Ned Poerba

Fellow: Ned comes from the culturally unique area of North Sumatra dominated by the Batak people. Having been trained in philosophy in Germany and social work at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta. He returned to Indonesia from his studies in Europe in the late 1970s and settled down in his native village eventually. He has dedicated himself to community development ever since.

In 1979 he started work at the community development arm of the Bethesda Hospital in Seribudolok which was run by the Protestant Church of Simalungun. He chose this position because it was from here that he could achieve action through direct contact with the village community without going through a complicated bureaucracy. In 1984, constraints began to be imposed on his freedom of action by recurring demands that his programs be approved by authorities. This culminated in a situation of friction which led to his dismissal in 1984. He then moved to his present location where he is continuing his activities as an individual working in cooperation with local community organizations.

Ned is extremely effective in working with other organizations, due to his long experience in working with networks consisting of PVOs and government agencies in North Sumatra. His contacts are extensive, not just in North Sumatra but throughout Indonesia and also international organizations.

Program: Building out from his growing understanding of the nature of Batak society, his first objective is to help the development process work better. He is skillfully and quietly helping the several Christian churches and other social agencies in the area begin to cooperate; he is helping draw together a group of younger, relatively progressive leaders from many of these groups into an informal mutual help circle; he is starting to train seminarians in social work; and he is selectively helping strengthen the area's developers by helping specific undertakings grow (e.g., a successful worker education program).

The main objective of Ned's work is to create new fields of employment for village people in enterprises which truly serve the villagers. He has founded cooperatives among bus drivers and "kenek" (helpers), legal aid and counseling on citizen's rights among villagers, development of village water systems and trade courses for school dropouts in skills such as sewing, agriculture techniques and management, and mechanical work. He places particular emphasis on the importance of grassroots leadership.

Ned is directly attacking several problems that others will not, starting right in his home village. He and his wife, for example, have taken on the problem of exploitation of women in Batak culture. They have just launched a day care center; they have created women's discussion/action circles; and they have helped women factory workers understand and win basic legally-defined work rights previously denied them. Ned is also training young school drop-outs in agricultural and technical skills to reduce the pressure on them to emigrate to the cities.

Potential Impact: Ned believes that given the proper exposure to methods of nonformal education, appropriate technology, agriculture techniques and frequent interaction in discussions, his objective of creating new fields of employment for the villagers will materialize. Concrete action can take the form of utilizing skills obtained from trade courses and close cooperation with community organizations which have developed specific fields of expertise.