By: Ferdi, Sustainable Earth
Bumi Lestari Institute (LBL) through the support of KEMITRAAN through the ESTUNGKARA program fights for the right to speak for groups of disabled people and women who are members of the Penghayat Marapu group (believers) in the District-level Development Planning Deliberation (Musrenbang). This effort was realized through lobbying and negotiation with the Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda) of East Sumba Regency, East Nusa Tenggara on April 14, 2025.
In the meeting, Ferdi as a representative of LBL discussed directly with the Head of Planning Section of Bappeda East Sumba Yeremian Gajawanda. They discussed the involvement of Marapu Believers to be included in the Musrenbang of East Sumba Regency.
"So far, groups with disabilities, women, and Marapu believers have not or have rarely been involved in every planning process, both at the sub-district and district levels," said Ferdi.
Ferdi said that those who often attend Musrenbang at the sub-district to district levels are community leaders. Meanwhile, groups of disabled people, women, indigenous people, and Marapu believers are almost never involved. As a result, many policies cannot meet their basic needs. In fact, groups of disabled people, women, and Marapu believers also have the same rights to participate in every development plan.
In fact, Ferdi said, women, disabled groups, and Marapu believers were very active when involved in the village-level Musrenbang. They provided a lot of important input to determine policies at the village level.
"There we saw them dare to speak up and they also tried to organize their basic needs in detail. On that basis, we from LBL tried to encourage them to be involved in the district-level Musrenbang," said Ferdi.
Meanwhile, Yeremian responded positively to the discussion with LBL for the involvement of Marapu Believers in the district-level Musrenbang. He also appreciated LBL for accompanying Marapu Believers in fighting for their rights to voice their interests in the Musrenbang.
'We from the government do not have enough personnel to reach all the villages in East Sumba. We also really need NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) to collaborate with the local government to make changes at the village level for the progress of our beloved region," said Yeremian
