Tradition of mutual help damping the crisis

By Stephen J. Woodhouse

JAKARTA (JP): Much has been written about the establishment of a social safety net to protect the poor from Indonesia's ongoing crisis. Unfortunately, a strong impression has been imparted that such a net represents something new.

The fact is Indonesia is blessed with a centuries-old still- vibrant tradition of community and family mutual help that makes it one of the richest countries in the world when measured by social capital as opposed to economic capital.

Many visitors to Indonesia have expressed their sense of wonder that given the severity and speed of Indonesia's economic meltdown, the country has not collapsed into chaotic anarchy.

My answer to them is to cite three major strengths of Indonesian society. First, there is the power of the extended family to look after the interests of all members, with a particular focus on protecting the poorest, most-vulnerable members first.

Extended family gatherings are commonplace and often involve specific plans for helping family members in the short and long term. However, reciprocity is also important. One of my brothers- in-law, a computer engineer who has lost his job, is busy providing free computer lessons to his numerous nieces and nephews. Another one just painted my house.

The second strength is the power of religious leaders. All the major religions here share a common commitment to help the poor. Their adherents, and nearly every Indonesian citizen, hold strong religious beliefs, mixing their religious devotion with practical means of implementing religious teaching.

An example of this can be seen at the end of Idul Adha -- sacrifice day. Mosques throughout the archipelago collect animals donated by better off members of the community and distribute the meat very effectively to the poorer members of the community.

Religious leaders of all faiths play crucial roles in maintaining various community-based organizations that support different types of religious schools, frequently at much lower costs to parents than the state school system.

The third strength is gotong royong (community self-help) with its numerous manifestations that vary from area to area, such as sambatan and rewang in much of Java, in which unused land owned by the rich may be assigned to the poor's lumbung desa (community food storage); the banjar system in Bali; and rereongan sarumpi in West Java.

UNICEF knows that community self-help is alive and well. It forms the basis of many successful programs by local community health centers to benefit pregnant women in danger of complications and schemes whereby vehicles belonging to the better off can be commandeered (with subsequent reimbursement) as ambulances for women in need of emergency obstetric care.

Indonesia's excellent system of community health and nutrition posts (Posyandu) is also rooted in gotong-royong. There are about 250,000 such posts throughout the country. They usually open once a month and are staffed by four or five volunteers, usually young women, who volunteer their time to weigh babies, provide nutrition counseling and education, immunization and referral services where necessary.

Without this impressive Posyandu system of volunteers, Indonesia would not have been able to eradicate polio, a monumental task achieved by having the Posyandu volunteers immunize all of Indonesia's 23 million children under-5 in three massive campaigns in 1995, 1996 and 1997.

In most parts of Indonesia, community work such as clearing drains, maintaining public thoroughfares and independence day celebrations is done based on the spirit of mutual self-help. As with everywhere, there is no such thing as a free lunch, and everyone contributes what they can.

Indonesia's excellent social capital is under threat from the crisis and may even be in danger as a result of some of the responses to the crisis.

Inflation has, naturally, eroded the ability and willingness of volunteers to work free. Promises of large amounts of money for Indonesia's social safety net to be provided with no quid pro quo may damage the willingness of poor people to reciprocate the support they traditionally receive.

However, top-down giving of free goods will not promote a sustainable answer to Indonesia's crisis. The rapidly escalating problems of maternal and infant malnutrition, reduced access to quality health care on the part of poor families and school drop- out levels can best be solved by strengthening Indonesia's existing social capital, not by imposing an alien social safety net.

In practice, this means revitalizing the Posyandu network through such mechanisms as having them distribute nutritious fortified food for infants at a nominal price -- the money being used to buy the volunteers a hot lunch as well as essential materials for the Posyandu.

It means providing capital to local community groups to start up community health insurance schemes for pregnant women; it means boosting teacher performance and motivation by strengthening parent-teacher associations; it means providing direct support to such major religious "conglomerates" as the Muhammadiyah, Nahdlatul Ulama, Perdhaki (Church associations), to teach life skills to girls and provide sanitation/water facilities for all pupils.

UNICEF is proud to be able to work together with Indonesia's various manifestations of strong social capital. However, money is still needed. The absorptive capacity of the existing social safety net is high, and the real needs of children and women in poverty are urgent.

The writer is Area Representative, UNICEF Indonesia and Malaysia.