"You are so smart. Keep your chin up, yes," the minister remarked while handing a multifunction wheelchair to a beneficiary in Maumere, Sikka.
Mercy, 15, the beneficiary, then demonstrated how to use the device. Minister Rismaharini was seen giving her a thumbs up and smiling at her for handling the device well. As Mercy sat on the wheelchair, she tried to contain her joy over receiving the aid.
"I'm happy," she said.
During the work visit, the minister spoke to people with disabilities about their needs. Some raised their hands and spoke with the minister. Some asked for sewing machines, and others asked for capital for business.
After listening to their inputs and requests, she urged the head of the Sikka Social Affairs Office to make a complete list of people and their disabilities so that aid could be allocated effectively and efficiently.
"I will follow up on these," she said.
"I will help. The identity number and family identity number (must be listed), because if it is not there, I would be mistaken for doing corruption. So please, head of the Social Affairs Office, please record the data, including the type of disability, like if it is on eyesight or body," she added.
The minister handed ATENSI aid to 18 people in total. They comprised nine children requiring special protection, four people with disabilities, and five elderly persons. The beneficiaries were from Alok, Alok Timur, Nita, and Magepanda.
The aid included school supplies, staple foods, walking supports, a wheelchair, pigs as capital for farming, a three-wheeled motor, and an entrepreneurship package. The total value of the aid stood at Rp126.1 million (US$8,257).
"I do my best to aid you all, ladies and gentlemen," Minister Rismaharini remarked.
A beneficiary who received the three-wheeled motor, Yan, expressed his delight over it and said he expected that others would receive similar aid.
“Hopefully, this can generate extra income, so the economy becomes better," Yan remarked.
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Translator: Fransiska M N, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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