U.S. extends free milk program for RI students
U.S. extends free milk program for RI students
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian and United States governments
signed on Thursday an agreement to provide an extra US$14 million
in grant aid for the funding of another two years of the School
Milk Project in five provinces across Java, an official said.
Under the program, free milk will be provided for some 470,000
elementary school students in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, West Java
(including Banten), Central Java and East Java, the director of
the Center for Physical Development at the Ministry of Education,
Soeharto, said.
A student will receive milk three times a week, he added.
The agreement was signed by the Minister of National Education
Yahya Muhaimin and U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Robert S.
Gelbard. Minister of Health and Social Welfare Achmad Sujudi,
U.S. envoy to the United Nations George McGovern and Roosminnie
Emil Salim of the Yayasan Bina Putra Sejahtera, the executive
partner in the School Milk Project, also attended the ceremony.
Earlier in the day, President Abdurrahman Wahid received
McGovern (center, photo above) and Gelbard at the State Palace.
In the first two-year program, the U.S. donated 5,000 metric
tons of milk powder valued at nearly $7 million.
During the 1999/2000 academic year, the program covered over
400,000 elementary students in nearly 2,500 schools throughout
Java, ambassador Gelbard said.
"This past year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture signed
another agreement providing 8,500 metric tons of milk powder,
enough to extend the program for two years, plus 10,000 metric
tons of wheat to be used for the production of fortified
biscuits. The total value of this agreement is US$20 million,"
Gelbard said in his address.
Reports, however, said that some obstacles had been
encountered during the implementation of the program, such as the
absence of a milk-drinking habit among Indonesian children.
"The school milk scheme is aimed at providing the pupils with
additional nutrition. We do not wish to change their meal
preference," said ambassador Gelbard, replying to questions
concerning the fact that some students in the scheme had refused
to drink the milk.
Minister Sujudi admitted that this problem was widespread.
"In Boyolali (Central Java), milk is wasted due to
overproduction, although in reality it is easy to train children
to like milk. It depends on the teachers. If they do it together
in a fun way, their students will follow," Sujudi said. (edt)