Care International goes local

JAKARTA (JP): Care International Indonesia which has operated here for 28 years has began the transfer of its activities to a local foundation.

Yayasan Mitra Masyarakat Membangun (Foundation for Partnership of Community Development, or YM3), chaired by former Finance Minister Frans Seda, was officially introduced yesterday as a new organization to carry on Care's activities.

Set up in 1967, Care mainly facilitated projects such as water supply, sanitation and primary health in six provinces: Central, South and Southeast Sulawesi, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara and East Timor.

Outgoing Country Director Paul McCarthy said his replacement, Ann Thomson, "will be the last expatriate director." Most key positions are already held by Indonesians, he said.

Working here with the cooperation of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Care has channeled some US$29 million into Indonesia through its projects. In the last two years a number of its representative offices have been established in Ujung Pandang, South Sulawesi, and Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara.

Seda and the deputy of regional affairs at the National Development Planning Board, Herman Haeruman, said the most important result of Care is the facilitation of self-reliant communities.

"Rather than just installing pipes and water facilities, we feel our most important impact is making communities more self- reliant," Haeruman said.

Noted professionals have been selected as caretakers and members of the foundation. They include: economist Mari Pangestu of the Centre of International Strategic Studies; and Hasan Purbo an urban development expert of the Bandung Institute of Technology.

The new foundation aims to increase its funding partnerships outside of Care which has allocated $3.3 million for this fiscal year. Funding agencies based in Canada (CIDA), the United States (USAID), Australia (AIDAB) and the World Bank currently provide funding for Care. (anr)