T

he East Kalimantan provincial administration initiated a variety of programs to support poverty alleviation in the province including by encouraging the public to become entrepreneurs at a young age.

'The provincial administration will further spur the East Kalimantan community to become entrepreneurs to create jobs and improve people's welfare,' Governor Awang Faroek Ishak said recently.

As part of an effort to reduce the unemployment rate in East Kalimantan, the provincial administration will set up vocational training centers (BLK) in Bontang, West Kutai and Berau, as well as revitalize BLKs in Balikpapan and Nunukan.

To reach all areas in the province, the East Kalimantan Manpower and Transmigration Agency developed an On-Line Job Fair (BKOL) to facilitate jobseekers and employers through www.infokerja-kaltim.blogspot.com.

Awang added, his administration had also provided skills training for 2,486 people at BLKs. The administration also established four Productive Villages with 15 villagers from each village that received vocational training,

In the transmigration sector, the provincial administration placed 350 families, or 1,307 lives, in the SP5 and SP8 transmigration sites in Tanjung Buka, Bulungan regency.

The wealthy province has also provided housing assistance for 140 families from the targeted 100 families in 2012 and provided social welfare to 3,007 of the targeted 3,400 children. Of the 140 targeted street children, social aid has reached 213 children.

East Kalimantan was also able to exceed its target in providing social rehabilitation and protection to women with social problems and female victims of violence in 2012, from 30 people to 103 people, and exceeded its target to empower isolated communities, or Isolated Customary Communities (KAT), from 100 to 162 families found in isolated and border areas.

To accelerate poverty alleviation, Anang said the provincial administration would need help.

'We also need to see involvement from stakeholders to accelerate poverty alleviation in the province,'
said Awang.

East Kalimantan administration has also provided its residents with the Provincial Health Insurance (Jamkesprov) by allocating Rp 11.2 billion (US$1.14 million) from the 2012 provincial budget, while the number of patients with healthcare stood at 6,179 people at an average cost of Rp 1.8 million per patient.

The provincial administration has also provided social assistance funds through the Joint Business Group (Kube), from the targeted 1,650 families to 2,010 families as of December 2012, or exceeding the target by around 22 percent, while the administration had served 3,947 of the targeted 4,005 very poor households (RTSM) in 2012 through the Family Hope program.