves as a trigger for local government officials to act more responsively in mapping the basic needs of the community and ensuring social justice reaches the remote corners of the Perhutani area. ‘Therefore, BAZNAS has beaten us here. Oh God, even though we in the local government are close by, they have come down from Jakarta to pay attention to lighting in a truly remote village like this,’ he concluded.