In This Issue

Does the world realize how the current regional monetary crisis has resulted in such a calamity to the Indonesian people? Unemployment is increasing, because of so many lay-offs. The income per capita has decreased drastically from US 1,000 to USD 400, thus plunging Indonesia into one of the poorest nations in the world. 7 million children are threatened to drop out of schools as their parents cannot afford the school fees. The government can help only 30% of these dropouts. Who is to help the balance? This is where we and others like us are expected to help.

Meanwhile 3 million toddlers cry out for food and milk. These children are under-nourished facing malnutrition that could threaten their normal growth patterns. The future seems so bleak for them, as this suffering seems to see no end. In the foreground, the nation’s endless political turmoil adds to the list of sufferings of the people.

Indonesia is a nation of more than 200 million. 30% of this is living below absolute poverty levels. You can see beggars in every area of cities, and the numbers keep on increasing at alarming rates.

Rotary District 3400 – Indonesia is committed to providing the best that we can do for our people in overcoming this extended crisis. In August of 1998, Rotary D-3400, under DG Mustain Sjadzali’s leadership, launched a movement to help in overcoming the effects of our ongoing crisis, the Help the Children, Help the Schools, Help the Villages Program:

Help the Children as a movement to provide for the schoolchildren’s needs, such as nutrition, health, clothing, etc.

Help the School as a movement to provide for the schools’ needs, such as scholarships, schoolbooks and stationeries for the schoolchildren, school equipment/facilities such as desks, etc.

Help the Villages as a movement to help villagers to help themselves to find ways to increase their economic well-being. The people who suffer most presently live in the rural areas.

All in all, the Help Program is conceptualized to become an "umbrella" for all of Rotary D-3400 activities in its attempt to overcome the effects of this extended monetary crisis. The Help Program has also been approved to become a District Program for three years: 1999-2002. We hope that Rotary International will be able to recognize this as a specific program from Rotary D.3400-Indonesia.

The Help Program continues relentlessly. With 1500 Rotarians in 75 Clubs, ripples have started to become waves, spreading throughout the world. These Rotarians have started to identify the worst pockets of poverty throughout Indonesia, to be able to provide nutrition, schooling and basic staples of life to those in need, at the same time spreading hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Funds from D.3400 itself have become very limited. At the height of the crisis, Evanston had offered the COG (Children’s Opportunities Grants), an opportunity not to be treated lightly. PDG Mustain immediately recognized this opportunity and invited all the clubs in the District to hold a national emergency meeting. Under the Help Program "trademark", PDG Mustain attached his covering letter for each and every proposal sent to Evanston to request for the COG. Evanston responded with approving a huge allocation of funds to 18 proposals. The amount of USD 298,400 approved helped 37,400 school children, and placed D-3400 as the second largest beneficiary of the COG. Combined with the immediate response from D.3400, we believe that the Help umbrella had significantly been an important factor in the success of the funds approval.

Outside COG, RC Bandung Kota Kembang succeeded in obtaining Help the Children grant from RC Altenwish D-1560, Netherlands, the amount of 115,000 gulden to help 800 school children. Almost half of the RC’s in D-2580 Tokyo, Japan (34 RC’s) also contributed to 31 elementary schools and 10 secondary schools in Sukolilo, Surabaya, in the form of school equipment and 23,410 schoolbooks and 30,000 notebooks.

But with the huge scale of the Help Program, with "only" 1,500 Rotarians in D-3400 with limited funds, there cannot be much that can be done, unless there is a worldwide funds drive by Rotary International. With Rotary International’s help from all over the world, there would definitely be help for a lot of the Indonesian people. D-3400’s Help Program provides the facility and the channel.

The children’s suffering continues throughout this endless crisis. Our greatest hope is to tap on the world’s concerns to this suffering. It is the time for all Rotarians to join together and offer help and hope in these difficult times for our nation. We believe that in each and every Rotarian, there lies the "Rotary spirit", a strong commitment to help others in need, irregardless of differences in race, skin and religious beliefs.