JAKARTA (UCAN): Catholic Youth, an Indonesian youth organisation formed, Adopt One Brother, a solidarity movement where people are encouraged to help support needy families during the Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic.
The movement, has spread to 26 of the country’s 34 provinces, according to Stefanus Asat Gusma, who heads up the group’s Covid-19 task force.
He said the movement involves thousands of Catholic Youth members scattered throughout Indonesia wanting to help poor people, especially those who lost their jobs after restrictions on activities were imposed to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus.
“First, we mobilised our own members to help our fellow brothers and sisters who are experiencing difficulties. Then we extended our reach to anyone who was willing to help others,” Gusma said on April 23.
He said the group is signing up volunteers who will commit to donating 200,000 to 500,000 rupiah ($99 to $249) per week for an affected family.
“After we receive their data, we contact them about where they would like their donations to go,” he said, adding, “If a donor wants to donate to a family in East Nusa Tenggara province, we will coordinate with our members there to seek a family in need.”
He said they have also distributed around 2,000 aid packages to families, as well as electricity vouchers and hand sanitisers in various regions, in coordination with local governments, dioceses and other religious groups.
Gusma said the movement wants to ignite broader public awareness about the plight of poor families. “We want others to act, not only through our organisation but also individually or with other groups,” he said.
Maskendari, a Catholic Youth advocate in Pontianak, West Kalimantan province, said they had carried out various activities to help struggling families as part of the movement.
“We have distributed hundreds of aid packages and thousands of personal protection items such as masks and bottles of hand sanitser,” he said.
Meanwhile, Edi Silaban an activist in Bandung, West Java, has provided similar assistance to hospitals and orphanages as well as poor families and day labourers who had lost their income.
“We are coordinating with communities to seek those most in need,” he said.
Gusma said the initiative woulds continue until the pandemic ends. “We want to show the importance of showing human solidarity in the midst of this current crisis,” he said.
As of April 25, Indonesia had recorded 8,607 confirmed Covid-19 cases, 720 deaths and 1,042 recoveries.
