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Social Affairs Ministry gives Rp 150b in aid to Ponorogo landslide victims
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Rescue efforts: Indonesian Military personnel and police officers and search and rescue workers attempt to evacuate victims of a landslide in Ponorogo, East Java, on April 2. (JP/Wahyoe Boediwardhana)
T
he Social Affairs Ministry has distributed an additional Rp 150 billion (US$11.27 million) worth of aid among residents of Ponorogo regency in East Java in response to landslides earlier this month.
The social assistance is delivered through the Family Hope Program (PKH), the Disabled Peoples Aid Program, the Elderly Program and the Community-Based Economic Enterprises (KUBE) Program.
“I’m really glad to see that all mothers look happy. They came here with their husbands. This did not happen in other areas,” said Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa during a handover ceremony for the social assistance on Monday.
The social assistance previously disbursed by the ministry amounted to only Rp 1.35 billion. Khofifah expressed hope that the PKH could help disaster-affected families, including by paying for children's tuition.
Ponorogo has several landslide-prone areas. On April 2, a landslide buried 23 houses in Banaran village. Four people died in the incident and dozens were injured, while 24 people are still reported missing and thought to be buried under the mud. Around 300 Banaran villagers have been evacuated to temporary shelters.
Meanwhile in Dayakan, another village in Ponorogo, around 340 people were evacuated after thunderous sounds were heard, followed by fresh cracks in soil and in the walls of houses on April 7. They feared that a landslide similar to the one that hit Banaran would affect them. (hol/ebf)
