MALANG (January 22, 2023) - A middle-aged woman was busy back and forth. Her hands have been deft at arranging various foods and drinks and tidying up chairs and house furniture. The bustling outside her house occurred as the important guests would arrive soon.

While carrying her youngest, the woman tidied up her appearance. The husband beside her looked a little nervous. Understandably, this is the first time they have been visited by people who usually can only be seen on television. Last Friday (20/1), became a historic day for the family.

"The Ministers are here," said an officer, making her gasp. She saw from afar, two influential women in this country, walking towards her house. She never thought that the narrow alley with a rocky dirt road no more than 1.5 meters wide was being stepped on by the Minister of Social Affairs Tri Rismaharini and the Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani. Not only crossing a narrow alley, the two ministers had to walk uphill to get to the house located in Ngabab Village, Pujon District, Malang Regency.

"What's your name, ma'am?" asked the Minister of Finance when she arrived. "Rumaiyah," she answered with a happy smile.

“Iki (this is) your husband? Jenenge sopo (what's his name)?" asked the Minister of Finance again. "Kusiyadi," answered Rumaiyah's husband.

The four of them then faced a wallboard containing photos of the condition of Rumaiyah's house, which had not been renovated two months ago. "This is the house before it was renovated," said the Minister of Social Affairs, pointing to one of the photos on the board.

The house looks like it has woven bamboo walls, the roof tiles are worn out, and the floor is made of dirt. If it rains, leaks cannot be prevented. Rumaiyah admitted that the floor can be muddy if it's raining heavily. The family also worried that the wind might cause the house to collapse.

This condition is in sharp contrast to Rumaiyah's current house. A hut has now been transformed into a permanent home in a modern minimalist style. "Now it has become good like this, mangrong-mangrong (big and luxurious)," said the Minister of Finance, seeing Rumaiyah's current condition.

Rumaiyah (40) and Kusiyadi (43) are extremely poor Beneficiary Families (KPM) who received the Integrated Prosperous House and Indonesian Economic Heroes (PENA) program. These two programs are some of the integrated extreme poverty management programs launched by the Ministry of Social Affairs to realize President Jokowi's vision of achieving 0% Extreme Poverty by 2024. The Ministry of Social Affairs is committed to increasing the number of programs that can elevate the income of the poor so that they can be independent and free from dependence on social assistance.

"Kerjane opo (what do you do)?," asked the Minister of Finance again. "Freelance, motorbike taxis," answered Kusiyadi.

"Saiki usaha ne opo (now what is your business)?," Now it's the Minister of Social Affairs' turn to ask. "Chicken farming," said Rumaiyah, pointing to the chicken drum beside the house.

The Minister of Social Affairs and Minister of Finance immediately followed Rumaiyah to see the super jowo (joper) chickens she was raising. Rumaiyah got the chicken farming business from the PENA program, business capital for KPM to increase income. From PENA, Rumaiyah received capital to buy 500 joper chickens, feed, vaccines and vitamins, a chicken coop, and other equipment.

Joper chickens are harvested for at least two to three months. With a capital of IDR 6,000/head, chickens can be resold for IDR 35,000/head. For 500 chickens, 4 sacks of feed are needed for IDR 450,000/sack. So the capital required for two months is IDR1.8 million. From this capital, it is projected that Rumaiyah can get a turnover of IDR7.8 million every month.

“Rp. 6,000 to Rp. 35,000 is almost five times more, yes, but minus the costs. Seng penting ojo akeh sing mati nggeh bu (what matters is not many chickens die, ma'am)," said the Minister of Finance, calculating the estimated income of Rumaiyah's chicken livestock.

After talking for a long time at the chicken farming location, the Minister of Social Affairs and the Minister of Finance saw Rumaiyah's new house. Together with the Regent of Malang HM Sanusi and member of the House Andreas Eddy Susetyo, the two Ministers entered the house and checked the furniture which was aid from the ATENSI (Social Rehabilitation Assistance) program.

"We built this with funds of IDR126 million. Collaboration with BI, because this is for the extremely poor. "The house is about to collapse," explained the Minister of Social Affairs.

Rumaiyah's new house measures 36 square meters. There are two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a toilet equipped with a shower for bathing. Her house also has electricity, while previously she used electricity from a neighbor. Rumaiyah's family is no longer worried about their house and the children can study happily.

"Happy, unexpected, satisfied," she said during an interview on a different occasion on Thursday (19/1).

Rumaiyah was previously a PKH (Family Hope Program) recipient since 2016. In 2022, the Minister of Social Affairs launched the PENA program which aims to increase the income of KPM, especially PKH KPM, who are of productive age so they can be independent. This program is also integrated with the Integrated Prosperous House Program for the building and ATENSI for the furnishing. This integrated poverty alleviation program is a breath of fresh air to improve the welfare of the poor, especially the extreme poor.

Public Relations Bureau
The Indonesian Ministry of Social Affairs