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SATU DEKADE Secara “resmi” Lembaga Gemawan berdiri pada 21 April 1999, hampir sudah sepuluh tahun yang lalu, satu dekade. Lembaga yang dimulai dari diskusi-diskusi ringan di ruang kamar kos, mengisi waktu luang, disela-sela keruntuhan rezim yang berkuasa tiga dekade dimaksud untuk berkontribusi pada pemberdayaan. Secara kebetulan atau tidak, media informasi melalui dunia maya yang menghubungkan Lembaga Gemawan, relawan, staf, dan pengurus dengan dunia luar juga mendapatkan perwajahan baru dalam dekade ini.
Wajah baru ini dimaksudkan untuk, terus terang agar pembacanya lebih tertarik membacanya dan mengedepankan kemudahan mengakses apapun dalam halamannya secara terbuka.
Silahkan baca, kritik dan bergerak!
General Data Address of the organisation: Jl. Batas Pandang Kompleks Kelapa Hijau No. 18 Pontianak 78117, Kalimantan Barat, Indonesia
Legal status: Registered: Public Notary No. 21 April 1999 Pontianak, Indonesia, amendment Public Notary with No. 21/ 8-Mei-2003 Kantor Notaris Eddy Pribadi S.H Jl. Jendral Urip no 11 Pontianak
Name of legal representative: Laili Khairnur
Address:
Email:
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Telephones: +62561 586891
Fax: +62561 586891
History
Lembaga Gemawan was founded on 21 April 1999 by a group of student activists who were concerned with democratic situation of the country just after the fall of Suharto. The organization was strived to achieve social transformation through social movements in order to empower marginalized and vulnerable groups, poor women and children. It is a legal entity in the form of limited association.
Gemawan initially dealt with the issues of anti-corruption, emergency relief and assistance following violent ethnic conflict in 1999, and community development. In 2003 it adopted gender sensitive approach and set up gender division as there was a need to specifically address this concern. In 2005 Gemawan decided to have a major organizational change from decentralized autonomous program divisions to a centralized body led by an executive director to increase accountability and build stronger institution. In addition, Gemawan produced new vision and mission and priorities as well as improved strategies of capacity building. The organization performed better after the change and met the principles of good and healthy NGO through the Transparency and NGO Accountability (TANGO) assessment conducted by the Tifa Foundation.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Through its general intervention in building people’s autonomy, since 2001 Gemawan has assisted the formations of grassroots organizations (GROs), including 20 women groups, with membership of 6500 persons. Some of these groups have been able to voice their own needs and interests to the local governments and private companies. One important outcome of this community organizing was that GROs organized a protest against the plantation companies owned by the Wilmar International on the illegal occupation of their lands. In 2006 Gemawan and Kontak Rakyat Borneo (KRB) filed formal complaints on their behalf to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and International Finance Corporation (IFC). Both international organizations responded positively and negotiations are ongoing. In other example a oil palm farmer association organized a rally involving 6,000 people and led to the withdrawal of the permits of two oil palm companies.
On the issue of good governance, Gemawan and KRB have involved in promoting anti-corruption practices among government agencies and civil society. Both organizations reported 43 corruption cases to the law enforcement agencies, helped founding anti-corruption NGO network and community-based development watch groups in the villages, and are a partner of Judicial Commission on the monitoring of judges and legal reform in West Kalimantan.
Gemawan has been able to influence the democratization processes and assisted in building enabling capacities in the villages. The villagers of Sambas district, where the organization has focused its works since 2002, have been known in West Kalimantan as to be critical to and, at the same time, willing to participate meaningfully in the development processes. Through its intervention in the formation of GROs, Gemawan has helped villagers to be better informed on the development issues and are better equipped in development planning. Though Gemawan’s existence is not the only factor, it is quite likely that the organization contributes substantially. The district government has also responded positively by issuing policies that allowing the community initiatives to take place. In economic realm, Gemawan initiated the formations of two credit unions to be the prime movers of people’s economy among the communities where the organization works and, at the same time, providing opportunities for community activists to engage in financial management and planning.
Another significant effect is on the lives of women. This particular vulnerable group has slowly entered the center stage of public lives, a crucial change from their previous lives which suffered discrimination from the family up to the national levels. Through 20 women groups in Sambas district and Singkawang municipality with at least 600 members, Gemawan has helped boosting women’s self-confidence and capacities in voicing their concerns and interests in village meetings and in discussions with the members of local parliament. The woman leaders are now members of village representative body and be officers of village government. Many of the group members have the capacities in developing micro enterprise and or engaging peace process in Sambas district after the ethnic conflict. District government has acknowledged the important roles of women by inviting them in providing inputs to the development plans.
INSTITUTIONAL PURPOSE
Mission: What is the current purpose of the organisation?
To pursue peace and justice by means of building socially and politically stronger community based organizations and local political parties
To pursue Local Government Reform through anti corruption movement toward peace and justice
To empower the kampung autonomy through local cultural transformation, local institutional capacity building, revitalization on local cultural identities and public advocacy for community based resources management
To develop people economic power through the empowerment of credit unions, people cooperative programs and local commodity based market with domestic and regional access
To develop women empowerment programs for gender equity toward peace and justice
To develop a strong and professional non-governmental organization
Institutional objectives:
To empower village communities who are politically autonomous, economically self-reliant, and live by maintaining local wisdoms and adopting gender equity
Field(s) of activity:
Gemawan’s principal thematic area is the strengthening of village autonomy through strengthening of grassroots organizations. This is divided further into the application of the principles of good governance at the villages, strengthening of GROs as a means for the communities to reinforce their political autonomy and to monitor development and the use of state power. Regarding the natural resource management, the communities have the authorities on the tenurial rights of natural resources. Gender empowerment, perspective and affirmative action are inseparable in the effort to strive for justice. Furthermore, women have the prominent subject roles in empowerment and natural resources management. Finally, in achieving economic independence and self-reliance, credit unions are selected as the means to pursue inherent and integrated economic movement.
In its 2005 strategic planning it has set priority geographic areas, namely the districts of Sambas, Kayong Utara and Kubu Raya as well as in the municipality of Singkawang. So far the organization has focused much of its works in Sambas and Singkawang. This project will significantly provide the opportunities for the organization in increasing its existence in Kayong Utara district, after a few years of minimal involvement there. The organization feels it necessary to develop the project now as the current district head requested Gemawan to assist his administration in developing natural resource management schemes. With sufficient human resources and the involvement of community-based groups who helped it in the past, Gemawan is confident that the moment is ripe to launch its programs in the district.
Strategic Positioning
All of Gemawan’s working areas are newly formed districts in West Kalimantan that possess rich natural resources and are prone to conflicts, particularly the districts of Sambas and Bengkayang where large scale oil palm plantations exist or being planned in the border area with Sarawak (Malaysia). Rapid expansion of the plantations in the area leaves small pockets of lands that limit future expansion. The oil palm companies then turned their attentions to Kayong Utara where large forested areas still exist. Therefore it is crucial for Gemawan to intervene in the natural resource management planning in this new district. The lack of skilled civil servants and the necessary management policies are in the making, it believes that civil society can substantially affect the making of pro-community territorial and natural resource management policies.
Other social actors that can be affected by this project are civil society organizations at the grassroots level (for example women groups, credit union, farmers union, religious groups) that together with the communities fight for the community rights and engage in development monitoring;
Gemawan will co-implement the project with KRB and be the leading organization in this project. It has a distinctive approach. It employs a territorial approach in implementing its programs using desa (village) as the unit of intervention. Desa is the smallest unit of governance which touches directly the lives of rural population. Such approach provides Gemawan with understand the social dynamics related to the natural resource management at the grassroots level. Once an area is selected, it will employ all themes it adopted in the particular area concerted in such a way to build synergy among all program components. The prevailing issue-based approach is insufficient in addressing the problems in the area, because most issues are interrelated and cannot be addressed separately. In all components gender is an underlying perspective.
FUNCTIONAL ORGANISATIONAL CHART
How are authority and responsibilities structured? For each operational unit, indicate the job titles, number of people in each position, and if they are men or women.
Board of Chair: in charge of the whole process of organizational development and policy, 4 men, 1 woman
Executive board consists of:
1. Executive Director: in charge of the whole process of management, program implementation and administrative
development, 1 person, female
2. Financial Manager: in charge of the whole process of organizational financial & administrative development supported by program financial officer(s), 2 persons, female
3. Program Staff : responsible for day to day basis of project implementation, 15 persons, 9 men,
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