Charity vital to beat the crisis

Charity vital to beat the crisis

In this time of crisis, more and more people are crying out
for help. What is the country doing to cope with the problems?
The Jakarta Post's team of Ahmad Junaidi, Arief Suhardiman, Edith
Hartanto, Dwi Atmanta, Kornelius Purba, Kosasih Deradjat, Sylvia
Gratia M. Nirang and Brigid O'Halloran look into the issue of
charity.

JAKARTA (JP): The Central Jakarta slum was suddenly enveloped
in smiles and hope as the good news spread among its inhabitants.

"Come on, hurry up, they're handing out free sembako," said
Masnah to her neighbors about the free distribution in the area
of basic necessities by a non-governmental organization (NGO).

Such an activity is not unusual here as more and more people
need help because they are badly affected by the country's worst
economic crisis in decades.

The Central Bureau of Statistics said recently that the number
of Indonesians living below the poverty line has increased
sharply from 22.5 million, or 11 percent of the population, in
1996, to 79.4 million, about 40 percent of Indonesia's population
of 202 million.

The bureau also warned that the figure would increase to 95.8
million, about 48 percent of the population, by the end of this
year if no economic recovery was in sight.

The International Labor Organization has predicted that every
day this year about 15,000 workers would lose their jobs,
bringing the total number of jobless people by year's end to 5.4
million.

Those who still have money to spare, and are concerned with
this condition are trying to lend a hand in their own way. Some
give their assistance through NGOs or take part in a fund-raising
program organized by Kompas and Republika dailies, held in
cooperation with the Indonesian Ulemas Council.

Many people prefer to donate through NGOs or charity
organizations because they are afraid that their contributions
will not reach the target if donations are sent through the
government's institutions.

Earlier this year, former minister of social services Siti
Hardijanti Rukmana called upon people to donate their gold and
money -- rupiah and U.S. dollars -- to help the poor. The former
minister, eldest daughter of former president Soeharto, also
organized a program involving sidewalk food stalls for the
distribution of free and low-priced meals to laid-off workers.

The project, however, ended with complaints from many
food-stall owners that they never received funds from the
ministry to cover the cost of the meals.

Minister of Social Services Justika S. Baharsjah has refused
to comment on the use of the funds collected by her predecessor,
saying her ministry did not have the details on the funds
collected or how they were spent.

She only said that her ministry has spent about Rp 8 billion
of a total of more than Rp 10 billion of funds to cope with the
impact of the crisis.

Apart from that, the government has also introduced a social
safety net program, as required in its agreement with the
International Monetary Fund, which is designed to help the
country's poor survive the current economic crisis.

The program, funded mostly by foreign loans, is focused, among
other things, on establishing food security and employment
opportunities.

The government has allocated 7.5 percent of the country's
Gross Domestic Product in the current fiscal year, which ends in
March next year, for the program.

At least Rp 17.25 trillion has been allotted for the program.

But worries over leaks and corruption, and the lack of
accurate data on people hardest hit by the crisis, have slowed
down the government's social safety net spending for the poor.

The World Bank has repeatedly warned the government that
international financial support for the social safety net program
would be stopped unless it could ensure that the aid directed for
the needy could be distributed without being abused by corrupt
government officials.

Coordinating Minister for Social Welfare/Poverty Eradication
Haryono Suyono said the government has involved university
students and NGOs in monitoring the social safety net program to
ensure that the aid reaches the targeted group.

NGOs and charity organizations, including those established by
expatriates here, have their own way of helping the needy. Some
of them distribute free assistance. But some others, such as the
Bina Swadaya development agency and the Community Recovery
Program focus on giving basic social services and create job
opportunities and income generation.

Bina Swadaya's director, Bambang Ismawan, said that providing
free basic necessities encouraged people to be dependent and
weakened their motivation to help themselves.

"We choose to give them the bait not the fish," he said.

Economist Emil Salim, who chairs the Community Recovery
Program shared this idea.

"We are not giving charity, people have to earn money to pay
back the funds so they learn more about self-empowerment," he
said.

Emil said charities experienced problems in supervision and
evaluation at the operational level. The distribution of relief
for free, or at cost, is prone to manipulation and corruption, he
said.

But people still question the accountability of NGOs, although
there are many which truly work to help the poor.

A country marketing manager of the air express company PT
Birotika Semesta/DHL, Soraya Rudianti, said: "I always want to
donate my money to the street children (through an NGO) but I
wonder if my donations will reach the targeted people."

Foreigners cast even more doubts.

An American working as director for a multinational insurance
company, Martins, said, "To be honest, I always donate my money
through foreign NGOs and foreign charity organizations. I don't
believe in Indonesia's NGOs and its government."

But foreign aid institutions, NGOs and charity organizations
have complained about the government's complicated bureaucracy,
which hampers them from direct distribution of the funds.

The International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD)
complained about complicated bureaucracy which has resulted in
high administrative costs and leaks in the flow of its funds.

IFAD's country portfolio manager for Indonesia, Mattia Prayer
Galletti, told The Jakarta Post recently: "The flow of funds is
not smooth and sometimes cannot be tracked. It's hard to control
the flow and the possibility of corruption and manipulation in
aid distribution.

"The Indonesian government should be more transparent in
distributing the aid it receives from foreign institutions.
Otherwise, the country will be avoided by donors."