Report on Kalimantan trip
29 March – 2 April 2007

Thursday 29 March:

• Project Manager: Mr. Faridz Yazi - a candidate who had responded to the announcement put in Kalteng Pos and who had been interviewed by Bardolf - came to Rungan Sari to meet with Hannah, Ala, Bachrun and myself. We all had the feeling he would be the right person for that job, and the salary he is hoping for is in line with our planned budget. Before making an offer to him, Olvia will contact the persons he had put as reference in his application.
  
  
• Dr. Rachman Mitchell: In the evening, we had a discussion with Rachman to discuss his involvement with YUM. It became clear that his participation in the Malaria Control project would be difficult for a number of reasons, and we suggested he helps us with a survey of medical facilities in Palangkaraya as well as drawing a list of medical equipment we would need in future when we plan to build a clinic. In addition, we offered to work with him to develop an implementation program for a mobile medical clinic, and to assist in fundraising in Australia for a second mobile unit (we already have one proposal submitted to a Japanese NGO). It seemed however that the way we viewed his involvement with YUM in Kalimantan did not match his own.

Friday 30 March:

• BCU: We were invited to visit the Bina Cita Utama school in Rungan Sari and arranged to meet at a later time to discuss possible cooperation between YUM & BCU.
  
  
• Visit of YUM’s office in Banturung: Met with Hari Waluyo, Lili, Chotip (new office staff) and Ibu Faustina (new cleaning lady). The salary offered to both Chotip & Ibu Faustina is Rp.500,000/mo. Pras needs to coordinate with Bachrun regarding their work contracts, working hours, etc.
  
  
• Visit of possible new location for YUM office: Took a tour of the premises and discussed the possible use of the various buildings (office, children’s library etc.). Renovations are starting and it is hoped the building YUM could use as its office could be ready in July. The complex is offered (rent free) by the owners for YUM to use and manage, and an MOU is being drafted by the owners for review by YUM’s Management Board. Hannah is doing the follow up on this.
  
  
• Visits of Suka Mulia, Banturung, Tangkiling, Sei Gohong’s transmigration project: Bachrun & Hari Waluyo took us to the various clean water projects IRDN had done these last few years. Sanitation and cleanliness seem a big problem around the location of the Tangkiling clean water project. This will need to be addressed during the socialization/promotion/advocacy program of the BMZ project. The two clean water projects in the transmigration complex are running well but Hari Waluyo told us of the drainage problem which will affect the results of our Malaria Control project. This will need to be discussed with government authorities. A plaque needs to be put on each of the towers indicating YUM/IRDN’s donation. Hannah will send artwork to Bachrun for this.

Saturday 31 March:

• Presentation of Social Mapping results: A short report was distributed to all present and a powerpoint presentation made by Rosi and Hari Waluyo given. This is a very thorough and detailed study that will become the basis of YUM’s future activities in the area. Cipto, a staff of the Tangkiling Puskesmas participated in this survey. The full report should be ready by 5th April and will be sent to YUM’s Head office for translation into English. Once the full time Project Manager starts his work with YUM, presentation of this study will be made to Bappeda (Development Planning Board) and other relevant government institutions to address drainage and sanitation problems discovered, as well as other aspects of this study. We are very thankful to Bardolf who has supervised the preparations and implementation of this study, and to Rosi, Hari Waluyo and Lili for their hard work - the results of which will have long term positive effects. (Already during a meeting with Sinar Mas upon our return, we were asked for a copy of this study as part of possible cooperation between Sinar Mas and YUM in the area).
  
  
• TDS & SD government school children sponsorships (funded by MSF): These two new programs were explained and discussed and it became obvious that implementing guidelines would need to be given:
  
  
• TDS: Bardolf had been asked whether he would be willing to assist with this project. As Mayang is the person most involved with the Kalimantan Kids Club (KKC), Bardolf asked her to explain how it was run. However, there are many dissimilarities between KKC and TDS that were discussed during the meeting. o The documents prepared for potential candidates had some mistakes that needed to be corrected. Hannah & Haris have now finalized these documents (both English & Indonesian versions) and they have been emailed to Bachrun, Bardolf, and Wawan. o Implementing guidelines need to be translated into Indonesian. o Mayang & Rosi will assist in finding suitable candidates for this program.
  
  
• Children sponsorships: 20 of those are allocated for Kalimantan and preferred location from which sponsored children will be chosen is Suka Mulya, close to Rungan Sari. This will be run by YUM staff and explanations were given as well as the cover letter. However, implementing guidelines need to be drawn to ensure that the staff in Kalimantan (and DAA) understand how this new project should be run, including home visits, amount allocated per child, etc. The final version of the Home Visit form was emailed to Bachrun on 6 April 2007.
  
  
• Telecenter: Bardolf & Hannah discussed the possibility of starting a telecenter and Bardolf provided us with documents he had downloaded from the internet on the subject.
  
  
• Volunteers: The possibility of finding volunteers for our various projects through the University of Palangkaraya was discussed. This would assist our projects and also give some students the possibility of getting some practical experience. The future Project Manager and Mustafa will be asked to look into this. Mayang, being a lecturer at the U of Palangkaraya, may also be able to assist.
  
  
• Dinner/meeting with BCU management & staff: We had the opportunity during dinner at Mansur and Utami Geiger’s house to discuss future cooperation with BCU. BCU, as part of their social responsibility, are very interested in conducting teachers’ training in schools around Rungan Sari (this topic was subsequently discussed with Sinar Mas who have an interest in teachers’ training). BCU is interested to apply for AusAID volunteers and YUM has given Karim & Rashidah’s telephone number to Mrs. Rayani Doodoh, the Director of Austraining responsible for the AYAD and VIDA programs in Indonesia, as she plans to be in Central Kalimantan some time in April.

 Sunday 1 April:

• Staff were reminded that people not already associated with YUM or its projects who wished to be helpful to YUM in some way, need to be directed to Bachrun or YUM headquarters in Jakarta. Although well-intentioned, sometimes people can inadvertently cause disruption to staff duties and responsibilities and YUM staff should avoid excessive interruption in carrying out their work. • Malaria Project presentation: Copies of the proposal prepared by Pak Djohar were distributed and Olvia explained the contents of this program due to start in June or July – if funding is approved by BMZ.
  
  
• Microcredit: Interviews of the 20 new candidates for micro-credit had been conducted by Lili who produced a very good report that will be translated into English for distribution to the donors of this program: SD France & SD Canada. Disbursement will take place this month. Lili will be asked to write the implementation guidelines based on the training she followed at Mitra Dhuafa.
  
  
• Chain of command: To avoid confusion at both ends, contacts between  Kalimantan and the Jakarta Head Office should be as follows: - Malaria project: Kal Project Manager  Dr. Sinto c.c. Mailia & Olvia - Other Kal projects: Kal Project Manager  Mailia c.c. Olvia

Monday 2 April:

• Sewing Project: It was agreed with Rashid, Hartati & Mardiah that the project would be put on hold for a few months until YUM has sufficient funds to pay the salary of a supervisor/instructor.

Other topics discussed during our visit:

• Relocation of 500 families: It was brought to our attention that Lapindo is planning to relocate 500 families dislodged from their village following the mud flow. Planned relocation would be close to the Sei Gohong Transmigration area.
• Donation of plots in Rungan Sari, phase II, to YUM: Discussions were held with Bachrun about the procedures and ramifications of plots donated to YUM.

A land tax fee of $130 per plot is currently due – so any plots donated need to be checked whether this has already been paid. In the future, once infrastructure works are initiated, each plot will be charged a portion of infrastructure costs. This fee could be quite costly for YUM. To assist in minimizing the burden of this cost, informal discussions on possible options occurred, such as obtaining a number of plot donations on which we could construct retirement facilities, thereby increasing the number of residents per YUM plot, spreading this cost over a large number of retirees. An idea such as this would have advantages from several perspectives:

PT PCB: Assist in reducing the number of foreign entities involved and hence reducing their workload; perhaps also assisting them in the layout of the plan for phase II.

Plot holders: Those who purchased plots envisioning retiring there in the near future would have the option provided to them of a pre-built retirement facility managed by YUM, complete with amenities probably not affordable by themselves alone. This option would go a long way to appeasing any current disgruntled feelings of foreign investors, thereby assisting both plotholders and PT PCB.

YUM: Land assets would be increased, an income stream created to cover operating costs with any excess for YUM projects to the local population in the six-village project area, and possibly enough land available to build a clinic or other care for residents and people from Palangkaraya. Olvia will discuss these items with Dr Mandarwati (YMS) to help determine if this is an appropriate way for YUM to proceed.

A very big thank you to Bachrun who took time to accompany us everywhere we went, as well as to Mustafa who was able to make himself available for most of our meetings, to Bardolf for his participation and support, and to Daniela for providing lunch during our meeting on Saturday, and coffee at the most timely moments.

7 April 2007