Visiting Scavengers Communities, Director General of Social Rehabilitation Distributes Basic Food Assistance and Medical Equipments

SOUTH TANGERANG (May 20, 2020) - The Ministry of Social Affairs continues to accelerate the handling of the impact of COVID-19 through the Directorate General of Social Rehabilitation to lower economic communities and vulnerable groups, in the form of distributing basic food social assistance.

"The government's policy to accelerate the handling of the impact of COVID-19 is targeting lower economic residents and vulnerable groups, such as scavenger communities," said the Director General of Social Rehabilitation, Harry Hikmat, accompanied by the Director of Social Rehabilitation for the Elderly, Andi Hanindito, and the Division Head of General Affairs of the Secretariat of the Directorate General of Social Rehabilitation, while combing scavenger villages on Murai 2 street, Sawah Lama Ciputat, South Tangerang City, Wednesday (20/5/2020) afternoon.

Harry said that the social assistance, which is given to residents is not based on the origin of the residents and their National Identity Card (KTP). When they are affected, they are entitled to receive basic food assistance.

"Every citizen who is directly affected by COVID-19, no matter where they come from and the domicile of their KTP, they still have the right to get basic food assistance," said Harry.

In the scavenger village of RT 6 RW 2, basic food assistance was distributed to 30 heads of families (KK) and medical equipment in the form of 600 masks and 400 hand sanitizers which were immediately received by the residents.

"Residents who live in stalls should receive assistance, especially with the PSBB (Large-Scale Social Restrictions), it is hoped that with the social assistance, they can still survive even though they are staying at home," hoped the Director General of Social Rehabilitation.

The scavengers here have KTPs but have not received assistance such as PKH (Family Hope Program) which is given regularly and basic food assistance from the President during the COVID-19 period.

“I came here to spot check, why did this happen? I was assigned by the Minister of Social Affairs to find out why the residents did not get assistance, it is because they live in a slum area that they rented from someone and their existence should’ve been recognized by the RT/RW administrators,” he said.

In addition, there is also a need for education on how to protect themselves from being exposed to COVID-19, while at the same time, scavenging is very risky from the items collected.

"It was seen that the children were playing without masks, so masks and hand sanitizers were distributed and also educated them to always maintain social distancing and physical distancing, wash their hands, and spray disinfectants," said Harry.

In the future, efforts are made for the residents of the scavenger villages to get regular social assistance because they have a KTP and NIK (Family Identification Number) from their area of origin, but there is no need to count them because of their current domicile.

"Earlier, the residents' data has been obtained, so it will be proposed to get regular and systemic assistance and not counted from their original domicile because some of them are migrants," said Harry.