Tycoons donate Rp 415b to the poor

Tycoons donate Rp 415b to the poor

JAKARTA (JP): The Jimbaran Group of business tycoons has
contributed Rp 415 billion (US$180 million) toward the
government's drive to eradicate poverty, the Office of the State
Minister of Population said Tuesday.

The money was collected from tycoons who formed the group
during a meeting at the Jimbaran beach resort on Bali in 1995.
There they pledged to participate in the government's poverty-
eradication program.

The money would be used to fund the government's Family
Prosperity Economic Movement, State Minister of Population
Haryono Suyono said in a seminar.

The movement is an essential means to improve the livelihoods
of families by making them more self-reliant and capable of
meeting their spiritual and material needs alone, Haryono said.

Launched in 1995 by President Soeharto, the movement is aimed
at encouraging people to save money.

The program is managed by the National Family Planning Board
which is chaired by Haryono. The money is made available to the
poor as loans to help them start up small businesses.

The money is channeled to poor people through a savings scheme
called Tabungan Keluarga Sejahtera (Takesra). Each participant is
given Rp 20,000 a month, of which Rp 2,000 must be put into a
savings account. The rest can be used as capital to start a
business.

"Savings awareness is the first step in improving the
situation of extremely poor families in remote villages," Haryono
said.

The government estimated that some 11.5 million people qualify
for the scheme.

Haryono said the people eligible for the assistance are those
living in impoverished areas which do not receive government
assistance under the least-developed villages aid program.

The government is to appoint nine more banks to channel the
money to the needy. It is currently done exclusively by Bank BNI
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