Together Were Building A Stronger
Community For Your Sponsored Child.
Country: Indonesia
Community: Nek Matulun
Nek Matulun, the community organization through
which your child receives the benefits of your
sponsorship, is located in Indonesias Nusa Tenggara
Province.
The Community at a Glance
Children and their families live in homes made from
palm trunk or wood that were repaired by the project
into simple houses.
Due to the lack of rainfall, many families suffer from
hunger and the children face malnutrition as planting
can take place only during the rainy season. This
limited seasonal planting is a disadvantage as it
creates food shortages and starvation.
Clean water is still a big problem because most of the
digging wells dry out during the dry season. People
take water from rivers and streams for cooking and
any other necessities. This practice is unsafe because
using untreated water from rivers and streams may
lead to infections and water borne diseases.
Health Services
Working together with the community health center
and the integrated service posts, the community
organization conducts supplemental feeding programs,
pre-natal care, health check-ups, a village pharmacy
and small-scale health insurance. The health cadres
and social workers from the community organization in
cooperation with the community health center also conduct
educational trainings on acute respiratory infections,
diarrhea, malnutrition, malaria, avian influenza and
HIV/AIDS. Additionally, to support childrens nutrition, the
community organization encourages families to cultivate
their land to grow healthy foods at home like bananas,
cassavas, peanuts, beans and vegetables.
To ensure children have access to clean water and a
healthy environment, the community organization helps
families repair houses, dig wells, construct latrines and
develop a pipeline system. Most homes have now been
repaired and the situation of the assisted families is better
than before.
Education Services
The community organization provides school equipment for
preschool and primary school children and their caregivers.
There are three places provided by the community
management council to accommodate the under-five-year-
old children getting access to Early Childhood Care and
Development (ECCD) programs. The community
organization coordinates birth certificates for children to
ensure that they have the proper paperwork to attend
school. The community organization also provides desks,
bookcases, school libraries, learning group opportunities
and scholarships for high-ranking students from poor
families. The development of young peoples abilities is
facilitated through singing groups, sports and local art.
Family Livelihood Services
The community organization provides working capital to
the assisted families to run small businesses such as
horticulture, cow fattening, goat breeding, hand tractor
servicing and home industries such as producing woven
cloth. To increase more capital, the community
organization urges the people to organize a credit
cooperative.
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