Jakarta (VNA) - TheIndonesian government has announced that it will, through the Ministry ofSocial Affairs, push efforts to eradicate poverty along its border byconcentrating on the development of areas into “Prosperity – IndependenceVillages” (DSM).
Minister of Social AffairsIdrus Marham said Indonesia will build the model in 41 border districts andcities with a view to eradicating poverty and improving welfares for locals.
The Indonesian governmenthas defined that borders are holding the key in the security – defence work,and the prosperity and development of the areas are of significance importancethat greatly contributes to the economic development and security of thenation.
In Indonesia, those areasalso possess rich potential for economic development and considerable humanresources that can be developed in line with the DSM concept.
The building of the modelhas enjoyed cooperation between the ministry and universities in Indonesiasince 2105. So far, 140 such villages have been built after the model. Besidesexploring the villages’ potential, universities are also encouraged to find outdifficulties facing those communities. Students have been sent to those areasto experience realities there.
The DSM programme isdescribed as a new breakthrough in the effort to accelerate the povertyeradication drive in Indonesia. In this process, universities play the role ofinitiation and guiding on the basis of potential of the areas while theministry acts as the manager.-VNA