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Social Minister Risma’s Impromptu Visit to Riverbanks to Meet Scavengers and Homeless People
Writer :
Koesworo Setiawan
Translator :
Nia Annisa
JAKARTA (28 December 2020) - Like her leadership style when he was Mayor of Surabaya, Minister of Social Affairs Tri Rismaharini accompanied by Director General of Social Rehabilitation Harry Hikmat and Inspector General Dadang Iskandar filled the first day of service outside the office. With a small group, Risma stopped at the Ciliwung River basin, behind the Ministry of Social Affairs office.
On the first occasion on the bridge, precisely at Pramuka Fly Over, Jalan Pramuka Sari II, Risma had a dialogue with a scavenger in his cart who was getting ready to do his morning routine with his wife. Risma asked various things to this couple.
From the scavenging activity, they get Rp. 800 thousand/month. Part of the income is sent to their children in the village. Risma invited this couple to change the quality of their life for the better.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I will get you a ‘house’, so there's no need to pay rent. Scavenging like this. Later, you can use the waste from the Ministry of Social Affairs. While I teach you business. Do you want to be like this forever? Do you want it, "she said.
After about 30 minutes of dialogue, the group continued to move. This time, Risma chose to go down under the bridge. For this purpose, she had to be willing to climb makeshift wooden ladders that were deliberately installed by local residents.
Right under the bridge, Risma witnessed several families who deliberately lived under the bridge. On one corner, there is a residential location for the homeless. There were shabby rolled mattresses, worn cupboards, toiletries and flip-flops strewn around left by their occupants.
From here she continuesd walking along the riverbanks while greeting the residents one by one. To them, Risma again conveyed her desire to change their fate.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I just want you to live in a better place. Don’t you want it, Sir?, " she said. From the riverbank, Social Minister Risma and her entourage moved to the Social Rehabilitation Center for the Former Homeless and Beggar "Pangudi Luhur" in Bekasi. As the name implies, the "Pangudi Luhur" Center is the Ministry of Social Affairs' response to the problems of homeless people and beggars.
"Pangudi Luhur" Center organizes temporary social rehabilitation shelter. Here the homeless people and beggars get vocational services in a certain term. While the empowerment is then carried out in partnership with the local government.
The impromptu visit style carried out by Social Minister Risma was intended to take pictures of the problem up close, directly from the point of the problem. This is in line with her statement in her remarks at the handover ceremony, Wednesday (23/12).
Risma stated that she would not change her leadership style, that she would do the impromptu visit before carrying out her routine duties as a minister. It started yesterday (Sunday, 27/12), where Risma chose to greet people with intellectual disabilities in Ponorogo Regency, East Java.
Public Relations
Ministry of Social Affairs
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