Indonesia
CRWRC has been working in Indonesia since 1984. Before 1997, Indonesia experienced rapid economic growth, which drove down poverty to 11% in 1996 according to government statistics. After an economic crisis in 1997, however, unemployment and poverty were seriously impacted in Indonesia. The following six years saw a gradual decrease in the poverty rate, but in 2006 the number of poor increased sharply partly attributed to rice import trade controls and a recent reduction of fuel subsidies which resulted in a 50% increase in the price of gas. Some 39m--18% of the population of 220m--are now officially poor, according to data released by the government’s statistics bureau: 4m more than in 2005. However, the official number of poor which is based the government’s definition of poverty (less money than is needed to afford a diet of 2,100 calories a day-- 152,847 rupiah ($16.80) a month) is well below the more widely used benchmark of $1a day. Using the dollar-a-day measure, it is estimated that more than 80m Indonesians are in poverty.
The new found freedom for civil society since the fall of Suharto in 1998 has extended opportunities to militant Islamic groups to express violence. Religious intolerance is getting worse in Indonesia. In the 2008 Report on the Condition and Faith Freedom in Indonesia 265 cases of violence against religions were reported compared to only 135 cases the year before. The violent persecution has been mostly aimed at minority Islamic sects such as Jamaah Ahmadiyah and Christians. The report blamed the Islamic Defender Front (FPI) and the Indonesia Ulama Council (MUI) as the main actors in the religious violence.
Fast Facts
Population: 240,271,522 (July 2009 est.)
Area Comparative: slightly less than three times the size of Texas
Literacy Rate: 90.4%
Life Expectancy: 70.76 years
Population below the poverty line: 17.8% (2006)
Gross Domestic Product per Capita: $3,900 (2008 est.)
Religions: Muslim 86.1%, Protestant 5.7%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 1.8%, other or unspecified 3.4% (2000 census)
Languages: Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects (the most widely spoken of which is Javanese)
(From the World Factbook. Click here for more information on Indonesia)
Partners in Indonesia
CRWRC has one partner in Indonesia: The Center for the Development of Holistic Ministry (P3H). P3H is an organization founded by the six synods of the Reformed Ecumenical Council of Churches (REC) in Indonesia which is comprised of 1,745 churches located on four islands. P3H helps to equip local churches and their partnering organizations to do wholistic and more effectively serve their communities. This includes churches outside of the REC network of churches located in Sulawesi and the island of Halmahera. P3H helps to train and equip ‘frontier animators’, who live and work at the grassroots level of their communities, and ‘bridgers’ (church leaders) who help to bridge the churches with their communities. The ‘frontier animators and ‘bridgers’ are selected based on their gift and passion for transforming their churches and communities they serve through CRWRC and P3H’s program framework which is involves four main areas of concentration:
- Diaconal Training - CRWRC and P3H have developed Bible study booklets to promote Bible study by local church leaders and lay leaders. These booklets are being used by many churches and have received positive feedback. Training is under way for these leaders to develop additional Bible Study materials that will promote wholistic ministry done in community. In addition, key church leaders have received training in disaster response in Aceh with the aim of empowering the church to respond to emergencies and disaster recovery for their communities. Other areas of training for church and community leaders have been used as entry points for community transformation are RBM (Results Based Management) and ABCD (Asset Based Community Development) and other trainings which address improving the capacity for better managing community-based projects.
- Micro Enterprise Development - P3H facilitates the capacity building of micro-enterprise development (MED) organizations which develop an income and savings programs in which poor community members can receive consultation, gain access to loans and job opportunities, and begin to build their income. There are approximately 1,350 community members participating and over 100 loans outstanding. CRWRC’s partner on the island of Sumba has augmented their income generation program with a radio broadcast which is designed to creatively educate people in appropriate technologies, public policy and community health issues, such as HIV/AIDS.
- Peacebuilding / Justice - In the past, CRWRC has partnered with Christian and Muslim agencies, in the Poso Central Sulawesi region where there has been extreme violence between Muslims and Christians. Working together, these two agencies developed curriculum and training materials to equip trainers to work for peace and be ministers of healing. Presently our focus on Peacebuilding has been in the area of Mamasa, West Sulawesi where local power struggles have exploited religious tensions for personal gain.
P3H has worked closely with a local NGO in the province of Papua to help address the HIV / AIDS problem there. Papua faces a very real possibility of an HIV epidemic if aggressive interventions are not taken. Social attitudes and stigmatizations are key aspects of the problem in Papua.
Relief Projects
When a massive earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra, on December 26, 2004 the tsunamis that followed wrought destruction on a dozen countries and left thousands dead and millions devastated. The estimated death toll of the disaster 230,000 and 170,000 of those were from Aceh, Indonesia.
The scale of the emergency provoked a global outpouring of generosity, as well as one of the most complex relief responses ever implemented. CRWRC mounted a multi-country response in Indonesia, India, and Sri Lanka. In addition, on May 26, another major earthquake measuring 8.4 on the Richter Scale hit in Central Java, Indonesia. An estimated 6,000 people lost their lives and over 300,000 people were left homeless.
In both Aceh and Jogyakarta, Indonesia, CRWRC worked under the program name “GenAssist” and, with a strong emphasis on community participation, concentrated its efforts on emergency relief, construction of temporary shelters, reconstruction of permanent shelters and the restoration of livelihood for the tsunami victims.
The funding for these disaster response efforts in Indonesia came from CRWRC, CIDA, MCC, TF-UK, ESF, NWMT, and ZOA came near to $USD 11.5 million helping approximately 22,700 families (or an approx. 115,000 individual beneficiaries). The completion of the GenAssist Jogyakarta Program happened February 2008 and the GenAssist Aceh program will be completed by June 2009.
For more about CRWRC's relief activity in Indonesia, click here.
Nick Armstrong - Nick has lived in Indonesia since 1990, barring two years when he served as a 'Missions Pastor' for Cole Community church in 1994/95. In 1996, Nick joined CRWRC and returned to Indonesia. He lives in Salatiga Java with his wife, Laura, and two children, Anna Grace and Luke Steven. Linda is the principal of an international elementary school in Salatiga. Anna is 17 and Luke is 15.
From 1996-2000, Nick taught macro and development economics at the local university (Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana) and worked as a consultant with CRWRC's partner agencies. In 2001, P3H was formed. Since then, Nick has spent most of his time and energy building the network and capacity of P3H and its churches. In February 2005, Nick was assigned to be the Country Director for CRWRC’s Indonesia Tsunami response.
Nick has a BA in Business Management from Boise State University; an MA in Bibilical Studies from the Cole Insitute of Biblical Studies in Boise, Idaho; and an MBA with an emphasis on the Developing World Economics from Eastern University in St. Davids, PA.
EMAIL: narmstrong@crwrc.org
News Stories
The Tsunami - Four Years Later - December 22, 2008
A Dance of Recovery in Aceh - March 12, 2008
136 Indonesian Families Move Into New Homes - July 5, 2007
Staff Newsletters
Take time to read a staff newsletter - direct from the field!
Armstrong_Sept09.pdf
Armstrong_May08.pdf
Armstrong_Apr06.pdf