Devina Prima Kesumaningtyas
YAKKUM Emergency Unit (YEU) as one of the partners of the Huairou Commission (HC) has been working together for 9 years and has assisted in the empowerment of Women in 66 groups in Yogyakarta and Central Java. With funding provided by the Asian Development Bank through HC in 2024, YEU will implement a Community Resilience Partnership Program (CRPP) in five villages in Gunungkidul. On 9-11 September 2024, the Huairou Commission team visited partners in Indonesia, including a YEU-assisted group.
The CRPP project aims to increase government investment in strengthening the resilience of poor and vulnerable communities affected by climate change. In particular, the project focuses on learning from transformational solutions at the community level, which explicitly address the intersecting impacts of climate, gender, and poverty.
Suranjana Gupta and Ratna Mathur, consultants for the SIDA and CRPP projects, had the opportunity to engage dialogue with the community to assess the extent to which grassroots women's leadership can have a transformative impact in their communities. During their three-day visit to Yogyakarta, they provided capacity building for five YEU-assisted groups involved in the CRPP project, the Women's Community Working Group for Resilience of the Special Region of Yogyakarta (POKJA DIY), the Women's Community for Resilience Action, and the YEU Team.
Becoming a Leader Who Has a Vision for the Future
On this occasion, the Huairou Commission held discussion with the DIY Working Group. The first meeting was held at the house of Mrs. Syarifah Anggreini, chairman of the Migunani Farmers Group, in Suryatmajan Village, Yogyakarta City. The discussion focused on reviewing the performance achievements of the DIY Working Group over the past year.
The participants, who are women leaders, collaboratively identified key traits essential for leadership. They agreed that three fundamental qualities are honesty, responsibility, and non-discrimination. According to the DIY POKJA Team, these characteristics are crucial for ensuring the effective operation of a group. An honest and responsible leader fosters accountability, while non-discriminatory approach ensures inclusivity, allowing the leader to embrace all group members regardless of their backgrounds.
Apart from the three qualities proposed by the Women's group, Ratna highlights the importance of personal skills for women leaders. These skills enable women to recognize and share their potential knowledge with fellow group members and even other groups, promoting peer learning. Furthermore, women must have clear goals and strong perseverance to achieve them. This will empower them to address challenges such as poverty and drought, including those related to the impacts of climate, within their communities.
Grassroots Women's Collective Leadership to Face the Impacts of Climate Change
On the second day, 10 September 2024, the visit took place at CRPP-assisted groups in Gunungkidul. The purpose of this visit was to strengthen the capacity of women's groups, particularly those involved in the CRPP project. The meeting was held in Mertelu and Girimulyo Villages and was attended by representatives of each group. During the meetings, discussion focused on women’s leadership and their role in strengthening the group.
One of the key factors in grassroots leadership success is collective awareness. This awareness can be achieved when leadership qualities exist in every community. Cultivating a leadership spirit must be rooted in self-awareness, which promotes empathy. cultivate the leadership spirit, it must be based on self-awareness, which forms empathy. Self-awareness helps people understand themselves and their surroundings, leading to heightened sensitivity to community conditions. Furthermore, analytical skills are essential for effective communication. These skills enable people to gather data, assess logical issues, and identify solutions, which can then be effectively communicated to both the community and government authorities. Taking initiative and translating discussion into action is crucial for ensuring that advocacy efforts lead to meaningful change. Consistent action helps develop resilience and perseverance, key traits of grassroots leaders.
Looking Ahead and Setting Shared Goals
On the third day of the visit, on 11 September 2024, a meeting was held to discuss future plans following the visit to the assisted villages. Several targets need to be addressed collaboratively by both POKJA and YEU. These included finalizing the list of women's groups, designing self-assessment tools, mapping the skills and expertise of each group, and identifying training trainers. In addition, an analysis of the government assistance program scheme will be conducted along with planning for the 2024 Women's Meeting activities.
For YEU, several follow-up actions must be undertaken, including identifying poverty alleviation programs, agricultural assistance programs, and food security initiatives that align with the CRPP project. Moreover, a self-assessment survey will be conducted to serve as a reference tool for designing leadership indicators in the CRPP project, and the completion of vulnerability survey reports.