Donations to boarding houses

BOGOR (JP): West Java Governor R. Nuriana handed over donations in the form of fish, hens, corn seeds and fertilizer to 10 Islamic boarding houses in Bogor on Tuesday.

The donations were given to representatives of the boarding houses in a ceremony at Mekarwangi village in Tanah Sareal district, Bogor.

The governor also gave 1,000 food packages to poor families in the area. Each package consisted of five kilograms of rice, 1 kg of cooking oil, and instant noodles.

Achmad Syarief, head of Tanah Sareal district, said recently that at least 52 residents of Sukaresmi and Kebon Pedes villages in the district, could no longer afford to buy food and survived by depending on their neighbors for assistance.

He said that the 52 residents were among about 10,000 people in the district feared to totally lose their purchasing power due to the prolonged economic crisis.

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

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. (24/jun)