Running into Minister of Social Affairs, This Scavenger Does Not Expect To Get Assistance

SRAGEN (16 May 2022) - The sun was blazing. The mild cloud made the light heat the Sragen City, Central Java.

Arti (36), a scavenger walks along the side of an unpaved road as if the blazing sun did not mock her. She walked on Sukowati Timur road, Ngrampal, approximately 3 km from the center of Sragen City.

Arti slowly pushed her bike while the backseat was full of a pile of scraps. Suddenly she was startled by the sound of several people running behind her.

The sound was getting closer, making her have to turn her head while still pushing the bike. Her steps only stopped after several people had stood around her.

"Where is your husband?" a veiled woman who joined around her began to ask using vernacular. Arti looked at her for a moment. She felt like she knew her. After a few minutes, she realized that the woman who asked her earlier was the Minister of Social Affairs, Tri Rismaharini.

Arti felt moved. With a slightly trembling voice, she replied in a low voice. "My husband also works like this," she said.

"How much money do you earn by working like this?" the Minister asked.

"It is not always fixed. Sometimes IDR 30,000 and other times IDR 20,000," stated Arti.

"If you work as a scavenger with your husband, how much can you earn?)," asked the Minister.

"I can earn IDR 30,000, sometimes IDR 50,000. It cannot be assured, ma'am," she replied.

The Minister also asked her whether she had received government assistance so far. "Not yet, ma'am," said Arti while shaking her head.

The Minister then asked the staff to carry out an assessment of Arti who lives in Plumbon Village, Sambungmacan District. The assessment was performed so that Arti can get social assistance from the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA).

After meeting the Minister, Arti was filled with emotion again. To her, this was an unexpected meeting.

She barely imagined being able to meet state officials, halfway through, and then given assistance. Therefore, it is difficult for her to utter words when asked to explain her feelings.

She expressed pleasure with a stammering voice. "Thank God. Thank you very much for giving me the chance to meet the Minister and receive assistance. Hopefully, the Minister and her staff will always have good health," she said.

Previously, the Minister and her entourage had just finished having lunch at a restaurant. The Minister was preparing to enter the official vehicle when suddenly she found Arti pushing a bicycle with her scraps tied to the back. 

The Minister was in Sragen to visit two families whose members were found to have hanged themselves. They were Ar (40) and SLAS (6) residents of Grasak Hamlet, Gondang Village, Gondang District.

The second suicidal incident occurred in S (30) a resident of Pengkok Village, Kedawung District. S left his wife RH (34 years), a daughter KA (6 years) and a son AR (4 years).

The Minister provided reinforcement and motivation as well as entrepreneurship assistance so that the families left behind are able to continue their economic life.

Public Relations Bureau

Ministry of Social Affairs