'No force' in foster parents donation

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto told organizers of the National Foster Parents Movement yesterday not to use force in collecting donations from the public.

The President said donors should be convinced that their contribution would be very useful for the education of poor children.

"Their donation is an after-life investment, so (they should) open their heart to... the needy children," Minister of Social Services Endang Kusuma Inten Suweno quoted the President as saying.

In his speech at the commemoration of National Education Day in May, the President said that six million of the country's 38 million school-age children could not attend school because they were too poor and about 400,000 others dropped out before attaining a "basic education".

In 1994 the government made a minimum of nine years of education compulsory to encourage all children to attend school.

In May last year, Soeharto launched a drive to help up to two million who were in desperate need of financing.

"Until 1999 we hope that we can help up to two million children finish their education," Inten said, adding for this year alone at least 500,000 children can be helped through the foster parents movement.

The minister was accompanied during the meeting by the chairwoman of the foster parents movement Halimah Bambang Trihatmodjo, Rugaiyah Wiranto, wife of Army Chief Gen. Wiranto and other executives.

"Last year we collected Rp 40 billion (US$11.76 million) from public donations," said the minister.

The movement has spent Rp 16 billion for the children. Each primary school student from a poor family receives Rp 15,000 per month plus uniforms, shoes and books for one year. A junior high school student receives Rp 25,000 per month.

"We want to help the children at least until they finish their secondary education," Inten said.

Ever since the establishment of the foster parent movement by Soeharto, a number of organizations have followed suit. There is, for instance, the Orangtua Bimbing Terpadu (Foster Parent Integrated Program), for instance, awarded scholarships to 6,000 students nationwide this year. This program is known by its Indonesian acronym of ORBIT.

The program, set up by the Amal Abadi Foundation, was pioneered by the foundation's executive head Dr. Marwah Daud Ibrahim and inaugurated by President Soeharto in Dec. 1995.

Under the program, the children's school fees are distributed monthly through Simpul, a five person unit at district or village level. (prb)