Yayasan Merah Putih
Encyclopedia
The Merah Putih Foundation (YMP – Yayasan Merah Putih) is a non-governmental
, non-profit organization
first established on December 14, 1989 in Palu
, Central Sulawesi
, Indonesia
. Since 1992, YMP has focused on advocacy work and on efforts to empower local communities in Central Sulawesi, both indigenous peoples and peasant societies.
Yayasan Merah Putih strives to be an independent, trustworthy and capable organization in order to propel a strong civil society movement, especially among local communities in Central Sulawesi, providing them both with the skill and ability to manage their natural resources and sustain their environment, based on all local resources, including economic, political, social and cultural aspects, to ensure good circumstances of life, justice and non-violence. Today YMP's efforts are focused on two groups of people: helping the Tau Taa Wana deal with the process of social change which is engulfing them and working with local farmers in the Luwuk district to get access to justice.
To carry out its mission, program and strategy, YMP consistently upholds nine “principles and ethical values”. These are:
people in Central Sulawesi, Bulang, near Ampana wrote a letter to YMP expressing their concern over the Indonesian governments transmigration
departments plans of extension. This appeal brought YMP to the Wana area and since then, with long term support from the Rainforest Foundation Norway, YMP has provided continuous assistance to the Wana tribe.
In order to help, YMP got hold of official documents concerning the governments planned transmigration extensions, enabling the organisation of the Wana. YMP also set up numerous community meetings. This has checked the extension of transmigration but there are still cases of trans-migrants extending their fields into Wana land.
A newer policy of YMP, since 2007, has been the implementation of 'sekolah lipu' or village schools into nine Tau Taa Wana villages. The hope of this is to educate the Wana peope in order that they can have more of a say- by teaching Bahasa Indonesian, and so that they can get a fair price for their products- by teaching mathematics.
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
, non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
first established on December 14, 1989 in Palu
Palu
Palu is a chartered city on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, located 1,650 km northeast of Jakarta, at . It is the capital of the province of Central Sulawesi. The city sits on the mouth of Palu River, at the head of a long, narrow bay. Because of its sheltered position between mountain...
, Central Sulawesi
Central Sulawesi
Central Sulawesi is a province of Indonesia located in the centre of Sulawesi. It was established on 13 April 1964....
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. Since 1992, YMP has focused on advocacy work and on efforts to empower local communities in Central Sulawesi, both indigenous peoples and peasant societies.
Yayasan Merah Putih strives to be an independent, trustworthy and capable organization in order to propel a strong civil society movement, especially among local communities in Central Sulawesi, providing them both with the skill and ability to manage their natural resources and sustain their environment, based on all local resources, including economic, political, social and cultural aspects, to ensure good circumstances of life, justice and non-violence. Today YMP's efforts are focused on two groups of people: helping the Tau Taa Wana deal with the process of social change which is engulfing them and working with local farmers in the Luwuk district to get access to justice.
To carry out its mission, program and strategy, YMP consistently upholds nine “principles and ethical values”. These are:
- Democracy and equality for all
- Respect of Human RightsHuman rightsHuman rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
and Gender EqualityGender equalityGender equality is the goal of the equality of the genders, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality.- Concept :... - Participation and engagement of affected people
- Prioritization of local resources
- Orientation in the process of every activity, ensuring a learning process
- Group Work and assurance of transparency in every activity
- Avoidance of violence in solving problems
- Rejection of programs or projects financed through loans
- Preparation in order to face all risks, both political and economic.
Support for Indigenous Tribes
In 1999 a group of the Tau Taa Wana tribeTau Taa Wana
The Tau Taa Wana is a sub-group of the numerous people who speak variants of the Ta'a language of Eastern Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.The Tau Taa Wana people are an indigenous tribe who live in small villages or lipu's around the rivers Bulang and Bongka. Since the year 2000, the Wana have...
people in Central Sulawesi, Bulang, near Ampana wrote a letter to YMP expressing their concern over the Indonesian governments transmigration
Transmigration program
The transmigration program was an initiative of the Dutch colonial government, and later continued by Indonesian government to move landless people from densely populated areas of Indonesia to less populous areas of the country...
departments plans of extension. This appeal brought YMP to the Wana area and since then, with long term support from the Rainforest Foundation Norway, YMP has provided continuous assistance to the Wana tribe.
In order to help, YMP got hold of official documents concerning the governments planned transmigration extensions, enabling the organisation of the Wana. YMP also set up numerous community meetings. This has checked the extension of transmigration but there are still cases of trans-migrants extending their fields into Wana land.
A newer policy of YMP, since 2007, has been the implementation of 'sekolah lipu' or village schools into nine Tau Taa Wana villages. The hope of this is to educate the Wana peope in order that they can have more of a say- by teaching Bahasa Indonesian, and so that they can get a fair price for their products- by teaching mathematics.