Alleviating
Extreme Poverty Through Community Empowerment Programs
La Didi
Dayanu Ikhsanuddin University, Bau-bau, Indonesia
Email: ladidididy27@gmail.com
Abstract
Extreme poverty remains a persistent issue in Indonesia, particularly in Central Buton Regency, despite numerous government initiatives. Efforts to alleviate poverty have yet to yield substantial results, with significant disparities between rural and urban areas. This study aims to assess the impact of community empowerment programs on reducing extreme poverty in Central Buton Regency, Indonesia. Using a qualitative descriptive design, data were collected through interviews, observations, and documentation involving individuals living in extreme poverty and government officials managing poverty alleviation programs. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis, with findings validated through data source triangulation. The results indicate that community empowerment programs play a crucial role in reducing extreme poverty, though there are discrepancies between expected and actual outcomes. Further research is needed to explore the long-term impact of these programs on poverty reduction in the region.
Keywords: Empowerment, Poverty, Community.
Introduction
The problem of extreme poverty in
Indonesia has been an ongoing problem for decades. The government has made
various efforts to overcome poverty, but these efforts have not resulted in
significant changes. Poverty still stands at millions of people living in
inadequate conditions to obtain a decent standard of living. Poverty is
widening, starting from the national capital, provinces, districts/cities, and
urban villages or villages. On the other hand, the government has planned 0%
extreme poverty in 2024, but in fact, in the period September 2022-March 2023,
the Poverty Depth Index (P1) and Poverty Severity Index (P2) have decreased.
The Poverty Depth Index in March 2023 was 1,528, down from 1,562 in September
2022. Meanwhile, the Poverty Severity Index in March 2023 was 0.377, down from
0.379 in September 2022.
When compared by region, the values of the
rural Poverty Depth Index (P1) and Poverty Severity Index (P2) are higher than
those of the urban ones. In March 2023, the Poverty Depth Index (P1) value for
urban areas was 1.163, while in rural areas, it is higher, reaching 2.035.
Similarly, for the Poverty Severity Index (P2) value, in urban areas, the value
is 0.281, while in rural areas, it is higher, reaching 0.511. This figure shows
that the state has been unable to reduce extreme poverty to 0% as per the 2019-2024
RPJMN
Currently,
five districts in Southeast Sulawesi are included in the priority districts for
extreme poverty reduction in 2022, including Konawe, Wakatobi, North Konawe,
North Kolaka, and East Kolaka. Wakatobi Regency is the district that has the
highest percentage of extreme poverty at 8.76 percent, then North Konawe with a
poverty rate percentage of 7.98 percent, East Kolaka Regency in third place
with a poverty percentage of 6.74 percent, North Kolaka at 6.53 percent and
finally in fifth place namely Konawe Regency at 5.85 percent. However, when
viewed based on the number of extremely poor people who must be alleviated, the
most poverty is actually in Konawe Regency with the number of extremely poor
people of 15,150 people. Then East Kolaka had as many as 13,180 thousand
people, North Kolaka as many as 9,990 people, Wakatobi as many as 8,420 people,
and finally North Konawe as many as 5,180 people. Meanwhile, in the aggregate,
in Southeast Sulawesi Province, poverty must be alleviated by 4.8 percent, or
around 131,590 people, who are in the poverty category.
Central Buton Regency is another
district in Southeast Sulawesi with a high poverty rate. In the Regional
Development Plan 2023-2026. The percentage of poor people in Central Buton
Regency fluctuated from 2017 to 2020. In 2018, the poverty rate of the population
of Central Buton Regency was recorded at 14.88 percent or 13.72 thousand poor
people in Central Buton Regency. This number decreased compared to the previous
year, which was recorded at 18.35 percent or reduced by 3.01 thousand people
who were below the poverty line. Then, in 2019, the number rose and then
decreased slightly in 2020 to 14.40 thousand people, or around 15.32 percent of
the poor population of the entire population in Central Buton. The extreme
poverty rate reached 4% of the population in 2021 (Central Buton RPD
2023-2026).
Although the rate of
extreme poverty is lower than in other areas above, compared to Southeast
Sulawesi Province, the percentage of poor people in Central Buton Regency is
still higher than from 2017 to 2020. In 2020, the percentage of poor people in
Southeast Sulawesi was 11 percent, a decrease compared to 2019, which was 11.24
percent. The pattern of increasing and decreasing the percentage of poor people
in Central Buton and Sulawesi Tenggara is going in the same direction from 2017
to 2020. The poverty depth index measures the
average expenditure gap of each poor person against the poverty line. In 2020,
the P1 value of Central Buton Regency was 1.91. This value is expected to
decrease even more. The lower P1 value shows that the average expenditure of
the poor against the poverty line is approaching. A smaller P1 value shows that
the burden of lifting poor people from poverty is getting easier (Central Buton
Regency Regional
Development Plan 2023-2026).
The poor people in Central
Buton still experience limited access to basic services, including education,
health, clean water, decent housing, and food. In addition, the development of
sustainable economic life is still very low, evidenced by the low opportunity
to try and work due to the level of education that does not qualify for decent
work and the same opportunity to get a job. Limited access to capital for micro
and small enterprises coupled with marketing access is still felt among the
poor whose production is not yet suitable for the market, so as a result, poor
households are unable to generate income to meet their basic needs. Other
factors of poor people's helplessness are caused by physical conditions,
psychology, isolated environments, cultures that must be followed as a
particular community, and poverty reduction policies that are not right on
target or even for certain interests by utilizing the helplessness of the poor.
The Central Buton RPD 2023-2026
explains that one of the main missions is to develop a people's economy based
on agrarian and maritime potential. The goals to be achieved are to reduce
poverty, inequality between income groups, and unemployment. The target is to
reduce poverty rates and gaps between income groups, increase services for
People with Social Welfare Problems (PMKS), and deploy Potential Social Welfare
Resources (PSKS).
Previous research has identified a
range of factors contributing to extreme poverty in Indonesia, including
limited access to education, healthcare, and employment opportunities. Findings
Despite existing knowledge about
extreme poverty in Indonesia, there is still a lack of research on the
effectiveness of community empowerment programs in addressing this problem.
Previous studies have identified various factors contributing to extreme poverty,
such as limited access to education, healthcare, and employment opportunities,
as well as low agricultural productivity and inadequate infrastructure.
However, these studies often focus on identifying the causes and consequences
of poverty rather than evaluating the impact of specific interventions aimed at
alleviating it
This study aims to fill this gap by
assessing the effectiveness of community empowerment programs in Central Buton
Regency. Unlike prior research, which generally examines poverty through broad
socio-economic lenses or focuses on urban settings, this study specifically
investigates rural poverty and the role of community empowerment in mitigating
it. It provides a detailed analysis of how these programs function in practice
and their actual outcomes compared to expected results. By focusing on a
rural context and employing a qualitative descriptive design, this research
adds to existing knowledge by offering insights into community empowerment
programs' practical challenges and successes. It highlights the discrepancies
between program goals and actual outcomes, suggesting areas for improvement and
further study.
Extreme poverty can be addressed
directly by the international community through the design of strong
pro-poverty policies that work better for the very poor and are easy to
implement through coordination and monitoring
Departing from the context of the
research above, this study aims to determine the impact of community
empowerment programs on reducing extreme poverty in Central Buton, Indonesia.
Research
Methods
This study employs a qualitative
descriptive design to assess the impact of community empowerment programs in
Central Buton Regency, Indonesia. The research was conducted from June to
December 2023 in rural areas with high poverty indices. The research stages
include preparation, data collection, and data analysis. During the preparation
stage, research objectives were defined, and necessary permissions were
obtained. Data collection involved in-depth interviews, participant
observations, and analysis of relevant documents. Informants included
individuals living in extreme poverty and government officials involved in
poverty alleviation programs. Data analysis was conducted using thematic
analysis, identifying key themes and patterns related to the effectiveness of
community empowerment programs. Triangulation was applied to ensure consistency
and validity by comparing data from interviews, observations, and
documentation. This approach allowed for a comprehensive understanding of the
impact of these programs and addressed discrepancies between expected and
actual outcomes.
Results
and Discussion
Poverty alleviation is one of the basic
services that the government is concerned about. Poverty is important to both
the government and the private sector because of the rights and obligations of
citizens who obtain a decent livelihood for humanity. The government's efforts
are carried out through community empowerment programs, where the government
provides assistance to citizens in need in the hope that the poor will be free
from the shackles of extreme poverty.
Some
information obtained from various sources explains that the Central Buton
Regency Government always strives to collect data through related agencies so
that assistance that descends to the community is right on target, social
assistance of many kinds, such as PKH, Fisherman Infrastructure assistance, and
agricultural infrastructure assistance.
In addition, there is social assistance from the
Central Buton Regency Government in the form of fertilizers and agricultural
equipment,
but it has not been maximized. For the village government, 40% of the village
fund budget is used for assistance such as BLT, well assistance, reservoirs,
toilets, and others according to the needs of the community. While the Family Hope Program (PKH) provided by the
central government amounted to Nine Hundred Seventy-Five Thousand Rupiah (RP.
975,000,-). The assistance by the beneficiary community is considered
insufficient to support the family due to the high price of nine basic
materials.
The community
empowerment program through the PKH program is carried out not comprehensively
but partially from all stages of community empowerment so that the PKH program
does not affect the improvement of welfare but only maintains survival.
Table. 1 Community empowerment programs
|
Beneficiaries |
Types of Help |
Problem |
|
PKH recipient
farmers |
· fertilizer · Agricultural
Equipment |
Plant pests (Wild
Boar)/ (unproductive) |
|
PKH Fisherman |
Assistance of
fishing facilities |
The catch is unstable
and outcompeted |
|
Family Hope Program |
Cash RP. 975.000 |
Just to survive
(unproductive) |
|
Direct Cash
Transfer |
Cash RP.
300,000/month |
Just to survive
(unproductive) |
|
Other social
assistance |
1. Sumur Bor 2. Tandon 3. Toilet 4. Elderly |
Assistance is in
the form of projects, but it is not able to empower communities independently
and sustainably |
Extreme poverty alleviation program
assistance has positively impacted farming and fishing communities, but other
problems cause agricultural products and catches to be unsuccessful. For the
elderly and physically disabled communities, it is necessary to carry out
special empowerment that involves families and is carried out in a sustainable
manner. This condition is a challenge in the implementation of the poor
community empowerment program. Good intentions are not enough if they are not
done by involving the parties concerned. Especially for the elderly and people
with physical disabilities, empowerment programs require intensity and behavior
with special needs. So that 0% of people living in extreme poverty until 2024
can be successful.
Table. 2 Distribution of poverty by age
level
|
No. |
District |
Sum |
Age < 45 |
Ages 45-59 |
Age ≥ 60 |
|
|
|
|
1,583 |
423 |
553 |
607 |
|
|
1 |
Lakudo |
387 |
95 |
158 |
134 |
|
|
2 |
Mawasangka
Timur |
165 |
31 |
47 |
87 |
|
|
3 |
Mawasangka
Tengah |
121 |
43 |
42 |
36 |
|
|
4 |
Mawasangka |
334 |
111 |
118 |
105 |
|
|
5 |
Talaga
Raya |
125 |
38 |
44 |
43 |
|
|
6 |
Gu |
350 |
83 |
114 |
153 |
|
|
7 |
Sangia
Wambulu |
101 |
22 |
30 |
49 |
|
The results show that extreme poverty
reduction can be achieved with a community empowerment approach but must be
achieved by providing access, having an intense and sustainable role in
government, and having the poor participate intensely. Through the assistance
of PKH, BLT, and other social assistance programs, empowerment programs can be
carried out, but they need to be carried out professionally and sustainably so
that extreme poverty reduction can be achieved.
Discussion
Research findings show that extreme
poverty alleviation is carried out by empowering the community through PKH,
BLT, and other social assistance programs. However, empowerment programs are
not carried out in stages and continuously. As a result, the poor cannot escape
extreme poverty other than to survive.
The studies reviewed show that
community empowerment programs are an important strategy to overcome extreme
poverty. It aims to increase the ability and participation of the community in
the development process, thus encouraging sustainable poverty alleviation.
As a result, these programs tend to
have a temporary impact and do not significantly change the way people overcome
poverty. In addition, these programs also tend not to address the root causes
of poverty. To tackle poverty effectively, poverty reduction needs to be done
with a more comprehensive and sustainable approach. One approach that can be
taken is to empower the community by improving education, skills, and access to
decent work.
In addition, there is also a need for
programs that encourage investment in areas with high poverty rates to create
new jobs and improve the region's economy. Local economic empowerment also
needs to be considered so that people can access markets and increase their
income. The government needs to carry out empowerment programs in a tiered
manner, starting from acute poverty alleviation to structural poverty. In this
case, the government needs to have a clear and measurable plan for implementing
empowerment programs, as well as involving various relevant stakeholders,
including local communities.
The studies reviewed show that
community empowerment programs are an important strategy to overcome extreme
poverty
In short, community empowerment
programs are a vital component of extreme poverty alleviation efforts. The
success of these programs depends on true empowerment, adherence to principles,
and the incorporation of local wisdom and context-specific strategies. To
achieve sustainable outcomes, it is important to redefine and redesign poverty
alleviation policies to effectively utilize community resources and ensure
community involvement in decision-making processes,
In
addition, the empowerment of the poor starts from the policies and
implementation of the central and local governments through related agencies to
develop various infrastructure facilities, which include: 1) educational
facilities; 2) health facilities; 3) transportation; 4) economic facilities and
5) settlement facilities, which begin with the process of identifying problems,
community needs, supporting local natural conditions, feasibility assessments,
and finally development actions, then monitoring and maintaining infrastructure
facilities together with the community and village officials and building
sustainability,
Empowerment strategies are an integral
part of poverty reduction efforts, as they involve increasing the capacity of
individuals and communities to improve their socioeconomic conditions
To ensure access for the poor to escape
extreme poverty, some important steps that can be taken are as follows:
1.
Quality education: It
is important to provide access to quality education for the poor, so that they
have the necessary abilities and skills in finding jobs and developing their
own businesses. This can be done by establishing schools in poor areas,
providing educational scholarships, and training qualified teachers unless the
elderly and physically disabled need another approach. This means that
comprehensiveness in empowerment activities needs to be done.
2.
Training and skills
development: The poor need to be given training and skills development in order
to get better jobs or start their own businesses. Skills training programs can
provide them with relevant skills and take into account the demands of the local
job market.
3.
Access to Health
Services: The poor need good and affordable access to basic health services.
This includes access to quality health facilities, medicines, and advanced
health care. Government or non-government programs that provide health
assistance, especially for the elderly, are very popular.
5. Providing
access to capital for poor people: poor people often do not have access to the
capital needed to start or develop their businesses. Providing access to the
extremely poor can help them to start small businesses and increase their
incomes,
6. Adequate
infrastructure: Development of adequate infrastructure such as roads, clean
water, sanitation, and electricity in poor areas is essential. Good
infrastructure can facilitate poor people's access to better economic services
and opportunities.
7. Social
protection: Effective social protection systems, such as social assistance
programs and social safety nets, need to be implemented to provide economic
protection for the poor. This can include cash transfers, food assistance, or
social insurance programs.
Conclusion
The study's results suggest that alleviating extreme poverty through community empowerment programs requires a structured and sustainable approach. Measures such as skills development, training, and regular monitoring and evaluation of programs are important components in improving the effectiveness of empowerment programs. In addition, the role of local wisdom and the "bottom-up" approach is also a key factor in the success of community empowerment programs. The synergy between the government, non-governmental organizations, families of the elderly, and the private sector is needed to create a significant positive impact in overcoming extreme poverty. In this regard, poverty alleviation policies need to be restructured to effectively utilize community resources and ensure active community participation in decision-making processes. With the implementation of the measures mentioned, it is hoped that community empowerment programs can make a significant contribution to alleviating extreme poverty in Indonesia and provide a real opportunity for people to get out of the cycle of poverty.
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