THE EDITOR – Happy villages is one of the main programmes being worked on by the Directorate General of Village Government Development (Ditjen Bina Pemdes) of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
This program is said to be one of the government’s ways to reduce urbanization or the movement of people from villages to cities.
The Indonesian government does not want villages in Indonesia to die, as is happening in Japan and other countries.
To keep villages habitable, the Indonesian government through the Directorate General of Bina Pemdes is creating training for village officials through the Strengthening Village Governance and Development Programme (P3PD).
Training Village Apparatus through P3PD
It is reported that most village officials in Indonesia have only graduated from primary school or senior high school.
Only a handful of them graduated from university and want to become village heads or village officials.
Seeing this condition, Director General of Village Development La Ode Ahmad P Bolombo wants the P3PD training to produce village officials who are able to create happy villages.
According to him, if the village is happy, the people will stay and encourage the growth of the village in all fields.
“If one is happy in their village, he will not leave it his village, there will be no urbanization,” he said during the Briefing on Capacity Building Training for Village Government Apparatus and Village Institutional Management in 2024 held Sorong, West Papua, Tuesday (24/9/2024).
To create this happy village, La Ode realizes it is not easy.
However, he is optimistic because a number of institutions are participating to encourage him to succeed, such as the World Bank, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions and the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Cultural Affairs.
What is A Happy Village?
La Ode said that a happy village is one with creative, competent, and knowledgeable officials.
If village officials have all of the above characteristics, he continued, then they will be active in mapping the potential of their villages.
Successful village mapping, said La Ode, has implications for improving services to the community and the use of targeted budgets.
As is known, many villages in Indonesia have succeeded in having qualified and creative officials who are able to boost the economy of their citizens.
For example, Koto Mesjid Village in Kampar Regency, Riau; Labanan Makarti Village in Berau Regency, East Kalimantan; Tegal Arun Village in Denpasar City, Bali; and many other villages.
“This is what we are trying to do. We are trying to increase their capacity, competence, and knowledge,” he said.
