We are still collecting data for social assistance. Later on, the beneficiaries will receive social assistance in the form of the Family Hope Program (PKH)Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Social Affairs and the regional government have affirmed their commitment to helping children who lost their parents in the Mount Semeru eruption in Lumajang district, East Java province on December 4, 2021.
Social Affairs Minister Tri Rismaharini informed that her administration is currently registering children who lost their father, mother, or both due to the eruption. The orphaned children will receive social assistance from the government, she added.
“We are still collecting data for social assistance. Later on, the beneficiaries will receive social assistance in the form of the Family Hope Program (PKH)," she said in a written statement received on Monday.
According to head of the Malang District Social Service Nurhasyim the impact of the Mount Semeru eruption in his region was not as severe as in Lumajang district.
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"There was one orphan affected by the Semeru eruption in Malang district. His father died after his sand truck was submerged in cold lava. Furthermore, the data of the child was submitted to the Ministry of Social Affairs in Jakarta," he informed.
The Ministry of Social Affairs, through its Technical Service Units (UPTs), also proactively tracked and provided services to orphaned children, he noted. One of the ministry's UPTs, Balai Handayani, provided such services to DR (9), whose parents died in the Mount Semeru eruption. Since the disaster, DR has been under his grandfather's care, he said.
Balai Handayani provided basic social assistance to support children's nutrition and health in the form of fast food, milk, biscuits, vitamins, eucalyptus oil, masks, and hand sanitizers in Cupiturang village, Pronojiwo sub-district, Lumajang district, Nurhasyim added.
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Besides social assistance, Balai Handayani also provided motivation and emotional support to the caregivers and guardians of the orphaned children, he said.
The Ministry of Social Affairs provided general psychosocial support services to affected residents, he said. Apart from causing fatalities, the eruption also caused psychological trauma in affected victims, especially children, he noted.
The psychosocial support services were provided by Margo Laras Pati Center, which conducted emergency response activities and offered psychosocial support services in Penanggal village, Candipuro sub-district, Lumajang district from December 6–8, 2021, he said. Other UPTs of the ministry also provided other services needed by the community, he added.
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Translator: Devi Nindy S R, Resinta S
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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