Country, Disabilities, and Volunteers in the Midst of a Pandemic
Writer :
Humas Dit. Penyandang Disabilitas
Translator :
Karlina Irsalyana
JAKARTA (July 20, 2021) - Director of Social
Rehabilitation for Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Affairs, RI,
Eva Rahmi Kasim, attended a webinar organized by the Pondok Berkat Disability
Community together with Jangka Jati (Central Java Inclusion Guard Network) with
the topic “Country, Disabilities, and Volunteers in the Midst of a Pandemic
".
"The progress that
has been achieved by the Government of Indonesia is starting from the issuance
of Law Number 8 of 2016 on Persons with Disabilities which is the basis for the
implementation of respect, protection, and fulfillment of the rights of persons
with disabilities in various aspects of life," Eva explained.
"The law also marks
a paradigm shift in the handling of persons with disabilities in Indonesia from
charity to a human rights-based approach. From what was previously charged to
the Ministry of Social Affairs has become a multi-sectoral task involving
various parties and of course the involvement of persons with disabilities in
it is the most important part of the process of implementation and
monitoring," she continued.
Eva said that since the
President declared the pandemic a national disaster in 2020, the efforts made
were following disaster risk management. Starting from handling
emergencies, responding to emergencies, recovering and surviving, and adapting
to new habits.
"At the beginning of
the pandemic, the Country tried to go through restrictions on activities, space
and movement to prevent the spread or transmission of COVID-19, as well as
implementation of health programs that also had an impact on people with
disabilities. The impact was not only on health but also on the economy
because there were people with disabilities who had to lose "For this
matter, what the State does is fulfill proper needs, fulfill basic rights, and
also how to help people with disabilities to be able to help carry
out their social functions well," said Eva.
Assistance is provided in
the form of necessities, regular assistance such as Cash Social
Assistance and Social Rehabilitation Assistance (ATENSI) for Persons with
Disabilities, Assistance for the Family Hope Program (PKH) with a disability
component.
"The strategy to
reduce the impact of COVID, the government's efforts are when a vaccine is
found, the Ministry of Social Affairs cooperates with the Ministry of Health to
prioritize people with disabilities to get the vaccine since early April and
Pondok Berkat to be one of the vaccine recipients," said Eva.
The Ministry of Social Affairs also seeks to restore
the economic resilience of persons with disabilities by carrying out
transformations or changes in the handling of social rehabilitation of persons
with disabilities through the Social Rehabilitation Assistance (ATENSI)
platform. In the context that social rehabilitation services are implemented
and integrated with other families, community, and residential-based programs
with direct intervention services.
"According to the direction of the Minister of
Social Affairs Tri Rismaharini, the Social Rehabilitation Center outside the
disability center also functions to respond to cases related to people with
disabilities. So, the Ministry of Social Affairs has 41 centers that provide
direct services to people with disabilities. Volunteers and social
rehabilitation facilitators as many as 800 people are ready to handle case
responses," said Eva.
The provision of assistive devices to persons with
disabilities have also increased both in quality and quantity throughout
Indonesia. The Ministry of Social Affairs also improves services for persons
with disabilities by conducting data collection that has been synchronized with
the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) and the Ministry of Home Affairs in this
case Dukcapil (Population and Civil’s
Registry). So the data on persons with disabilities becomes only one data.
"Adapting to new habits in the midst of a
pandemic, the Ministry of Social Affairs has developed an ATENSI Creation
Center (SKA) is a forum for people with disabilities to carry out
entrepreneurial activities, including increasing vocational skills training and
entrepreneurship coaching," Eva explained.
Santi Verstidjen, advisor to Pondok Berkat who is
domiciled in Germany, explained that Pondok Berkat participated in the ratification
of Law Number 8 of 2016 on Persons with Disabilities and became a forum for
people with disabilities to be independent, honest, and survive in their lives.
"President Jokowi in his speech to Commemorate
the International Day of Disability (HDI) in 2015 hopes to raise world
awareness of the importance of respecting, protecting, and fulfilling the rights
of persons with disabilities in various sectors of life,” said Santi.
"Persons with disabilities, especially children
with disabilities, really need more attention because they have special
vulnerabilities and situations. Indonesia is currently trying to raise
awareness for special situations, so what is relied on is the social system
volunteerism from communities, forums, networks, studios, civil society
organizations," said Sunarman Sukanto as a representative of Jangka Jati.
Acep Somantri, the Indonesian Consul General in
Frankfurt said that the pandemic is a difficult situation for all of us,
especially for people with disabilities. There are still misconceptions about
disability, it is not only congenital, it can happen to anyone and at any time
in any phase of their life.
Persons with disabilities in Germany legally have the
right to obtain assistance aimed at overcoming as much as possible the effects
of disability and enabling persons with disabilities to participate in all
areas of life in society, especially during this pandemic. The German
government requires the construction of barrier-free infrastructure for persons
with disabilities.
Germany is also trying to create a social security
system such as social insurance for people with disabilities so that they can
work in society as long as possible. Facilities for persons with disabilities
include assistance in finding work, protection from dismissal, assisting in the
provision of household assistants, financial support for children, and free use
of public transportation, as well as low taxes.
"Since the vaccine facility was given in early
2021, the conditions are almost the same as in Indonesia because Germany uses
an epidemiological approach, which prioritizes certain groups and those with
co-morbidities. Not all persons with disabilities are included in this group,
so some get a turn in the first round, second round and so on. However, along
with existing developments and sufficient vaccine supplies, persons with
disabilities have become a priority for the German government in the
vaccination program. Now more than 50 million people have been vaccinated out
of a total German population of around 83 million people," said Acep.
Acep added, Indonesia certainly does not want to lose,
so we are very happy that we have Law Number 8 of 2016 on Persons with
Disabilities protects the rights of people with disabilities. The law
clearly guarantees the rights of persons with disabilities which are based on
respect for dignity, individual autonomy, without discrimination, full
participation, human and humanitarian diversity, equality of opportunity,
accessibility, capacity that continues to develop from the child's identity and
then inclusion is a form of the Country being present for persons with
disabilities.
English
Bahasa
