"Poverty must be tackled from two sides. The first is the fulfillment of basic needs such as habitable houses, toilet facilities, and clean water, and the second, is how people can earn money. This is much more important," the province's secretary, Sumarno, said here on Wednesday.
He informed that his side is prioritizing training for the recipients of Baznas aid.
By participating in training, he said, poor people can gain entrepreneurial skills and understand how to open a business.
"By having entrepreneurial skills, Baznas will provide the financial capital, and then they can have income and improve their family's economic welfare," he added.
He said he expects Baznas' business capital assistance to encourage poor people to open businesses and earn an income.
In fact, if their business grows, they can open up jobs for others, he pointed out.
"Our hope is that they have income that can meet their needs, and hopefully, their businesses can develop and thus, employ others; they help the government reduce unemployment," Sumarno said.
Statistics Indonesia (BPS) said that the number of poor in the province increased to 3.86 million as of September 2022.
"The percentage of poor people in Central Java in September 2022 was 10.98 percent, up 0.05 percent compared to March 2022," head of the Central Java BPS Social Statistics Team, Muh. Saichudin, said.
The poverty line in Central Java in September 2022 was recorded at Rp464,879 (US$31) per capita per month.
Meanwhile, the provincial government said it is ready to eliminate extreme poverty by 2024, in accordance with the target set by the central government. (INE)
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Translator: Wisnu N, Kenzu
Editor: Atman Ahdiat
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