Kalibaru poor families want more aid
JAKARTA (JP): Forty poor families living in Kalibaru subdistrict in North Jakarta asked the government over the weekend to provide them with more financial aid to develop their small businesses.
Asikin, a head of the neighborhood community, said that his group has difficulties developing and marketing their products, particularly pillows, owing to a dearth of capital.
He said he has received Rp 400,000 (US$173.91) in aid from his subdistrict through the least-developed villages aid scheme (IDT).
The IDT scheme was first introduced by the government in 1993 in an effort to eradicate poverty. The government provides Rp 20 million in no-interest loans for the residents living in each village considered under-developed.
"I have paid back the aid to the government. I have also proposed that the head of the subdistrict should another Rp 1.5 million in aid," he told The Jakarta Post.
He makes the pillows from cloths, buying the textiles from a garment factory in Kawasan Berikat Nusantara bonded zone, in Cakung.
The father of five children sells the pillows locally. "We sell directly to consumers in order to get back the capital quickly," he added.
Asikin said he and his members, who are mostly small-scale traders, food vendors and fishermen have received aid amounting to an average of between Rp 100,000 and Rp 500,000.
He said his group received a letter of appreciation plus Rp 2 million in cash from President Soeharto on Jan.10 for its second best-community development.
He said the group is now breeding fresh-water fish, using the cash prize from the President as the capital.
Wati, whose husband is a fisherman, urged the government to continue providing financial aid to the group. She got Rp 150,000 of the IDT funds.
"If we want to improve the welfare of the group, the sum of the aid should be increased," she said.
Meanwhile, the head of Kalibaru sub-district, Umar Nasution said there are 400 poor families who have yet to receive funds under the IDT program.
He said his office has received Rp 20 million a year through the IDT funds since last year.
"The funds are lent to the families without interest," he said, adding that the repayment of the soft loans has posed no problem to them so far.
Some 1,600 families in the sub-district have received a soft loan, he added.
Earlier on Thursday, the head of the city's IDT program, Budihardjo Sukmadi reported to the governor that some 7,000 of Jakarta's poor families have received funds through the IDT scheme. He said most of the recipients are fishermen.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics a Jakarta family is considered living below the poverty line if it earns below Rp 50,000 a month.
Based on bureau figures, 56.67 percent of the families who get IDT funds earn above Rp 60,000 per month. (jun)