Recently a SEEDS member conducted two training days for both bachelor and master students on using up-to-date technology for integrated chip (IC) design (wikipedia). The training was held at the Department of Electrical Engineering at Hasanuddin University in Makassar, Indonesia. Students in East Indonesia have little access to new technologies such as IC design which could bring a major boost for developing new industries and create jobs for graduates.

Because of such missing industries, graduates often end up in jobs that are not related to their studies. This training was offered in conjunction with other skills trainings organized by the SEEDS member’s Indonesian colleague that can build up industrial expertise of future graduates as they consider starting small businesses.

The previous IT industry work experience of our SEEDS member made the training practical and relevant in addressing real problems that are frequently faced in designing ICs. One of the participants had formerly developed his own processor but encountered some timing problems. Our SEEDS member was able to identify the underlying problem and suggested some solutions. It would be sad if the inventiveness of this student failed because of a lack of support and encouragement from experts in this field.

During the training the participants asked how they could obtain the soft- and hardware needed for engaging with this technology. Our SEEDS member has surveyed free or low-cost resources that are sufficient for getting started right away.

Most of the masters students who attended the training were lecturers from other universities in East Indonesia. They will pass on to the next generation of students the know-how that they have received, but also a hope to contribute in the development of their beloved country.

Finding sustainable ways to help impoverished families can be difficult.  SEEDs workers are identifying families that are unable to find regular work due to poor health, age, or other limiting factors.  SEEDs workers desire to empower these families with the means to supplement their income with home-raised chickens.

One such family is that of Agus Salim.  Agus and his wife were chosen as Agus had been unable to work for several months due to a lung disease.  SEEDs workers joined local village leaders to construct a sturdy chicken coop capable of housing 30+ chickens.  Agus and his family received 1 rooster and 2 hens as an initial step towards their families’ success in raising chickens.

The return on investment for chicken coops is relatively quick.  Within 3 months many families have between 10 – 20 chicks.  This is especially important for Agus’ family as Agus died suddenly only 2 months after the coop was built.  With these chickens, his wife has a means of partial income to support her family.

It meant death not to amputate, but to see the mourning of a teenager for his hand was hard. Here, the loss of Mansur’s hand means a loss not only of his dreams of owning a motorbike and being the best goal keeper, but of productivity and being an integral part of society. To lose his right hand is even harder as it is the dominant one, and culturally the clean hand that is used for social interaction. It is used to communicate, touch, exchange greetings or money, to write and to eat. People without limbs often become beggars, socially excluded because of their loss.

After Mansur’s accident excavating gravel from the river bed, SEEDs staff provided constant care cleaning his wound and advising him to have a total amputation as the hand was gangrenous, and infection could quickly spread. But it took 6 weeks for Mansur to accept that his hand was lost. SEEDS also worked with Mansur after his amputation through physical therapy and obtaining a cosmetic prosthesis.

Our work is hard as people often do not trust doctors and the medical system. There are other obstacles to healthcare including transportation and costs. The government subsidizes treatment for those who are poor, but it is a tedious process to apply, and difficult for those with low literacy and lack of knowledge about how to access this assistance. SEEDS staff work not only in prevention and health teaching but we also empower people to be able to access medical care they are entitled to, walking alongside them and continuing care where government services end.

I now see Mansur smiling as he walks around the village with his prosthesis, which I have not seen for a very long time, and we hope that gradually he will have emotional healing too after his loss. It is exciting to see progress as we journey with people in the village.

More than half of all fishing households in beautiful Betel-Nut village in West Sumatra are poor according to government statistics. Ongoing research with poor fishermen and their families is unearthing the causes of this poverty. “Basic infrastructure such as a good road, coupled with a senior high school would go a long way to giving fishers the leg up that they need” one local leader reported. “We don’t want handouts, just the opportunity to compete fairly”. Once they reach 16, children who want to continue high school need to move to the neighbouring city of Padang. For many fishermen the cost of finding board and accommodation is not worth the potential benefits. This leaves young males with few opportunities outside fishing and rice farming.

While this research agrees that physical infrastructure such as roads and schools are needed, it also demonstrates that poverty in Betel-Nut village is a combination of many human, social, economic and natural factors. Fishermen report “there has been a drastic decline in catches over the last 20 years” and “the high value groupers and snappers that we used to catch have got smaller and smaller”. This has forced many younger fishermen to look for work on larger boats in neighbouring fishing ports, leaving the old guard to carry on the traditional beach seine net routines.

So is the outlook for this fishing village really bleak? If villagers continue to heavily depend on a declining stock then history shows us they are heading down a dead end. However most fishermen already have a diverse livelihood portfolio. They return from the sea and go to the rice fields, they collect firewood, they raise livestock, their extended family may process the fish. This village is rich in solidarity (social capital) that could be harnessed not only in times of need or for weddings but to develop alternative livelihoods such as fish farming and tourism that would supplement incomes. Experience in other fishing villages demonstrates that building cooperation towards a shared brighter future is challenging, and it will be important to find and empower individuals with a personal commitment to help others.

In July 2013 a group of excited children in inner-city Jakarta registered for the first ever summer ‘Creative Hour’ program in their area. Forty six to 12 year-olds took part in the summer club which ran for six days during the month of Ramadan, while schools were closed.

Short term volunteers designed and led a fun-packed program on the theme “Our colourful world”, collaborating with long term colleagues already working in the area. During the program a parents’ session allowed the children to perform a selection of new songs that had been learnt, and show off a huge brightly coloured banner they had made.

In addition to the sessions in the team community centre, the workers also took an adapted version to a community living by a nearby railway line. Parents got involved with setting up a tarpaulin and helping the children with the activities, and the whole community joined in laughing with the children’s songs, dances and games.

Most of these children do not attend school, spending a part of each day singing at busy intersections and on public transport to earn a living. In this summer programme they were encouraged to be creative and to have fun, and we hope they will continue to join the ‘reading garden’ twice a week by the railway, so that they can learn to read.

These two groups of children are already regularly interacting with long-term SEEDS workers through weekly programs, and the special Ramadan events helped to cement developing relationships, and open opportunities for new ones. Through connecting with the families of these children the team are building trust in the area, networking with key people and finding ways to talk about the challenges and opportunities in the community.