Baznas and Religious Affairs Ministry Push for Orphan Empowerment on 10 Muharram
The Chairman of the National Alms Agency (Baznas), Sodik Mudjahid, has stated that the momentum of 10 Muharram must serve as a starting point to encourage beneficiaries, particularly orphans and people with disabilities, to become more independent and empowered. He made the remarks while attending the ‘Lebaran Yatim’ and Disability event organised by the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Sodik expressed full support for the event’s theme, ‘Festival of Inclusive Messages from the Soul of the Child for the Nation’, initiated by the ministry. He noted that the theme aligns with efforts to shift the paradigm from social assistance to potential-based empowerment. ‘This year’s festival theme is very apt because true social justice for orphans and people with disabilities is achieved when we give them space to speak, create, and lead their own future,’ Sodik explained in a written statement on Friday.
He added that through the zakat and waqf ecosystem, Baznas is committed to shifting the role of beneficiaries from objects of pity to active, independent subjects. To achieve this target, Baznas continues to optimise the distribution of public funds into long-term productive programmes. ‘We continue to optimise the distribution of public funds into long-term productive programmes such as creative education scholarships and adaptive skills training,’ he said.
Sodik expressed hope that the collaboration, titled ‘Peaceful Muharram’, could become a turning point for national zakat management that focuses more on glorifying human dignity. ‘We hope this Peaceful Muharram collaboration will be a turning point for national zakat management that focuses on glorifying human dignity and strengthening the extraordinary potential of our children,’ he stated.
Meanwhile, Minister of Religious Affairs Nasaruddin Umar invited all zakat and waqf management institutions to make 10 Muharram a new tradition in freeing orphans and disabled groups from life’s hardships. ‘Hopefully, this will become a new tradition for us to commemorate 10 Muharram. While other places commemorate it in various ways, we here commemorate it in very productive ways,’ Nasaruddin said.
On the occasion, the Minister also stressed the importance of broadening the meaning of ‘orphan’. According to him, aid and attention should not be limited only to children who have lost a father, but must also target all abandoned children in need of help. The Lebaran Yatim event was attended by approximately 300 to 400 in-person participants consisting of orphans, people with disabilities, representatives of zakat institutions, and the general public. The event was also attended virtually by officials from the Ministry of Religious Affairs’ regional offices in 34 provinces, district and city offices at 514 points, as well as representatives from Baznas, the Indonesian Waqf Board (BWI), Amil Zakat Institutions (LAZ), and other related institutions across Indonesia.