Mentioning Garbage as the Main Cause of Floods, Grace Invites Residents to Love the Environment

JAKARTA (January 19th 2020) - Advisor for the Dharma Wanita Persatuan (DWP) of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Grace Batubara, urged residents to work together to clean up rubbish clogging waterways in their residential areas. This was conveyed by Grace when visiting the location of distribution of aid for flood-affected victims in Rawa Buaya Village, Cengkareng District, West Jakarta, Sunday (19/1).

"People must work together, love the environment by not littering. Because doing such a small thing can help reduce the occurrence of large floods," Grace said in front of residents of RW / 04, Rawa Buaya Village.

Grace, who was present with the DWP and Women's Friends of the Environment (WSL) group, visited Rawa Buaya Village to carry out social service (bhaksos) in order to meet the needs of victims, after the floods hit this area and submerged almost all residents' houses with varying heights starting from 90 centimeters up to 3 meters.

"We are here to do social service, with the hope that what we have brought here can ease the burden on all of you during the flood yesterday," said Grace.

On arrival at the location, Grace and her entourage were greeted by various elements of community groups such as PKK women and representatives from 12 RTs, totaling not less than 500 people.

Grace and her entourage rushed to inspect the posts that were standing in the yard of the village office, including the health service post and the Psychosocial Support Service (LDP) post.

According to Grace, the health service post is a form of collaboration between the Ministry of Social Affairs (Kemensos) and the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) during the emergency response period to post-flood disaster in the Greater Jakarta area.

"We are also working with the Ministry of Health to open a post, bring in the best doctors and health personnel to deal with residents who may experience illness after the flood disaster so that they are helped and can come to the post," he explained.

This post provides services in the form of free health checks and medical treatment for local residents. In fact, Grace did not hesitate to participate in trying out the service access provided by the Ministry of Health.

Meanwhile, another post that was never even missed by the wife of the Minister of Social Affairs was the trauma healing service for children. It seems that Grace has a special interest in children and the form of assistance that is given to them.

With enthusiasm, Grace started LDP by inviting the children to sing the song 'Disini Senang Disana Senang' (Happy Here and There), which was followed by all the children. It did not stop there, the euphoria was continued by guessing with prizes.

The DWP and WSL mothers were also immersed in this happy hue involving around 150 children. WSL is a community of women who care about the environment. One of the representatives, Lia said that she was happy to be involved in this opportunity.

"We are happy to be here, helping to entertain the children who are victims of the floods. Hopefully this is the beginning for the next good. We also emphasize that residents can participate in protecting the environment around them," said Lia, who also accompanied Grace during the activity take place.

Logistic Assistance

Apart from inspecting the post, Grace also symbolically handed over a number of logistical assistance from the Ministry of Social Affairs Main Post to the vulnerable groups of RW / 04 Rawa Buaya Village.

"Assistance from the Ministry of Social Affairs, in general, is in the form of ready-to-eat food packages, food for children, cleaning tools, and clean water assistance. The majority of logistics are for post-flood needs," said Grace.

As Grace conveyed, the assistance provided by the Ministry of Social Affairs for this area was IDR 72.92 million consisting of 160 packages of fast food A, B, C, D, 180 packages of children's food, 400 packages of side dishes, 4,000 packs of instant noodles, 10 pieces of food. roll tents, 20 packages of family kits, and 20 packages of kids ware.

The WSL also distributed aid in the form of 150 packages of cleaning tools, 100 packages of drawing books and crayons, 1,000 children's toys, 100 children's food packages, 100 sheets of sarong for the elderly and 61 packs of 250 grams of chlorine.

Other assistance also came from Sinar Mas, which donated 1,440 bottles of 600 ml mineral water and 60 cans of 350 gram biscuits, as well as 4,800 cans of 21 gram biscuits from Mayora, and Dapur Air from Tagana Rajawali.

Regarding the possibility of insufficient assistance, Grace stated that the Ministry of Social Affairs would note the lack of needs of residents. If the need concerns the domains of other agencies, coordination will be carried out immediately.

"In essence, the Ministry of Social Affairs is ready to provide assistance to any area that really needs it. The state will continue to be present to provide assistance in the midst of the difficulties experienced by the community due to the flood," he concluded.