Questions/Answers

As the biggest province in the most populous island, East Java has heavy burden of poverty alleviation. Moreover, the issue of poverty in East Java is quite distinctive. About ten percent of the poorest community is led by women. The number of single mother households (SMHs) reached 78,679 and 44 percent of them categorized as vulnerable groups, such as senior citizens and persons with disabilities. They became the heads of the families because they got divorced, their husbands died, abandoned them, become persons with disabilities so they cannot be productive anymore or because they are completely alone. Pathway towards Independence and Welfare (Jalin Matra) Feminization of Poverty Alleviation (FPA) is an innovation to deal with this problem through inclusive paradigm. It ensures the senior citizen and persons with disabilities included in poverty alleviation program. Single mother or persons with disabilities households are not only the object of the policy, but they were given freedom to choose their businesses after they receive some business stimulus. With this system, they become the main actors of economic mobility acceleration as they are the people who understand their own condition. This system empowers the vulnerable groups, not only make them targets for aid program.

Jalin Matra FPA is conducted by giving Rp.2,500,000 ($170) as business stimulus to old women or women with disabilities acting as head of families. Ten percent of it is used for their daily provisions and the rest must be used to start a business. They decide their own businesses because they know their own ability and potential. In running their business, they are guided by local woman activists through a mothercare concept. The guidance is not only about business management, but also in forms of motivation, consult and encouragement to market their products through more massive social and economic networking

FPA innovation realizes the eight SDG, to promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. By giving business stimulus to old women or women with disabilities, to create jobs. It also in line with the sixteenth SDG, to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. Those inclusive SDGs were combined with first SDG, to end poverty. The inclusive perspective of the program aimed to end poverty for old women or women with disabilities.

FPA has reached 78,679 single mother households (SMHs) and 44 percent of them are old women or women with disabilities living remotely far from the city. This innovation gives them opportunity to be entrepreneur by giving them Rp.2,500,000 ($170) as business stimulus for each SMH, improving their business skill, creating business network and banking access for business development. This innovation has improved the welfare of 291,112 SMHs. SMHs income increases Rp.750,000 ($52) in average per month. Improvement of welfare status also happens to 42.68% of SMHs from the lowest 10% welfare rate to be 20% and over. The income improvement has caused chained effects. Before included in the program, most of the family members were only graduated from elementary school. With the income improvement, the children of SMHs now can continue to middle school or more, and some of them are even able to send their children to college. The awareness on the health importance also improves as they use more of Community Healthcare Center services and they make better sanitation system at home. Thus, SMHs has access to services including the basic public services such as family card, ID card and birth certificate

Women’s life in Indonesia is harder than men’s, especially regarding social pressure and job access. Women are considered as second-class citizens. Being a divorcee in Indonesia is also tough. Women are blamed, judged as the main cause of divorces, young marriages, and domestic violence. Same condition felt by persons with disabilities. They are considered only as ‘targets’ of aid and supported out of pity or “charity”. They want to be treated equally and given same opportunity as others. With these situations, single mother households, including the old women and women with disabilities will be difficult to move out of poverty

FPA Innovation is an original innovation of East Java government initiated by the Governor, Soekarwo, and he ordered Regional Research Council, Community and Village Empowerment Agency, and Brawijaya University to design a program called Jalin Matra: Feminization of Poverty Alleviation program. There are two main strategies. First, SMHs empowerment strategy through cash transfer stimulus. Secondly, economic, social, cultural, and psychological problem-solving strategy through mothercare program. It is called mothercare because it involves motherly assisting figures who care and become the interaction node and sharing liaison between SMHs. The activists prevent this innovation from becoming a merely financial aid

Jalin Matra: Feminization of Poverty Alleviation (FPA) has been replicated in 10 regencies: Bojonegoro, Sampang, Ponorogo, Tuban, Lamongan, Lumajang, Probolinggo, Magetan, Situbondo and Banyuwangi. Replications conducted as commitment towards a Memorandum of Understanding between the Governor of East Java and the regents. It was about the support given for guidance and funding for FPA in East Java for 2014-2018. Replication is conducted through matching program, by using same pattern but different targets. SMHs targeted by the regencies were different from East Java province’s targets and all SMHs in East Java can get the benefits from FPA

Resources used to implement the innovation were: First, funding resources. Allocated budget was Rp.232 billion ($15 million) for business stimulus of 78,679 SMHs for 4 years. Second, human resources. Stakeholders involved were governments of province, regencies, sub-districts, villages, universities, banks and civil society were coordinated by the East Java Governor. Each stakeholder has roles and responsibilities regulated in East Java Governor Regulation Number 5 in 2018 on General Guidelines of FPA Program. Third was Technical Resources, which took form on East Java Governor Regulation on Program Guidelines which was published annually and Technical Guidelines on FPA Implementation

FPA innovation gave thorough treatments to the single mothers, not only in economic aspect but also social aspect. Some workshops held were adjusted with the need of SMHs, such as on batik craftsmanship, baking, offerings craftsmanship, dairy product and fish product processing. The technical guidance on business management was also given by the activists, from business administrative management, business site lay out to product packaging. The products from the SMHs were introduced and promoted through small and medium sized enterprises’ product exhibition at local and national scale. The promotion is also continuously done through the website on www.mothercarejatim.id as the media for the network of SMHs. On the website, the profile and the kind of products are displayed. For their business development, especially on funding, the government of East Java has given them easy and cheap loans for SMHs through Micro, Small, and Medium Business Bank owned by East Java Government’ and private bank. With these treatments, FPA showed sustainability because the recipients of the program can be practitioners. Mothercare did not only give them technical skills, but they also gave input on social consciousness in maintaining their business and change the paradigm that women are helpless

Yes

The formal evaluation of FPA implementation was conducted in stages. First, there were evaluations by universities. In 2014, it was conducted by Airlangga University. In 2015, 2016 and 2017, it was conducted by Brawijaya University. Besides the universities, the Provincial Secretariat also monitored and evaluated the program implementation through FPA Program Executive Team to know the effectiveness of program implementation in reality and to get inputs from SMHs to determine the kind of workshop to be organized. There was also an evaluation during the report gathering attended by village officials, village legislative, community figures and SMHs as the recipients

The first indicator is fund disbursement accuracy. Recipients of business stimulus are single mother households in the lowest 10% of welfare index based on PPLS or SMHs substitution data from community gathering. Second is fund amount accuracy. The amount of business stimulus received by SMHs allocated for main business capital, side business and SMHs daily provisions. Third is the implementation accuracy in terms of psychological, economic and social aspects, so SMHs can get the benefits from the program and be motivated in running their business. The other indicator is the household quality of life.

Evaluation in 2017 showed 100% of program implementation targeted the right target, 95.45% of stimulus was distributed in the right amount, 95.56% of SMHs felt that the program was useful, 92.21% of them were motivated to start business, 64.77% of SMHs had income improvement, and 92.69% considered that the environment supported SMHs businesses. Impact analysis showed improvement of SMHs income, business development reached 70.61% and 63.18% of it had income improvement by Rp.750,000 ($52). Social impact of FPA seen from the improved motivation of SMHs to start businesses, as 96.31% of the recipients were really motivated to run their businesses.

The program was designed based on good governance which involved all government officials, from the provincial to village government, communities, universities, civil society and banking sector. It is executed by the government and governor as the person in charge. The cross-sectoral coordination involved Regional Team for Poverty Alleviation and the leading unit was East Java Community Empowerment Agency. Secretariats were formed at province, regencies until villages. At province and regency level, the members were from officials/staffs specifically assigned by regional government agencies: Regional Planning and Development Agency; Community and Village Empowerment Agency, Women Empowerment, Child Protection and Citizenship Agency, BPS-Statistics Indonesia, Cooperative Agency; Industry and Commerce Agency, and PKK Movement Team. Communities were fully involved, SMHs as the recipients, activists of PKK, head of village, NGO and community figures. Universities’ involvement can be seen from participation of Brawijaya University: Institute of Research and Community Development. They were also involved for program database analysis and management, monitoring and evaluation. Civil society involvement could be seen from the facilitators from the NGO and PKK. They worked together with the executive team and mothercare activist in the village. Province and state owned Bank also take the role as loan provider for SMHs

Lesson learned from this innovation is the presence of government for the poor woman community, especially senior citizen and persons with disabilities. SMHs welfare improvement is done by all stakeholders from governments, universities, civil society, private parties and banking sector. Through empowerment paradigm and putting them as the subjects, the program is sustainable because SMHs improvement also improves the community. SMHs don’t only need business stimulus but also attention, guide and motivation to keep running the business. In the future, this innovation will be used as model of poverty alleviation in other regions as they face the same SMHs problems