Ministry to invite Kampus Merdeka students to solve poverty problem

The Ministry of Social Affairs has said it will involve students participating in the Kampus Merdeka (Campus Freedom) Program, who are referred to as “young fighters”, in helping solve the problem of poverty in Indonesia.

Social Affairs Minister Tri Rismaharini (Risma) said the idea of involving college students initially arose from the need for students to resolve complaints regarding Integrated Social Welfare Data (DTKS).

“The intention is to ask permission from the Education Minister to invite universities to participate, and there is the Kampus Merdeka Program. We try to develop it because the program initiated by the ministry is amazing,” she remarked.

The Kampus Merdeka Program involves students by rewarding them 20 credits for one semester so that they can get experience on the field, the minister noted.

The “Young Fighters” program will be carried out for a limited time, Rismaharini said. Hence, its execution must be accelerated, she added.

“The Young Fighters’ concept is generating students who can understand the existing poverty (issue) and solve it by looking for the root of the problem,” she explained.

Participating students will be given a plan to prepare programs for collaborating with indigenous community leaders, Rismaharini informed.

With that, they will be taught to use digital campaigns to seek social support, such as funding support, with the permission of the Social Affairs Ministry and Education Ministry.

“We will help them gain access to influencers who want to help the program so that students can create transparency in the program, concept, and campaign,” the minister said.

The “young fighters” will be placed in areas newly affected by disasters, areas where poverty majorly occurs, as well as with remote indigenous communities throughout Indonesia, Rismaharini said.

She said she hoped students would become quality assurance guardians and take extraordinary steps to alleviate poverty, initiate the construction of public facilities for schools, and economically empower 514 cities/districts. Groups of 10 students will serve each region under the plan, she added.

She then thanked Education Minister Nadiem Makarim and head of Commission VIII of the House of Representatives for facilitating cooperation between young students and the Social Affairs Ministry to brainstorm on eliminating poverty.

Source: Antara News