Nandiroh and other Young Fighters. (Photo: Special)
Government Science (IP) UMM always encourages students to participate in social activities. One of them was carried out by Nandiroh, a 2018 UMM Government Science student involved in the Indonesian Ministry of Social Affairs (Kemensos) Young Fighters program (Pejuang Muda). This program is perfect because it is a social laboratory for students to apply their knowledge and knowledge in providing substantial social impacts. Furthermore, this program challenges students to collaborate with local governments, community leaders, local religious leaders, and mobilize social stakeholders in the region.
Nandiroh's participation is inseparable from a long process. There were more than 11 thousand participants who registered, and after going through a rigorous selection, only 5 thousand people were selected, and one of them was Nandiroh. Nandiroh succeeded after going through a stringent selection divided into two stages: first, the collection of essays, CVs, Transcripts, and portfolios, and second, the assessment through the Forum Group Discussion.
Nandiroh and 20 other young fighters were stationed in Tuban Regency. An area with the fifth-highest poverty rate in East Java. Several poverty alleviation programs from the Ministry of Social Affairs, namely the Family Hope Program (PKH) social assistance and Non-Cash Food Assistance (BPNT), have not been effective due to inaccurate data collection and corruption.
"The data on the Beneficiary Groups (KPM) of the PKH and BPNT programs are still problematic. There are still many KPMs who are not entitled to because they have assets; as a result, other poor people who are more deserving do not get it. Not to mention some government elements who commit fraud," said Nandiroh.
The Young Fighters' task is to verify and validate the Integrated Social Welfare Data (DTKS) for Beneficiary Groups (KPM) who receive BPNT and PKH assistance. The goal is that PKH and BNPT assistance are more targeted. However, the issue of corruption is not under their authority.
Nandiroh and his friends have been deployed to the field from October 25 to December 20, 2021. They carried out DTKS verification in seven sub-districts, namely Grabagan District, Bancar District, Kerek District, Bangilan District, Jenu District, Jatirogo District, and Kenduruan District.
“I am very proud and happy to be involved in this program. In addition to gaining extraordinary knowledge and experience, it can also help the government solve DTKS problems. This is one of the students' contributions in solving poverty in Indonesia," he concluded.
