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)