UNDP introduces Internet program to combat poverty

Blontank Poer The Jakarta Post/Magelang

Entranced by the new technology, Sutrisno, a fish breeder from a remote area in Magelang, Central Java, admits to initially knowing little about the Internet and its potential to improve his livelihood.

One of many thousands of people who operate micro-businesses in rural areas, Sutrisno says he was approached by an official who showed him how to use computers and the World Wide Web to expand his target markets and help him earn more money.

While Sutrisno does not have enough money to buy a computer, he now has access to the Internet, computers, television and video resources at a center set up locally by the Information and Communication Technology for Poverty Reduction (ICT4PR) scheme.

Jointly managed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the National Development Planning Body (Bappenas), the scheme recently set up the "e-Pabelan telecenter" in Sutrisno's area in the Pabelan Islamic Boarding School.

The center is one of seven pilot projects in the program funded by the UNDP. Three centers have already been established in East and Central Java, including Magelang, and four more are in the works for Gorontalo, Central Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi and Papua.

In each province, the UNDP builds an Internet kiosk with multimedia equipment, including Internet access, printers, scanners, projectors and televisions.

"With the telecenter, we expect that people will be exposed to the modern world of telecommunications. Farmers can learn how to manage farming better, they can also check the market prices of agricultural commodities so they know when prices are falling or rising," said Agung Hardjono, the program's national project director.

Along with a manager, an "infomobilizer" at the center will inform the public how to use the facilities. This person is also expected to actively arrange meetings with community groups and local businesses in order to share pertinent information with them on a regular basis.

The project has been successful in India, the Solomon Islands and Zimbabwe. In rural India, local residents in some remote areas use the centers for online consultation with local doctors, with webcams allowing doctors to diagnose their ailments.

India has some 7,000 telecenters nationwide, with some 4,000 of them built by private companies.

"Many farmers in India have seen the benefits of telecenters, and we are trying to adopt this system in Indonesia. We expect that the program could help reduce the rate of poverty in the country," Dinar Pandan Sari, the center's knowledge management and communication officer, said.

Agung predicted there would be two serious challenges in implementing the telecenters here -- low literacy levels and reading habits among people in rural areas and the slow internet access.

Toha, an employee at the Pabelan telecenter, said the center's current Internet access speed was between 21 and 31 kilobytes a second on five computers, while at least 64-megabyte bandwidth was needed in order to achieve a useful connection, he said.