Where we do it > Indonesia

Facts & Figures Population: 231 million Capital city: Jakarta GDP per capita: $3,843 HDI ranking: 107 of 177 countries * Life expectancy: 71

Country background

The VSO Indonesia programme is focused on the regions of Java and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) and volunteers are working in the areas of secure livelihoods, maternal and child health, and disability.

Secure Livelihoods

Secure Livelihoods activity supports the income earning potential of poor people and people living in rural areas. For Indonesia natural resources are the single biggest contributor to the economy but over exploitation and poor management policies and practices have led to rapid depletion. It is the rural poor who have lost most from this destruction because they are usually dependent upon natural resources for their livelihood. Although civil society organisations try to encourage more appropriate agricultural and fishing practices, efforts need to be made to ensure proper marketing of the products, and to give poor rural people access to decision making procedures at the local government level. Volunteers who are natural resource, agriculture or marketing specialists and management advisers are working with these organisations to strengthen the strategies and systems for managing resources. They are raising awareness of and training local communities in more sustainable natural resource practices, as well as strengthening participation in decision-making bodies.

Maternal and child health

Indonesia’s maternal mortality rate (307 deaths in 100,000 births) is three times that of Vietnam and six times that of China and Malaysia. Only about 72% of births are attended by skilled birth attendants . And within Indonesia, the province of NTT has the worst status.

To combat this, volunteer health professionals are encouraging village women to make better use of public health services and to raise awareness of health rights through community based organisations that are acting for women and children. This is supported by work with public and private healthcare providers to improve the skills of individual health care professionals and the effectiveness of the institutions within which they work.

Disability

There are more than eight million people with disabilities in Indonesia but current government policy regarding disability is very limited. There is a lack of awareness among the general population of what disability is and misunderstandings of the causes of disability. People with disabilities are rarely visible in society since they often live in isolation, being hidden by their family in shame at home or in institutions.

They are frequently denied access to basic human rights such as the right to education, health care and to earn a living. Volunteers are working with community-based organisations that offer services to, and raise awareness of the rights of, people with disabilities. Volunteer placements include management advisers, advocacy professionals, vocational skills trainers as well as health rehabilitation and therapy workers.