Tuva, Central Sulawesi, 31 October 2019 – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with the National Zakat Board (BAZNAS) today launched a partnership on developing resilient livelihoods in a village hit by two successive catastrophic events in Indonesia’s central Sulawesi province.

In September 2018, a series of earthquakes struck Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi with its epicentre close to the provincial capital, Palu. The shocks were followed by a tsunami and landslides, which also triggered the rare phenomenon of soil liquification. More than 2,000 fatalities were reported by the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) alongside a further 4,400 who were seriously injured and at least 1,373 people displaced. The disaster also damaged infrastructure and devasted the agricultural sector in the region.

The kick-off event in Tuva is part of a broader focus between UNDP and BAZNAS on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). UNDP and BAZNAS have been working closely since 2017 on innovative financing and has seen success in Jambi. There has also been an initiative to assist communities in Lombok following the 2018 disaster in the area.

Under this new partnership, UNDP and BAZNAS are expected to enhance the capacity of the local government and community in recovery through the provision of assistance to develop a resilient village, safer schools and livelihoods.

UNDP Indonesia Deputy Resident Representative Sophie Kemkhadze said that community recovery action plans should be implemented to improve economic productivity in the village.

 “In the wake of a major catastrophe in the village, economic recovery is required to support the community.  Activities that will improve the community develop  innovative skills-- such as capacity building and micro-enterprise assistance--are essential to accelerate the rebuilding process. Identifying the village’s main potential is crucial to unleashing economic opportunities. Besides, this initiative confirms that marginalized groups, including women, are not left behind,” said Ms Kemkhadze.

Member of BAZNAS commission, Nana Mintarti also noted that BAZNAS’s main priority is to create  mid-term and long-term economic development opportunities through an income generation programme, job creation programme, and more inclusive economic growth.

“Tuva is under one of the ten points of integration programme of BAZNAS Program Institution. These programmes support BAZNAS activities to develop five components of society: economic growth, education, da’wah [an invitation to learn the teachings of Islam], health, and humanity. The partnership between BAZNAS and UNDP in the rehabilitation programme and infrastructure reconstruction of all or most of the damage, hopefully can accelerate the economic recovery and create more resilient and sustainable livelihoods for the people” Nana said.

Now, residents of Tuva village, Sigi district, will be able to improve their economic productivity as they will be equipped with technical assistance which involves capacity building, microenterprise assistance, and inter-sectoral linkages mechanisms. An integrated disaster preparedness programme will be establishedt during the development  of a safer school environment.

UNDP hopes that through these initiatives in developing resilient livelihoods, it can help eradicate poverty in natural disaster-affected areas and successful achieve the SDGS, particularly Goal 1  No poverty), Goal 4 (Quality Education), and Goal 8 (Decent work and economic growth).

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For more information, contact:

Tomi Soetjipto – UNDP Communication Specialist, suryo.tomi@undp.org

Andrys Erawan – UNDP , Andrys.erawan@undp.org

Greget Kala Buana – UNDP Islamic Finance Specialist, greget.buana@undp.org