Graduates needed in Irian villages

Graduates needed in Irian villages

JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya: Irian Jaya needs 3,590 university
graduates to work in 2,260 remote villages across the province, a
local government official said.

The volunteers will stay in the least developed villages to
assist villagers in improving their living conditions, head of
Irian Jaya's Rural Areas Development Agency Tedjo Suprapto told
Antara Friday.

The government allocates Rp 20 million for each poor village
in the country per year. The fund is expected to be used for
productive activities by villagers to strengthen their economy.

Separately, a National Development Planning Board senior
official in charge of rural development programs, Gunawan
Sumodiningrat, acknowledged that poverty alleviation programs
were not often successful here.

"Its geographic position, poor transportation and the shortage
of personnel to supervise the programs are the main factors
behind the failure," Gunawan said in Jayapura. (prb)