Receiving PENA Program from MoSA, KPM in Bantul is determined to resign from Social Assistance Beneficiaries

BANTUL (February 7, 2023) - December 2022, left an unforgettable memory for Siti Hotijah. Unexpectedly, this resident of Bantul Regency, Yogyakarta, received an injection of assistance of IDR 6 million from the Ministry of Social Affairs. The assistance from the Nusantara Economic Heroes (PENA) Program was used by Hotijah to encourage the grocery stall and chicken satay business that she has been managing.

"In December 2022, at the end of last year, I received PENA assistance from the Ministry of Social Affairs. Mbak Ida, my companion, took me to shop directly for goods for my grocery stall and chicken satay business. Thank God, Alhamdulillah," said Hotijah at her house, recently.

Hotijah received IDR 6 million in assistance from the PENA Program in the form of goods worth IDR 5.5 million and materials worth IDR 500 thousand.

"I got a display case and a table for my grocery shop. Then, I got a stove for cooking and utensils (equipment) for the satay. Meanwhile, the Rp500,000 was spent on groceries. I received everything before New Year's Eve," said the woman from Madura.

Previously, this mother of four children had received assistance from the Ministry of Social Affairs through the Family Hope Program (PKH). Knowing that she received PENA assistance, Hotijah stated that she was ready to graduate or withdraw from PKH.

"Yes, it's okay, sincere. I am ready to graduate from PKH. The reason is just to be independent, there are still many who need PKH assistance," she said.

Hotijah has been a beneficiary of regular PKH social assistance from the Ministry of Social Affairs since 2018 when the component still consisted of three school children; two high school and one junior high school. She said that the PKH assistance she received was used for her children's educational needs.

"I received PKH in 2018 with the school children component. So, at that time, I used PKH assistance to help pay for my children's education," she said.

Hotijah is not a consumptive aid recipient. She proved to be able to manage her finances well so that in the same year, she was able to start a grocery shop. With motivation and high self-confidence, a Madurese chicken satay stall was also established the following year.

"The Javanese say sometimes. Nek wes rejeki, ga kemana (If it is fortune, it will not go anywhere). Optimistic spirit nek ra obah, ra mangan (If you don't move for business, you can't eat). It's far from relatives, if you don't work on your own, you won't be able to eat," she said.

The PENA program is a beneficiary empowerment program that focuses on empowering housewives from underprivileged families. This program was adopted from the Economic Heroes program during Social Minister Tri Rismaharini's as Mayor of Surabaya.

PENA offers support for business strengthening, as well as strengthening production with an amount of assistance of IDR 6 million per KPM.

Some of the criteria for PENA beneficiaries are active social assistance recipients, agreeing to leave from other social assistance beneficiaries, in the productive age 20-40 years old, no elder person or disabilities in the family, prioritizing the RST or RTLH beneficiaries 2021, and should have business either new or existed. 

With PENA, beneficiaries will be filtered whether they really need it or not. Along with this, it hopes that there is an increasing income for the beneficiaries through sustainable business to realize the independency and cut the cycle of poverty.