Desy Nurhayati, The Jakarta Post, Gorontalo
The government Wednesday began distributing conditional cash transfer to families in need through its new poverty alleviation campaign -- the Hopeful Family Program (PKH).
Aid was disbursed to 150 families in Gorontalo province, one of the seven provinces selected by the government to receive direct cash assistance during the initial phase of PKH.
In total, 2,564 families of the province's five subdistricts have been targeted to receive aid.
Gorontalo Governor Fadel Mohammad said the conditional cash transfer should help reduce the poverty level in his province that had decreased significantly to around 28.5 percent from 72 percent in 2001.
Other selected provinces include Jakarta, East Java, West Java, East Nusa Tenggara, North Sulawesi and West Sumatra covering 500,000 families in total.
The funds, including health and education aid, have been aimed at families expecting a new child or with children aged up to 15 years.
To be able to receive the cash continuously, families must fulfill certain requirements, including sending their children to schools.
Each family would receive up to Rp 200,000 (US$22.2) annually depending on the condition of the family.
A family expecting a new child or with children aged below six or between 12 and 15 years would receive an additional Rp 800,000 per year.
Those with children aged between six and 12 years would receive an additional Rp 400,000.
The PKH scheme limits the number of children to three for each family.
Through the scheme, one family can receive a minimum amount of Rp 600,000 and a maximum of Rp 2.2 million.
Annual totals would be disbursed evenly once every quarter.
Recipients would receive the aid at local post offices, which have been appointed to channel the funds from the Social Services Ministry.
Social Services Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah said the funds would go definitely to the right people.
He said the ministry's system of disbursement was computerized which would help avoid mistakes or deception.
""There will be no such fraud, because the funds will go directly to the recipients,"" Bachtiar said.
""We're positive that the families will obtain the exact amount of money they should.""
PKH is the second of such cash assistance schemes introduced by Yudhoyono's government. The first scheme, introduced in October 2005 and ran for 12 months, gave unconditional financial assistance of Rp 100,000 per family per month.
The government said it would aim to reduce the number of citizens living in poverty to 18.8 million by the end of 2009 from 37.7 million at present.
The minister and the governor also handed over a school kit for 100 local elementary school students. The kit outlined funds worth Rp 60 million for nine local social organizations and Rp 2.5 billion for society empowerment programs.
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