Arriving at the hometown of Fatmawati, the Minister of Social Affairs Tasted Kalamansi Syrup Made by BRSPDM "Dharma Guna"

BENGKULU (March 2nd 2020) - The Indonesian Minister of Social Affairs, Juliari P. Batubara ensures that disability will not prevent someone from being able to work and achieve. This was proven by the Minister of Social Affairs' working visit to the "Dharma Guna" Social Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Mental Disabilities (BRSPDM) in Bengkulu, which has transformed persons with mental disabilities into producing kalamansi syrup.

The negative stigma against people with mental disabilities has been broken by the Ministry of Social Affairs through social rehabilitation services. Service recipients can recover, with various humanist approaches and livelihood therapy.

"This year I allocate an increase in the budget for the optimization of social rehabilitation programs because it is long term. I see that the social rehabilitation center must be a display case from the Ministry of Social Affairs that the community sees directly." said the Minister of Social Affairs.

BRSPDM "Dharma Guna" in Bengkulu provides social rehabilitation services based on the new direction of the New Platform 5-cluster Social Rehabilitation Program (PROGRES 5.0 NP), one of them is livelihood therapy.

The purpose of the livelihood therapy in this center is for service recipients to return to the community with the skills they already have, consisting of making kalamansi syrup, brick making skills, fishery skills, batik skills and agricultural skills. The livelihood therapy that is currently the favorite of service recipients, especially women, is the manufacture of kalamansi syrup.

From an area of approximately 2,500 m2 belonging to the hall, kalamansi oranges as the main raw material for syrup are always harvested. Since 2015, kalamansi syrup has been mass-produced and currently, in one day, it can produce approximately 50 kg of oranges which produces 60 bottles of 250 ml size.

On his visit, the Minister of Social Affairs also had the opportunity to see the process of making kalamansi oranges and tasting them. Not only the Minister of Social Affairs, the Director General of Social Rehabilitation was represented by the Secretary of the Directorate General of Social Rehabilitation, Idit Supriadi Priatna, the Director General of Poverty Handling, Andi ZA Dulung, the Director of Social Rehabilitation, Margowiyono, the Technical Team for Minister of Social Affairs, CSR, Regional Officials and Officials from the State Bank Association (Himbara) also tasted kalamansi orange syrup made by persons with mental disabilities.

At the end of the visit, the Minister of Social Affairs expressed his appreciation and motivation to all employees, "Work sincerely, full of love and work with a happy heart, serve others," said the Minister of Social Affairs.