RIAU (April 3, 2023) - Ministry of Social Affairs has provided entrepreneurial assistance through Social Rehabilitation Assistance (ATENSI) to 19 families of fire and tornado victims in Kampar Regency, Riau Province. The Ministry of Social Affairs asked the Kampar Regency Government to ensure that business assistance has an impact on the welfare of beneficiaries.

Assistance is provided as a form of state presence in accordance with the direction of Social Affairs Minister Tri Rismaharini.

"The Ministry of Social Affairs has provided assistance to victims. We ask for synergy so that the Kampar Regency Government can increase the income of beneficiaries. It is necessary to synergize with the center to monitor the development of their business," said Acting Head of the Administration Subdivision of the "Handayani" Center in Jakarta, Meerada Saryati Ariani, recently.

The victims are 15 families who were victims of fire incidents and 4 families who were victims of tornadoes during the period of October to December 2022. The incident damaged their homes and businesses.

ATENSI's assistance, in the form of nutrition packages and entrepreneurship assistance, such as assistance for selling Office Stationery (ATK), food stalls, beverage stalls and clothes selling businesses with a total assistance of Rp117,192,600, was delivered through the "Handayani" Center in Jakarta.

Meerada, who symbolically handed over the assistance to Acting Regent Kampar Kamsol, said that the assistance was given as a form of state presence to provide services to all citizens without exception.

"This is a form of attention from the Minister of Social Affairs to the residents of Kampar Regency which is one of the working areas of the Handayani Center," she said.

With this assistance, she hopes that it can help the affected residents. "Hopefully it can be useful, especially to support the business of all ladies and gentlemen who were forced to stagnate some time ago," said Meerada.

On behalf of the residents of Kampar Regency, the Regent thanked Minister of Social Affairs Risma and the "Handayani" Center in Jakarta for the assistance provided. "The assistance provided is very useful for our residents, especially in this holy month of Ramadan," said Kamsol.

For this reason, he advised his residents that the assistance received could be used properly. Regarding the incidence of fires due to electrical short-circuiting that often befalls the houses of his residents, Kamsol emphasized education on the use of electricity and the attitude of helping each other.

Beside fire and tornado victims, the Ministry of Social Affairs' nutrition and/or entrepreneurship package assistance also targeted 27 Socio-Economically Vulnerable Women or Wanita Rawan Sosial Ekonomi (WRSE) in Kampar Regency.

According to Meerada, before being provided with the assistance, the 27 WRSEs that she received from the local area's proposal, it has been through a comprehensive assessment first.

"We assessed the data first. As a result, 14 are eligible for entrepreneurship assistance because they help the economy or are the backbone of the family, and already have activities," she said.

While, there are another 13 beneficiaries who has not the entrepreneur’s base and their husband seems can fulfil the family daily needs, “so that we only give them in form of nutrition for their children,” she said.

There is 12 disability residents in Gunung Sahilan, Kampar Regency, Riau also received ATENSI Disability, in form of 12 packages of Decent Life Fulfillment and nutrition, 2 pairs of hearing aids, 5 unit standard wheelchair for adult, 2 unit adaptive wheelchair for kid, and 1 unit three-legged walking stick.

Those assistances was given to 3 adult disability, 2 children with disability, and 7 elderly with disability, which total Rp 51.058.000,-.