5.0 Communities

5.1 Overview

APRIL is committed to the principle of community empowerment and actively supports and participates in economically viable and sustainable development programmes that foster community self-reliance.

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5.2 Community Development Programmes

Our Community Development programmes have these specific objectives:

i. Poverty alleviation
ii. Economic development for income growth
iii. Building a capacity for local partnerships and cooperatives
iv. Improving quality of education for children
v. Providing community healthcare services
vi. Developing businesses based on community participation
vii. Developing social infrastructure

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5.3 Highlights

Launch of Blueprint for Sustainable Community Development

For almost two decades, APRIL has been implementing community development in Riau Province, to help alleviate poverty and improve quality of life through economic development, health, education and social infrastructure programmes.

Over the last two years we have reexamined our programme design and delivery mechanisms. Our aim was to achieve better outcomes from sustainable programmes tailored to individual communities. Programmes in areas such as health and education which were found to have overlapping objectives with existing government initiatives, were refocused to avoid duplication of efforts, and to ensure maximization of resources for more effective outcomes.

In October 2011, APRIL launched a new community development initiative that focused directly on self-reliance. Called the "Eco Village Development Programme" (EVDP), it served as a blueprint for a new approach to community development.

While self-reliance has always been a priority in our work with communities, EVDP places a greater emphasis on enabling self-reliance though the creation of long-term and sustainable economic activity with low environmental impacts, based on local resources.

With this new approach, we are aiming to bring real, positive change to the lives of thousands of people.

The EVDP pilot programme was launched in the villages of Desa Sering* and Teluk Binjai*, home to 2,800 people in 800 households. Nine months after the launch, the following income-generating activities had been established.

Given the success of these initiatives, APRIL is examining the application of the EVDP model to 150 villages where community programmes are already in place.

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5.4 Community Programme Outcomes

Investment

In 2011 and 2012, APRIL Indonesia invested approximately USD4.6 million in various community programmes. These have yielded a range of positive outcomes.

Figure 48a below shows a summary of the total community development investments in the last two years.

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