Social Companion Strategies to Achieve KPM PKH Self-Graduation

TAPIN DISTRICT (December 17th 2019) - Fauzi Rahman (29) ignored the beads of sweat as big as corn kernels that filled his forehead. His maroon uniform that reads Family Hope Program (PKH) was also wet with sweat.

The sun was shining hot when Fauzi, one of the Social Companions of PKH in Tapin Regency, together with his colleagues were seen busy arranging the seats for PKH recipient mothers. They gathered at Dwi Dharma Field, Tapin Regency to receive an award from the Ministry of Social Affairs.

The award was presented in the 2019 The Cross Border Social Solidarity (LBKS) activity which today, Tuesday (17/12), the Expedition Team arrived in Tapin Regency.

LBKS is a series of activities ahead of the peak commemoration of the 2019 National Social Solidarity Day (HKSN) which falls on December 20th 2019. The LBKS expedition team took six stages by relay from December 14th to 19th taking the route of Tabalong Regency, Balangan Regency, Hulu Sungai Selatan Regency, Tapin Regency, Banjar Regency, and ends in Banjarmasin City.

In the implementation of LBKS in 2019, the Ministry of Social Affairs presents Children with Achievement and Independent Prosperous Graduation KPM in every etape.

"The three mothers who received this award are all in South Tapin District, where I was assigned to provide assistance," said the man.

While carrying a black backpack whose color has faded and torn in several parts, he tells of being Social Companion of PKH since 2016. There are 167 women who receive PKH or commonly called Beneficiary Families (KPM) in their area.

"As of December 2019, the number of Independent Prosperous Graduation KPM or out of PKH was 43 people," he said.

The reasons for leaving the participation, continued Fauzi, were due to various reasons. There are those who no longer have a KPM PKH component, some are already independent because they have succeeded in starting their own business, some have voluntarily resigned because they feel they are economically able to finance their daily lives.

Fauzi admitted, encouraging KPM to leave membership was not an easy thing. He must turn his brain to find a way to slowly instill the understanding that PKH assistance will not always be provided by the government.

"They must not depend entirely on government assistance. This assistance is to motivate them to become independent," he said.

Then, how do you do it? A number of PKH Social Companions in South Kalimantan have a variety of telling skills.

"Through the meetings of the KPM group, I started by inserting religious values, sometimes quoting hadiths, or words in the Qur'an," he said.

For example, Islam teaches to share with others. So, if they are able and economically independent, it means that they have helped other people who have not received assistance to become touched by PKH.

The next step, is to cooperate with village officials and neighbors. These two parties are the closest people in the daily life of KPM PKH. Through them, PKH Social Companion get information about the economic conditions of social assistance recipients.

"So if we find the fact that there is a KPM that is not worthy of receiving assistance but is still receiving assistance, we will usually review it again," he said.

Withdraw from PKH

One of the Graduation of PKM from Tapin Selatan Subdistrict who was accompanied by Fauzi was Istriyaningsih (22). She and her husband are now trading. The result, after calculating it is enough to pay for daily life, savings, and also for their children.

"I realize that assistance is not something that will be given continuously, I am determined to live independently and not depend on assistance," he said.

This woman who lives in Harapan Masa Village admitted to receiving PKH since 2017. Over time, she resigned in August 2019.

Another story from Mrs. Biroton Nadiyah (40). KPM PKH in Sawang Village is a Qur'an teacher for children. Every afternoon, his house is filled with children from the neighboring area to learn the Qur’an.

"My husband works as a rubber farmer," said this mother of two children.

Since receiving PKH assistance in 2016, he admits that his burden is lighter in sending his children to school. Now, after feeling that she was able to send her 2 children to school and educate her 2 children, Mrs.Biroton left PKH membership in August 2019.

"I am grateful there is PKH assistance so that the children can go to college," he said.

Furthermore, the Minister of Social Affairs, Juliari P. Batubara revealed that PKH is a social protection program that is directed at improving the lives of underprivileged people to be prosperous.

"The effort that is being made is through government intervention so that these families are lifted from poverty. The most important thing is that poverty is not something that is passed down from generation to generation in a family. We have to break the chain of poverty," said the man who is familiarly called Ari.

He said that the policies of the Social Assistance Program in the future will continue to be encouraged to strengthen empowerment. This should be a social movement to accelerate the beneficiaries being socially and economically empowered and independent.

"In the future, PKH must graduate a lot, increase economic creativity, create entrepreneurial mothers who have a social impact in their immediate environment and produce high-achieving children in various fields. In turn, PKH can realize superior human resources and contribute in encouraging Prosperous Indonesia," said the Minister of Social Affairs.