Care International goes local

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)