More donations for Kartini fire victims
More donations for Kartini fire victims
JAKARTA (JP): The city administration has given aid worth Rp
416.4 million to 3,782 people who lost their homes and
possessions in a fire in the Kartini subdistrict of Sawah Besar
in Central Jakarta.
The Ministry of Social Services provided Rp 362 million of the
money and the remaining Rp 54.4 million was given by the city
administration.
The donation was handed over by Djailani, the city's deputy
governor for social welfare on Friday.
Djailani said in his speech that each house owner would get Rp
1 million and 10 sacks of cement.
At least 363 houses built on 3.7 hectares of land on Jl.
Kartini IX Dalam were destroyed by fire on Aug. 15.
The fire started at 4:20 p.m. and took fireman and local
residents six hours to bring under control.
"The donation will not immediately replace what you lost, but
you can use the money to finance the rebuilding of your homes,"
he said.
Gotong Royong Social Foundation, which used to be chaired by
former president Soeharto's wife, Tien Soeharto, gave the fire
victims money and sarongs on Friday.
"The foundation will give each of you Rp 2,000 every day for
the next seven days," Central Jakarta Mayor Andi Subur Abdullah
said at the ceremony.
The Kartini subdistrict head, Nursanto, said earlier that
before Friday's donations had been counted, those who lost their
homes in the fire had received a total of Rp 21.5 million in
cash, 16 tons of rice, 1,820 boxes of instant noodles, 1,100
kilograms of sugar and 960 sacks of cement.
Mayor Andi earlier promised to allow residents to rebuild
their houses.
Despite the donations of cement, residents voiced fears that
they would not have enough money to begin rebuilding their
houses.
"We only got 2.5 sacks of cement and no other building
materials. It's not enough," said Hasyim, a former driver at a
spare parts shop in the Glodok area of West Jakarta.
They called on the city authorities to provide them with help
in addition to the money and cement.
Suwarni, 27, who lost her house in the blaze, said that her
family could not afford to hire construction workers to rebuild
her house at the current daily rate of Rp 30,000.
"I have enough food and milk for my two children, but we need
a proper dwelling," she said.
Most of those who lost their homes have erected canvas
shelters on the sites where their houses once stood. Others have
already begun reconstruction work. (ivy)