REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — The number of orphans recorded in Indonesia in 2023 reached 4 million. The number of unrecorded ones is certainly much greater, especially if coupled with the number of poor, the burden on the state is considerable to help them live, according to Article 34 paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution mandates that poor poor and displaced children be maintained by the state.
As a vulnerable group, orphans and duafa have been a concern of Muhammadiyah since its inception. Muhammadiyah has so far built at least 1,012 orphanages or LKSA (Child Social Welfare Institute) throughout the country.
The significant contribution of the Brotherhood to this vulnerable group, according to the Chairman of the Social Welfare Training Assembly (MPKS) of the Muhammadiyah Central Leadership Council, Mariman Darto, is quite remarkable. He estimated that Muhammadiyah has spent about Rp 1.6 trillion annually.
During the launch of the Comma (Collaborative Muhammadiyah) program in Jakarta on Saturday (9/12), Mariman drew calculations from her visit to 35 orphanages. From these visits, it was found that the proportion of orphanage residents on average 20 percent were orphans and 80 percent dhuafa.
According to Mariman, the number of orphans in MKSA belonging to Muhammadiyah has received assistance from Ministry of Internal Affairs of Indonesia as many as 8,911 people. If we refer to the ideal budget for each child in LKSA according to the standards of crowdfunding platform Kitabisa, which is 3 million per head, then Muhammadiyah has provided benefits of Rp 26.733 billion to orphans in a month.
If calculated with a comparative proportion of 20 percent and 80 percent, the total budget of LKSA Muhammadiyah for orphans and dhuafa needs can increase fivefold to IDR 133.665 billion. “If you imagine a year, Muhammadiyah's aid to them is 1.6 trillion,” Mariman said, quoted from the official website of Muhammadiyah on Tuesday (12/12/2023).
Such a rough calculation also made him wonder that Muhammadiyah turned out to be sufficient for himself. Because the budget of external parties outside the MPKS is very small. He also professed pride in the sincerity of Muhammadiyah citizens and activists in carrying out social solemnities according to the teachings of Al-Maun chapter.
“Your family won't have enough funds to help them. The average that Lazismus earns between 400 to 500 billion (per year), say, will not be enough to help that, because we need 1.6 trillion. Assistance from the Ministry of Social Affairs, assistance per meal alone is only enough because per month IDR 900 thousand if multiplied by this amount, with 8,000, the amount is not up from 200 billion,” he explained.
Discovering such large data needs, Mariman said, requires breakthroughs and a clear strategy. Mariman was then grateful for the launch of a new digital program called Comma. With a transparent crowdfunding program like Comma, Mariman believes the need for LKSA in the Muhammadiyah neighborhood can be more stable to be met equally. Moreover, the collection of funds on this method has been regulated by Law No. 9 of 1961 on the Collection of Money or Goods.
“(Donation collection) we can do it but it can't be in a manual way. That is why then the presence of Mas Timi (East Alfatih) became so important that today its license is not necessary to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, just with the Ministry of Social Affairs and thank God the attention of the Minister to Muhammadiyah is extraordinary,” he said.
Alfatih Timur is the co-founder of Kitabisa platform who also serves as Deputy Chairman of MPKS PP Muhammadiyah for partnership and innovation. Timi was one of the initiators of the Comma program at commafund.id
As for Mariman's praise to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs because the ministry has distributed IDR 11.36 billion in aid and nearly 200 million USD in aid per meal. Through this Comma, Mariman is optimistic that the Muhammadiyah State can contribute more massively to the country in helping to address the problems of displaced children, especially orphans and dhuafa.
“That's why then when we had the idea of Comma it became important. We hope that hopefully this spirit can answer an important challenge, the challenge of changing the vision of Muhammadiyah's development in the future, that of developing the quality of social welfare services based on families, communities, and institutions to strengthen our social resilience,” he said.
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