Jakarta gets Rp 2.4b family service center
Jakarta gets Rp 2.4b family service center
JAKARTA (JP): A new family service center which aims to provide consultation and training on family affairs will be opened today at Jl. Brawijaya III/8 Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta.
The 60 sq.m-center was built and will be managed by the Indonesian Planned Parenthood Association (PKBI), and the center's opening coincides with the association's 38th anniversary.
The construction of the Rp 2.4 billion center is funded by the association and foreign donors, including the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and Canada International Development Assistance (CIDA).
Kartono Mohammad, chairman of the association said that the center was built to respond to the rising depression among people in the city.
The family service center will help people adapt to any development in society, he said.
The center, open to the public next year, is aimed to help youths and parents solve their family problems.
According to him, the consultation and training will cover several matters, including relationships among youths and between youths and parents, unwanted pregnancy, healthy reproduction, pre-marriage problems, healthy contraception, sexual problems, psychological problems, and rape.
Eight people including a physician, a paramedic, a lawyer and a psychologist, will be ready to provide services. The number of staff will be adjusted according to needs, Kartono said.
To recover its costs, the center will charge those who come for consultation. But, "Those who do not have money are welcome," he said, adding the center is not profit oriented.
In its 38th anniversary, PKBI will link up with the state- owned telecommunication company PT Telkom to issue telephone cards with messages on healthy reproduction.
Founded on Dec. 23, 1957, PKBI is the first non-governmental organization to pioneer family planning here. It now boasts 24 provincial branches and 155 sub-branches in regencies and municipalities, served by 6,000 volunteers and 300 personnel.
Even now, after the government has taken the initiative in family planning drives, the organization remains active in activities such as anti-AIDS campaign, handling juvenile delinquency and advising women on their rights. (29)