Indonesia Is Free From Poverty, Orders Dompet Dhuafa On The 80th Anniversary Of The Republic Of Indonesia

Parni Hadi, initiator and Chair of Dompen Trustee Dhuafa, signed a book that will be published. (Edy Suherli - VOI)

JAKARTA Welcoming the 80th Anniversary (HUT) of the Republic of Indonesia, Dompet Dhuafa held a National Leader's Sarasehan with the theme "Merajut Kesamaan, Realizing Freedom from Poverty" in the Cultural Place of Our House Dompet Dhuafa, South Jakarta, Wednesday 13 August.

Chairman of the Dhuafa Wallet Management, Ahmad Juwaini, emphasized that this sarasehan is not just a dialogue forum, but a strategic momentum to unite the steps of national figures, academics, business actors, philanthropic institutions, and civil society.

True independence is when all people are free from the shackles of poverty. Through this forum, we hope that a joint commitment will be born to accelerate the eradication of poverty in a systemic and sustainable manner, including through the role of philanthropy," said Ahmad.

Although Indonesia has been named the most generous country in the world by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), the challenge of poverty is still great. Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in March 2025, there are 23.85 million people living in poverty, including 2.38 million people in the category of extreme poverty.

Ahmad assessed that the spirit of nationalism and generosity are important social capital to overcome this problem. The 2024 data shows that the collection of zakat, infaq, alms, and other religious social funds (ZIS-DSKL) reached IDR 40.509 trillion nationally, growing 25.3% compared to the previous year.

"We invite all elements of the nation to make philanthropy not only as a social action, but a change movement that raises the dignity of the nation," said Ahmad.

He also highlighted the potential of a mosque network in Indonesia. There are more than 800 thousand mosques spread across all corners of the country, both in urban and rural areas.

"Mosques can become the center of civilization and a means to improve the competence of the people, both hard skills and soft skills, so that they become empowered and free from poverty," concluded Ahmad.