Social Minister Motivates His Staff to Be Able to Break through the Comfort Zone and Be More Sensitive to Community Needs in an Emergency Situation

JAKARTA (14 July 2021) – Social Minister Tri Rismaharini motivated the ranks of the Ministry of Social Affairs to work outside their comfort zone. Risma encouraged employees to be sensitive and more focused on serving the community in an emergency.

According to the Director General of Social Rehabilitation, Raden Harry Hikmat, in motivating her staff, Social Minister used the term "go to Papua" during her working visit yesterday (Tuesday, 13/7/2021) at the Public Kitchen of the Wyata Guna Social Rehabilitation Center, Bandung.

According to him, this is to increase empathy of the employees in the society current conditions. The goal is that employees are able to work with their hearts, so they have to get out of their comfort zone first.

“That is what the statement means that we will move them to Papua, the furthest place from Bandung. All employees must be able to get out of their comfort zone, to leave their families and the comforts of their daily routines, to play a role in overcoming social problems from Aceh to Papua," said Harry Hikmat.

Risma's direction during her working visit yesterday, should be interpreted as a whip for all ranks of the Directorate General of Social Rehabilitation of the Ministry of Social Affairs. Moreover, during the visit, the Center provided entertainment and decorations that were not necessary in an emergency situation.

"We have to learn from the Tagana volunteers (Disaster Preparedness Cadets) on how to operate a public kitchen," said Harry Hikmat.

There are other public kitchens in several other Social Rehabilitation Centers in Jakarta, Bandung, Bogor, Solo, Surabaya, and Denpasar. The public kitchens are to improve the social resilience of the communities affected by the Implementation of Emergency Public Activity Restrictions (PPKM) in the Java-Bali region. These public kitchens distribute additional protein and vitamin D for health workers, operational personnel supporting PPKM Emergency and the general public who are self-isolating.

The presence of the Ministry of Social Affairs in emergency response situations is also manifested in social empowerment and post-disaster management as carried out in several areas in Papua. "After the flash flood in early 2021, for example, until now we have continued to encourage the rise of the community's economy through the provision of long-boats, facilitation of cooperatives to open basic food stalls and various agricultural product processing activities. We hope that our staff can go directly to areas in Papua after this PPKM," said Harry.

Public Relations Bureau

Ministry of Social Affairs