Humanitarian organization World Vision Indonesia, or Wahana Visi Indonesia, recently marked 50 years of service to children's welfare in the country. Wahana Visi Indonesia's programs cover more than education and also focus on water access, nutrition and health for children. Over the years, the NGO has seen changes in both Indonesian society and people's attitudes, which has created new challenges for the Christian organization that is working in the world's biggest Muslim-majority country. Country director for World Vision Indonesia, Trihadi Saptoadi, recently talked with The Jakarta Post's Arghea Desafti Hapsari on how the organization's programs and strategies have developed. Here are the excerpts from the interview.
Question: What is different today compared to when World Vision first started operations 50 years ago?
Answer: Some things have changed, some things have remained the same.
We still focus on children, but our approaches have always been changing. Our type of service evol-ves over time. In the early 1960s, we started giving out scholarships at an orphanage in Bali. At some point, the program grew to include empowering parents. We realized that we needed to do more to achieve more, and that's when we started our community development program. It continued for quite a while. In the 1990s we thought it was too expensive to work with only one village *in one region*, so we launched area development programs.
We also learned that poverty had become more complex over time. Poverty was no longer a local issue; it had become a global issue related to injustice and other factors. We developed advocacy programs that included strategies to involve local people. We also worked with the government to improve the planning process.
We've seen changes in our approaches and in the magnitude of our projects, but we've always partnered with communities.
What has been World Vision's biggest challenge in working in Indonesia?
The biggest challenge has been to get high-quality people to work with us and to attract more young people and prove to them that this is a promising industry. Professions in humanitarian organizations are not yet seen as seen as sexy in Indonesia. We bend over backwards trying to find field managers, but no one wants to go to remote areas such as Papua, East Nusa Tenggara or Central Sulawesi. People must meet high requirements for World Vision's positions, and what awaits successful candidate are places where even electric lighting is scarce.
Another challenge is (lack of access to information) technology. Our staff works in remote areas; without needed infrastructure, effectiveness is sacrificed.
Wahana Visi Indonesia is a Christian organization that works in a country with the world's largest population of Muslims. Is it one of the biggest challenges that you have faced?
Not as far as I'm concerned. There will always be problems, but issues about religion are not the biggest that we've faced. We fully understand that people question our religious identity.
The local people in Padang, West Sumatra and Aceh who have strong (Islamic) religious backgrounds have said that organizations that base their work on religious values are ordinary. It is harder for secular people to understand why an organization should be based on religious values.
I also think that working in big cities like Jakarta and Surabaya is more complex because populations are heterogeneous.
When we work in areas such as Padang, I have found that people will accept us as long as we can talk with the local religious leaders and show them our humanitarian works. As long as we don't use our programs and humanitarian aid to proselytize, there are no problems.
Has anybody raised concerns about religion?
Yes. It's normal. But remember, even poor people have dignity. I've worked with poor people in many parts of the world for many years. I have never met a person who converted just because we gave them aid.
They can't be bought. Don't ever think that they will be willing to convert just because they need instant noodles or food for tomorrow. That's the logic of rich people who can't stand images of suffering.
After decades of experience in Indonesia and the religious dynamics here, would you say things were easier in the past for Wahana Visi Indonesia?
Well, in general it is harder (today) in that there are stronger prejudices against (other) religions.
In the old days, those questions were a part of our dialogue with local people. There were no harsh rejections. People would ask if we were Christians and whether we'd try to proselytize, but we did not see rejection, hatred, suspicion or hostility.
But recently I heard that several Christian organizations had been kicked out of different communities. It never happened to us, but still, things are tougher now.
Prejudices are starting to grow, both against Islam and against Christianity. I think it is healthy when people talk, as long as there is no violence.
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