Bogor poor residents get assistance from neighbors

BOGOR (JP): At least 52 residents of Sukaresmi and Kebon Pedes villages in Tanah Sareal district can no longer afford to buy food and survive by depending on their neighbors for assistance, a district official said on Tuesday.

Achmad Syarief, head of Tanah Sareal district, said that the 52 residents were among about 10,000 people feared to totally lose their purchasing power due to the prolonged economic crisis in the district.

"They come from 3,300 families living in 11 villages in Tanah Sareal district," he said.

"The 52 people survive by relying on the assistance of nearby neighbors," Achmad said.

He explained that his district had thus far received assistance in the form of 200 kilograms of rice from the local office of Bazis, an agency in charge of managing the collection of Islamic alms, to be distributed to people severely effected by poverty.

"This assistance, however, is far from enough," Achmad said.

He therefore urged the wealthy to assist those in need, offering them whatever jobs they had. "The most important thing is to enable people to survive during the hardship," he said, adding that those who had lost their purchasing power generally used to work in informal sectors such as construction.

R. Iswara Natanegara, secretary of the Bogor mayoralty, said that it was feared that over 36,000 people in the mayoralty faced a similar loss of purchasing power.

"Most of them are completely jobless. They need serious attention from any party," Iswara said.

He said that the mayoralty had launched several programs, including the distribution of free-of-charge food packages, to assist them during the crisis.

"However, we cannot reach everyone, so many of them haven't received any assistance from us," he said.

Other programs, designed to help avoid starvation in the region include the sale of food products at discounted prices every Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday, he said.

The Bogor mayoralty has also set aside about Rp 650 million (US$59,090) in the 1998/1999 budget to finance labor-intensive projects.

"The projects manage to employ at least 600 people in road construction, gutter repairs and growing vegetables on deserted lands," he added. (24/hhr)