World Vision Indonesia fights against poverty

By Rita A. Widiadana

JAKARTA (JP): Ruliyah and Yohanes Tiusrela are now happy. They can continue their studies and achieve their dreams.

Five years ago, this brother and sister had to face harsh reality -- joining the long line of the school drop-outs in their early years. Due to poverty, their parents, Tiusrela and Suri, were not able to send their offspring to school.

Living in a dilapidated house in Rengas village, just a few kilometers from the elite Bintaro Jaya housing complex in South Jakarta, Tiusrela had to work extremely hard to provide for his family with food and shelter. "If necessary, my children must 0work to support the family," the father said.

Ruliyah and Yohanes, however, never gave up. A ray of hope finally shone when they were offered to joint a sponsorship program organized by World Vision Indonesia (WVI), a church affiliated organization dealing with humanitarian projects.

Along with 200 other children in the Rengas and Rempoa villages in Bintaro, they received education and health assistance from organization.

"Education sponsorship is only part of WVI's programs to improve the living condition of poor children in Indonesia," said Esther Halim, associate director of communication at WVI.

The organization is currently sponsoring 45,000 children nationwide to allow them continue their studies.

Established in the United States in l950 by Dr. Bob Pierce to help Korean children who became victims of the war, World Vision International has expanded its activities to cover various humanitarian activities like its community-based health program, and family and community development program. Presently, World Vision is operating in more than 100 countries including Indonesia.

World Vision started operating in Indonesia in l960 to help the country's orphans and orphanages.

Working jointly with more than 130 local non-governmental organizations, WVI has implemented about 300 various sponsorship and community development projects involving more than US$7million in funds in 22 of the country's 27 provinces. The projects have benefited more than 1 million people throughout the country. WVI's projects include foster-parent plans, education and health sponsorship, community-based health programs, community welfare and development programs.

"All of these projects should have immediate impacts on the welfare of women and children. The best way to help women and children break out of poverty is to help the entire village. All the funds are used in a way that will do the most for the children, their families and the community," Esther noted.

Due to financial and technical constraints, the organization is now stressing its activities in Indonesia's eastern provinces--Irian Jaya, Maluku, Central Sulawesi, East Nusa Tenggara and East Timor.

Priority

"WVI's main priority is to serve the country's most poverty- stricken areas which are mostly located in the eastern provinces," said Trihadi Saptohadi, associate director of operation of WVI.

Saptohadi admitted that the organization has faced a lot of problems in implementing the projects in these eastern provinces.

To carry out the projects, they need full participation from the local community, added Hendro Suwito, WVI's project manager.

"When a project starts, the affected community should manage the project until it is completed, WVI's official will only act as a supervisor," Suwito explained.

He went on to say that a strong emphasis on community participation underlies the program's success. The program engages local residents in the planning, construction and maintenance of the neighborhood improvement, thus giving them a sense of ownership and pride in the new services, he added. Community involvement also increases the sustainability of infrastructure improvement.

Residents are better able and more willing to maintain projects they had a hand in planning and implementing, he said. The programs seek to develop basic infrastructure with minimum disturbance to the residents and with maximum community involvement, added Suwito.

When a neighborhood is selected for the program, a committee of local residents is consulted to determine which services are urgently needed by the community, explained Suwito.

A big problem is that the people affected are mostly illiterate and hardly touched by any development program. Citing an example, when WVI started WATCH (Women and their Children Health) program in Jaya Wijaya, Irian Jaya, in l991, its officials found it hard to achieve the target.

The program, funded by the Australian Government could not succeed unless the whole community was fully involved in the program, Suwito said. The poor health condition of women and children in this area was mainly caused by poverty as well as other social problems. Women in this areas acted as house-wives as well as income-earners, while their husbands were jobless.

It was very difficult to change the existing social condition without causing certain friction, But it was a real challenge for us, said Suwito.

Since most of the population were illiterate, WVI's officials provided the information visually. Some Irian men cried when they saw the picture of a woman carrying a baby and vegetables while her husband walked leisurely in front of her. "Through this picture, they realized the heavy burden suffered by their spouses," he said.

Since then, many men have willingly engaged in WVI's program. Aside from health issues for women and children, the program also includes community development activities such as building clean water network, water tanks and public toilets. They also run a self-help cooperative and health insurance program.

"After four years of operation, the project is now managed by the local community," Suwito said.

Although rapid progress has started to materialize in several villages in Jaya Wijaya area, much is still at an infant stage. Many local people still badly need guidance to be able to implement and sustain the development programs.

"Six years is very short time when we talk about community development and transformation of people's way and life especially in poverty-stricken areas," Saptohadi said.

The most important point in helping these poor areas is continuity, he said. And this requires proper collaboration between the community, the government and the non-government organizations operating in the country, concluded Saptohadi.